This paper is based on my work in Guyana looking at the use of English by marginalised Amerindian communities in the interior of the country when dealing with gatekeepers either from the coastal authorities or international NGOs. It considers what empowerment means in this situation and the role of language in empowering such people. Rather than questioning the ethics of global English as a political concept, this paper takes the view that such communities are both entitled to and will benefit from competence in English in their present practical context. Therefore, unlike the work of Phillipson and Pennycook on English as a global language, this paper looks at ways in which dominated or minority communities might "appropriate" the linguistic resources of the English language system so as to be better able to defend and develop their sociocultural rights, including native language rights. The paper discusses notions of competence and ultimately looks at what type of linguistic competence is suitable to the above sociocultural and political situation with a view to facilitating the appropriation of the resources of English at all levels of the linguistic system from register through genre to culture.