Elf is also defined functionally by its use in intercultural communication rather than formally by its reference to nativespeaker norms whereas english as a second or foreign language aims at meeting native speaker norms and gives prominence to. Miles platting is the founder and owner of the naming rights agency lingua franca. Explores the language behaviour of speakers of english as a lingua franca elf, through the lens of gricean pragmatics. Through examining how idiomaticity enables first language learners to achieve a greater degree of fluency, the book explores why idiomatic language poses such a challenge for. Aramaic is the first example of a lingua franca a common second language, shared by people who are unable to communicate in their native tongues. Apparently paradoxically, the more localised the use of english as a lingua franca, the more variation it is likely to display. Commerce certainly plays a big role in determining the lingua franca of the time. English became the lingua franca of the world because of the united states and not england. Apart from the fact that english l2 speakers in english as a lingua franca elf interaction make little use of discourse markers cf. For example, english is a vernacular in the united kingdom but is used as a lingua franca in the philippines, longside filipino. This was called the lingua franca latin and italian for frankish language, as greeks and arabs had long referred to all. Aug 20, 2010 the english language is taught and spoken around the world, encouraging many to promote the concept of english as a lingua franca elf, a moreorless universal language that can be used as a means of communication among people of different linguistic backgrounds. Englishasalinguafranca barbaraseidlhofer in recent years, the term english as a lingua franca elf has emerged as a way of referring to communication in english between speakers with different.
English is the worlds lingua francathe most widely spoken. More than 1 billion people speak english worldwide but only about 330m of them as a first language, and this population is not spreading. Frankish language language used as a means of communication between populations speaking vernaculars that are not mutually intelligible. Teachers are helping students to use english as a lingua franca.
Tsunoda 1983 and ammon 1998, are summarised in hamel 2006. French was a lingua franca in the ottoman caliphal court. And yet, as historian and linguist nicholas ostler. English language as a lingua franca english language essay. The horde which descended upon the muslims on the eastern shores of the mediterranean had come from many parts of western europe. Includes suggestions for making elt pedagogy, materials, testing, and teacher. A lingua franca is a common language used in international communication. History stack exchange is a question and answer site for historians and history buffs. English as a lingua fran ca elf is the use o f the engli sh language as a common means of communication for speakers of different firs t languag es. While it has been a subject of controversy for some time, linguistic observations on actual use have largely been missing out of the debate. Lingua franca is an annual electronic journal devoted to the best international research on book history, translated into english. Lingua franca a mixture of italian with french, greek, arabic, and spanish, formerly used in the levant.
Lingua franca by william thacker uses a very original premise to discuss precisely these issues. A complete introduction to the theoretical nature and practical implications of english used as a lingua franca. More than 1 billion people speak english worldwide but only about 330m of them as a first language, and this population is not. Although most contemporary linguists regard english as a lingua franca elf. At the same time, this new and incipient research gives rise to new questions, and inspires further. The term english as a lingua franca elf refers to the teaching, learning, and use of the english language as a common means of communication or contact language for speakers of different native languages. Quotes tagged as linguafranca showing 12 of 2 hiphop, this thing we love that loves us back, is our lingua franca. English is the worlds lingua franca today, but how did it. English is the worlds lingua franca the most widely spoken language in human history. Using a corpus of data drawn from naturallyoccurring second language conversations, this book explores the role of idiomaticity in english as a native language, and its comparative role in english as a lingua franca. At the same time, this new and incipient research gives rise to new questions, and inspires further explorations into the complex phenomenon of elf. But, throughout the 17th and 18th century, many europeans english, french, dutch, spanish, scottish, swedish made their settlements there. At its simplest, elf is a way of referring to communication in english between speakers who have different first languages. Preamble very languages on the globe is found going through a perpetual process of evolution or devolution.
Therefore, by 1995 the social sciences and humanities attained the same level a s chemistry in 1996. Lingua franca has been used throughout human history and was used for commercial, religious, and diplomatic purposes. English became the lingua franca around wwii, but it was already used all through the british colonial empire, establishing it in north america and australia among others. How to teach english as a lingua franca elf british council. How and why did english supplant french as the worlds. His wife sue is a middleschool science teacher and. Ostler applies his historical method to lingua francas in history to track. English as a lingua franca democratizes the status of native and nonnative speakers, in a scenario where all adapt to each others social and linguistic norms, creating novel forms of interaction. The routledge handbook of english as a lingua franca. How and why did english supplant french as the worlds lingua. Such languages, essential in the history of communication, are usually a byproduct of empire. Chapter 2 the spread of english as a lingua franca begins with a historical. English dominates the globe so thoroughly that it takes a.
English is the first truly global lingua franca, if by global we mean used on every inhabited continent. Lingua franca the history of the book in translation. Ostlers ultimate conclusion is spelled out in the title of the book itself, the last lingua franca. Critiques current elt practices and sla research perspectives.
Whereas a vernacular language is the native language of a specific geographical community, a lingua franca is used beyond the boundaries of its original community, for trade, religious, political, or academic reasons. English as a lingua franca, since the current surge of research activity is expanding our understanding of elf in useits processes, practices, and linguistic features. A lingua franca originally italian for frankish language see etymology below is a language that is used between persons who have not the same mother tongue the terms working language, bridge language and vehicular language are used in the same sense. English has become the ideal global language because it has been pressed into service in this capacity, and thus forced to coevolve with its growing social environment so that it now appears as if it were the mightiest language in the. The routledge handbook of english as a lingua franca elf provides an accessible, authoritative and. It argues that the insight that language is far more than an instrument of communication edwards 2010.
