English as a lingua franca

How do people communicate when they don't share the same first language? The answer to this question nowadays is often: 'in English.' Yes, English is considered the current global lingua franca. A lingua franca is a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different. English has become the lingua franca in many fields, including business, science, technology, aviation, entertainment, and diplomacy.

But why is English currently the global lingua franca? This article will introduce the concept of a lingua franca and examine the uses, features, criticisms, and history of English as a lingua franca (ELF). It will also highlight some key features of ELF, look at how we can teach English as a lingua franca, and discuss some of the current debates and criticisms surrounding ELF.

Definition of Lingua Franca

A lingua franca is the chosen shared language spoken between individuals with different first languages. Lingua francas are sometimes referred to as 'common languages' or 'link languages'.

Lingua francas are usually pre-existing languages with a colonial history (such as English or French), which are learned by non-native speakers as a foreign language and then used as a way to communicate with other non-native speakers. Compared to other language varieties, such as regional dialects, lingua francas are used much further afield from their country of origin.

For example, English is used as a lingua franca across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Lingua francas are typically considered functional languages used as a tool for communication, meaning they are usually independent of linguistic history and culture. However, the extent to which English is used as a lingua franca means this isn't entirely true anymore.

English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)

The term English as a lingua franca (ELF) describes the use of English as a shared language for speakers of different native languages.

The use of English as a lingua franca is not new. English has been used as a common language across British colonies since the late 16th century. The widespread use of English is largely due to the influence of the British Empire and the impact of the United States in the areas of business, technology, and culture in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The reach and extent of ELF have grown rapidly in recent years and there is currently an increasing amount of interest from linguists and language teachers in the use and features of ELF.

ELF is typically considered a tool for communication and is used at a local, national, regional, and international level. This means a large amount of variation is present within ELF, and there is no standardised version. There is an ongoing debate as to whether ELF should be considered a variety of English or not.

Some prescriptivists (those who believe there is a right and a wrong way to speak a language) view ELF simply as 'foreigner speak' or 'bad simple English'. However, many linguists suggest we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss ELF. Barbara Seidlhofer, a key theorist in the field of World Englishes, stated that:

Siedlhofer's observation suggests that it's best not to think of ELF as a single variety of English. ELF is much like any other language, and the variation process never stops.

Kirkpatrick, another key theorist in World Englishes, found that the amount of variation present in ELF depends on how localised its use is. He suggests that this is because users of ELF in a local setting (i.e., two Southeast Asian people communicating in a Southeast Asian country) are more likely to code-switch and use nativised norms. This means they are more likely to share slang, local vocabulary, or localised grammar and syntax.

As previously mentioned, English has been used as a lingua franca in ex-British colonies for years. This use of the language helped create the many varieties of English we know today, such as Indian Englishes and African Englishes.

Currently, we are seeing more and more people from the expanding circle countries (following Kachru's three concentric circles of English model, these are the countries with no colonial ties to English, such as China, Vietnam, and many European countries) using English as a lingua franca.

These individuals adapt and modify English to suit their needs on a local and global scale, and, in the process, are paving the way for new varieties of English, such as Vinglish (Vietnamese English) and Chinglish (Chinese English).

Fig. 2 - People who don't share a common language may use English words as a Lingua Franca.

English as the global Lingua Franca

Even though both Mandarin Chinese and Spanish have more native speakers than English, English is the world's lingua franca (despite the fact that it is not a particularly easy language to learn!).

The linguist David Crystal stated:

English initially gained its power due to British colonialism and the expansion of the British Empire. Colonialism brought English to Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific Islands.

Later, the industrial revolution, the emergence of the USA as a political and economic superpower, the internet, and popular culture helped increase English's prominence and influence.

Due to globalisation, there has become an increasing need for a global 'common' language. Today, English is considered the international language of business, diplomacy, medicine, science, and more. English is recognised as an official language in over 67 different countries and is currently the working language of several international organisations, such as the United Nations, The European Union, and The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Features of English as a Lingua Franca

For the past 20 or so years, linguists have been examining the norms and features of ELF. Although there is much variety in ELF communication, some shared features, particularly in terms of word choice, grammar, and pronunciation, often appear (although not always!).

