![]() ![]() However, multilingual ELF users are also becoming aware that the tables of good fortune are turning: In spite of this, some of the native-speaker comments express feelings of good fortune that English is the global lingua franca. In other words, in an ELF setting, it’s no longer “our” language. The author shows awareness that in order to succeed in a lingua franca setting, native speakers are the ones who must adjust, not the other way around (as it is typically presented in English language teaching). I don’t believe that this is a condescending comment. Ironically, for now the “winners” are those who speak English fluently as a second language. We native English speakers should not rest on our laurels as we need to learn a whole new way of communicating – slower speed, more clarity, dropping of idioms, for example – if we are to succeed in making ourselves understood as well as our new found language friends. What strikes me is that communication in English works best when there are actually no native speakers talking. I work in a predominantly non-English native speaking multinational that has English as its official language. Even English native speakers are becoming aware that English “works” well – until the native speaker joins in: Not only do they miss out on opportunities for cultural enrichment, but they likely fail to appreciate the realities of using a second or foreign language. It seems that both native and non-native speakers of English are gradually awakening to the fact that English native speakers who do not learn other languages are not to be envied. But in the midst of this and other folk linguistic speculations on the suitability of Mandarin Chinese to be a global lingua franca, an interesting theme emerges – the decline of the monolingual English native speaker. Sure, there’s the expected snobbery of language purists toward non-native English speakers 1 (and toward American English, of course), along with suitably indignant replies. a token finger-wag toward monolingual English native speakers – “Too many of them risk mistaking their fluency in meetings for actual accomplishments”Īs with an article from the Guardian that I earlier discussed on this blog, the interesting part comes in the reader discussions which follow.a gratuitous reference to colonialism – “English is the language on which the sun never sets”.taking a shot at the EU translation regime – “a babbling army of translators costing $1.5 billion a year”.Then, three obligatory components that must be included in articles like this: This spread of English as a business lingua franca ( BELF) is hardly news, but the column helpfully gives a list of quotes from various experts who think this is a good and natural development. A long list of multinational companies are listed where English has been adopted as an official language and serves as a lingua franca between non-native speakers and users of English. Entitled “The English empire”, the article reads like an advertisement for global English. Last week’s column in the Economist ( Schumpeter, 15.2) was no exception. Usually the stories themselves are fairly dull, but the public forum for comment and discussion can be an informal barometer for language attitudes and ideologies surrounding English. From time to time, an online news source publishes something on English as a lingua franca (ELF), and especially its spread in international business. Linguists live in a world of their own, and it’s nice to see what the broader world has to say about my research subject. I like to watch for articles and commentary on the role of English in the world today. Click the image to jump to “The English empire” from the Schumpeter blog on the Economist website.
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