The purpose of this book is to give a precise meaning to the formula: English is the language of imperialism. That statement involves a critique of the dominant views of language, both in the field of linguistics and of the philosophy of language. The author embodies a view of language as a social, historical, material and political phenomenon. Since there has never been a strong tradition of thinking about language in Marxism, the book seeks to construct a number of concepts for a Marxist philosophy of language.