According to the University of Southampton, some of these features include:

• Dropping the 'S' when using the third person singular, e.g., 'she run' instead of 'she runs’.

• Using the relative pronouns 'who' and 'which' interchangeably.

• Omitting articles, e.g., 'a' and 'the'.

• Using the tag questions 'isn't it?' or 'no?'.

• Using extra prepositions, e.g., 'we have to study about...'

• Using that-clauses instead of infinitive constructions, e.g., 'I want that we go to the cinema' instead of 'I want to go to the cinema.'

• Explicitness, e.g., saying 'red colour' rather than 'red'.

The study of English as a lingua franca is still relatively new, and there isn’t a huge amount of data to work from. Research of ELF features typically involves analysing documented ELF dialogue in the VOICE corpus (Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English) and the Lingua Franca Core (LFC) created by Jennifer Jenkins in 2000.²

English as a lingua franca examples

There are numerous examples of English being used as a lingua franca:

1. Business: Multinational companies often use English as a common language in their global operations, even if they are based in non-English-speaking countries. For example, the Swedish company IKEA uses English internally for communication across its worldwide locations.

2. Science and Academia: English is the primary language of scientific research and publication. Researchers from different countries often publish their findings in English to reach the widest possible audience.

3. Aviation: English is the standard language for international aviation. Regardless of their native language, all air traffic controllers and flight crews for international flights are required to communicate in English.

4. Internet and Technology: A large portion of content on the internet is in English, and many programming languages are based on English vocabulary.

As we previously mentioned, there is a lot of variety within English as a lingua franca so providing examples isn't such an easy task. However, we will provide some example sentences that use common features within ELF.

Learning English as a Lingua Franca

When teaching English as a second language, it is important to consider the needs of the students. You may be surprised to know that speakers of English as a second language are more likely to use English to communicate with other non-native English speakers than with native English speakers.

This means that being understood is more important than sounding like a native English speaker.

However, there are some aspects of pronunciation that are key to ensuring students will be able to speak English and be understood in an ELF setting. We can use Jenkins' lingua franca core to determine the most important aspects of pronunciation when it comes to maintaining intelligibility (the ability to be understood).

Let's take a look at some of those key aspects now:

• Most consonant sounds - the correct pronunciation of consonant sounds is important in intelligibility.

• Vowel length distinctions - this typically refers to the difference between short vowels and long vowels, e.g., the vowel length in 'hot' and 'hoot' change the meaning of the word.

• Nuclear stress - the teaching of word stress can be very important and is often overlooked, e.g., in the words 'record' and 'record', the first word is a noun (a document or a music disc), whereas the second word is a verb (to record sound). The word stress helps us to understand which word the speaker means.

It is also important to raise students' awareness of ELF and expose them to a wide variety of different accents, not just native English speakers' accents. This can be achieved by using real-life teaching materials (realia) where English is either being used as a lingua franca or is being spoken by a non-native speaker.

Examples of this could include:

• news reports read in English
• interviews with famous non-native English-speaking figures
• international newspapers in English (or English language newspapers from the student's native country).

Criticisms of English as a lingua franca

Although the use of English as a lingua has received much attention from theorists, linguists, and educators, its establishment as a language variety has been met with criticism. Some theorists argue that the features of ELF are nothing more than mistakes that have no pattern and, therefore, aren't worth studying.

There is an ongoing debate on whether or not ELF should be taught within classrooms. Some theorists suggest that ELF should replace Standard English as the default language taught globally, while others question how this would be possible as there is no standardised version of ELF. Replacing Standard English with ELF may also mean that students have a disadvantage when taking global English efficiency tests, such as IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

Finally, some theorists state that ELF is nothing more than a communication tool and cannot be a carrier of culture or a marker for identity. However, others argue that ELF should be viewed just like any other language and is, therefore, directly linked to culture and identity.

With English being used increasingly as a lingua franca, especially across the expanding circle countries, its users are developing their own norms, slang, and lexicon, which can be used as a way of expressing their identity as non-native English speakers.

Studies by the Vietnamese theorist Phan Le Ha found that users of ELF felt proud of their use of English as non-native speakers, and enjoy making the language their own and sharing it with other users of ELF.