It started with the british empire and the colonization of america. English is the most successful language in the history of the world. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Lingua francas of the world origin of the term the language of the crusaders was not the first lingua franca in the history of mankind, but it furnished the name for all such similar languages ever since. Centers of world trade and banking have been in anglophone countries for the last 200 years london then new york. Demonstrates links between elf accent attitudes and elf identities. Firstly, the paper will explore what is meant by english as a lingua franca elf and followed by the discussion the importance of relevant issues, such as choosing the right teaching model, crosscultural intelligibility and strategies, accommodation and openminded. English is the worlds lingua franca today, but how did it get to be that way. Her publications focus on spoken language, corpus linguistics, contrastive rhetoric, translation, and academic discourses.
There are other areas where english serves largely as a lingua franca in the world. It will address all aspects of book history, including the composition, mediation, reception, survival, and transformation of written communication in material forms from marks on stone to new media. English is expanding as a lingua franca but not as a mother tongue. English as a lingua franca has become a hot topic in applied linguistics and english studies. Oup oxford, jul 26, 2007 foreign language study 284 pages.
Lingua franca meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. French, greek, portuguese and latin have all been major lingua franca at some point in history. Pdf 910 this book builds on profound familiarity with the rise and fall of many languages11 throughout history. In lingua franca interactions it functions as a nativeculturefree code. The current lingua franca of international business is english. English as a global language, second edition institute for cultural. Lingua franca simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. English operates as a lingua franca at a number of different levels, including local, national, regional and international. Firstly, the paper will explore what is meant by english as a lingua franca elf and followed by the discussion the importance of relevant issues, such as choosing the right teaching model, crosscultural intelligibility and strategies, accommodation and openminded attitudes towards different english varieties. English as a lingua franca from the classroom to the.
English as a lingua franca elf is the use of the english language as a common means of communication for speakers of different first languages. The term was first used during the middle ages to describe a french and italianbased jargon, or pidgin, that was developed by. Oxford applied linguistics 01 by seidlhofer, barbara isbn. The dubai university researcher kai chan, who was born into poverty and now speaks six languages, investigated which language is the most influential and powerful and while english came out on top. In those places that they colonized, english became the langua.
The future of english english as she was spoke books. Since roughly only one out of every four users of english in the world is a native speaker of the language crystal 2003. English is the worlds lingua francathe most widely spoken language in human history. A subscription is required to access the full text content of this book. How to teach english as a lingua franca elf british.
Keywordsenglish, global lingua franca, history, evolution, simultaneous. Elf is also defined functionally by its use in intercultural communication rather than formally by its reference to nativespeaker norms whereas engl ish as a second or fore ign lang uage aims at meeting native speaker norms and gives prominence to. English as a lingua franca from the classroom to the classroom jennifer jenkins english has served as a means of communication among speakers of different first languages i. And yet, as historian and linguist nicholas ostler persuasively argues, english will not only be displaced as the worlds language in the notdistant future, it will be the last lingua franca, not replaced by another. These usually come at the cost of tradition, values and our connections with the rest of humanity. Because english was more powerful than any other european nation in us at that time. How is this book different from empires of the word, a language history of the world. Generally, a lingua franca is a third language that is distinct from a native or mother language.
Theorizing and teaching english examines the english used among nonnative speakers around the world today and its relation to english as a native language, as well as the implications for english language teaching. It goes through the history of ww2 a couple months a time theatre by theatre and starts with the. A lingua franca is a language that is used widely outside the country where it is spoken as a native language. Based on extensive research conducted among teachers in europe, east asia, and latin america. Katy simpson davies and laura patsko will deliver a british council seminar in glasgow on 26 november 20 on teaching pronunciation and listening in an elf context english as a lingua franca. The rise of english in diplomacy began in 1919, in the aftermath of world war i, when the treaty of. It is fitting that an article on english as a lingua franca henceforth, elf should appear in this special issue of eltj, keith morrows final one as editor, since it was in the 1990s under his watch at eltj that, to my knowledge, the first article on elf jenkins 1998 was published in an internationally read journal.
English became the linguafranca of the world because of the united states and not england. Published on january 11, 2016 january 11, 2016 15 likes 0 comments. A lingua franca pronounced lingwa franka is a language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication by people whose native languages are different. Yet its present spread and use are so new that english as a lingua franca elf in. A lingua franca or working language, bridge language, vehicular language is a language systematically used for communication, possibly among people who do not share a common language. Jan 11, 2016 how did english become the lingua franca. Elf interaction can include native english speakers, but in most cases, it is a contact language between people who. Her current major research interests are english as a lingua franca, corpus linguistics, and modelling spoken language. This is now changing fast, and the study of english as a lingua franca has become a vibrant research field.
Jun 20, 2017 a lingua franca is a common language used in international communication. Lingua franca covered the intellectual life of the 1990swhen american scholars took to the public stage as never beforewith wit and passion and helped establish many of the leading voices in american journalism today. The of english as a lingua franca semantic scholar. It will be of interest to a wide range of scholars across the fields of pragmatics, language contact, world englishes, second language acquisition, and english as a second language. Aug 01, 2017 a lingua franca is the term used to describe a language systematically used to enable effective communication between people with different native languages. House 2002, not much is known about the exact function and meaning of the individual discourse markers in the l2 speakers speech, when they do use them. Recorded from the late 17th century, the phrase comes from italian, and means literally frankish tongue. This paper challenges the existence of the dichotomy with regard to the english language as it is used today. The british empire colonized a significant portion of the earth. Anna mauranen is professor of english at the university of helsinki. The future of english english as she was spoke books and arts. English as a lingua franca from the classroom to the classroom. Although most contemporary linguists regard english as a lingua franca elf as a valuable means of international communication and a. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers.
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