The future of english english as she was spoke books. English is and will be the lingua franca of europe in. Preamble very languages on the globe is found going. 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. The untold history of english by john mcwhorter john mcwhorters our magnificent bastard tongue covers the origins of english as a lingua franca and how the influences of history, such as viking raids and germanic invasions, have. Prescriptivists generally nonlinguists tend to dismiss elf as a kind of foreigner talk or what has been disparagingly called bsebad. This is now changing fast, and the study of english as a lingua franca has become a vibrant research field. Language regulation in english as a lingua franca 2016 vol. Thats how indians from different states communicate with each other. The best books on the history and diversity of language five.
How english became sciences lingua franca history and economics helped the language edge out german, french and russian translated english has become the international language of science. The term was first used during the middle ages to describe a french and italianbased jargon, or pidgin, that was developed by. English is expanding as a linguafranca but not as a mother tongue. Today, english is a common lingua franca across the globe. The most obvious modern example is english, which is the current dominant lingua franca of international diplomacy, business, science, technology and aviation, but many other languages serve, or have served at different historical periods, as lingua francas in particular regions, countries, or in special contexts.
The second drawback of english being the international lingua franca is that the dominance of the english language proposes a threat to our own language. If there could be a language called indian, its english. Lingua franca 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. His most recent book is eye chart bloomsbury 2017, on the history of visual testing and graphic design since the 17th century. The pol itics of academic english language policy, london. Americanisms are encroaching across the world, and have done for the last 40 years including the uk but thats modern us media changing the way english is spoken, not the us causing the spread of the language. Lingua franca by william thacker uses a very original premise to discuss precisely these issues. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Teachers are helping students to use english as a lingua franca. English as a global language, second edition institute for cultural. English teaching materials have reflected these changes and tend to incorporate the principle of english as a lingua franca in terms of cultural knowledge. When i joined the lingua franca blog in 2012, i felt sure i would run out of things to write about long before the venue would disappear.
Should english remain the lingua franca lingua school. English is the worlds lingua francathe most widely spoken. English as a lingua franca is a useful guide for teachers and trainee teachers, and will be essential reading for advanced students and linguists concerned with multilingualism, language contact, language learning, language change, and the place of english in the world today. British linguist jennifer jenkins points out that elf is not a new phenomenon.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read english as a lingua franca. A literary lingua franca, less widely known than its forerunner. The term english as a lingua franca elf refers to the teaching, learning, and use of english as a common means of communication or contact language for speakers of different native languages. Therefore, parents always place english a high place. Want to go to the bronx zoo, metropolitan museum, museum of modern art, ditto of natural history, and see a. In those places that they colonized, english became the langua. Lingua franca project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
Should english remain the lingua franca undoubtedly, english is currently a universal language, understood by scientists and educated people. Analysis of the history, evolution of english and its impact on other languages leads us to sketch out a prospective future of it as a global lingua franca. 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. Culture and identity through english as a lingua franca 2017. Keywordsenglish, global lingua franca, history, evolution, simultaneous. Lingua franca is a publication of sharp the society for the history of authorship. However, the standard deviation for english in this estimate is also the highes t. This book explores attitudes related to english as a lingua franca elf and the implications for student identities. Although most contemporary linguists regard english as a lingua franca elf as a valuable means of international communication and worthwhile object of study, some have challenged its value and the idea that elf is a distinct variety of english at all. This book examines the use of english as a lingua franca elf from various perspectives. Seven principles for writing materials for english as a. 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. How english became sciences lingua franca science news.
Studies and findings ebook written by anna mauranen, elina ranta. Miles platting is the founder and owner of the naming rights agency lingua franca. In the relatively few years since empirical research into english as a lingua franca began being conducted more widely, the field has developed and expanded remarkably, and in myriad ways. Language history lingua franca blogs the chronicle of. English has become a lingua franca in many parts of the world.
In addition ways in which the problems can be addressed in teacher education are explored. The articles and other features explore this global phenomenon from a wide number of perspectives, including linguistic, sociolinguistic, sociopsychological, and political, in a diverse range of settings where english is the common language of. The sole purpose of this organisation is to pair companies with towns and cities so much of our daily lives are consumed with the modern obsession for success, money. English as a lingua franca in teacher education 2017 ed. 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 challenging and incisive, this book analyses positive and negative accounts of english as a lingua franca, and its linguistic features, within the. The history of english english as a global language. Recent linguistic discussions by elf experts treat the interactants cultural and linguistic background as a factor influencing language performance. The routledge handbook of english as a lingua franca elf provides an accessible, authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the main theories, concepts, contexts and applications of this rapidly developing field of study. 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. Language history lingua franca blogs the chronicle. Douglas harpers online etymology dictionary states that the term lingua franca as the name of the particular language was first recorded in english during the 1670s, although an even earlier example of the use of lingua franca in english is attested from 1632, where it is also referred to as bastard spanish.
English as a lingua franca has become a hot topic in applied linguistics and english studies. Here are five of our favorite books about the evolution of the english language. English is the most successful language in the history of the world. An excellent, expertlywritten book about the current status of english as an international language lingua franca and about its future prospects. Lingua franca simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. English as a lingua franca in the international university. Interview with author of new book on english as the lingua franca of.
In his book, teaching the pronunciation of english as a lingua franca, r. Oct 24, 2018 william germano is professor of english literature at cooper union. A global language acts as a lingua franca, a common language that enables people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities to communicate on a more or less equitable basis. The routledge handbook of english as a lingua franca. That the french resent the global supremacy of the english language is nothing new, but as hugh schofield finds out, a newly evolved businessspeak version is taking over. 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. His book also comes with a cd of recordings of nonnative speakers. Everywhere on the planet, humans know at least a few words.
New lingua franca upsets french from bbcs from our own correspondent. Richard nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and english at georgia southern university and the author of several. Frankish language language used as a means of communication between populations speaking vernaculars that are not mutually intelligible. How to teach english as a lingua franca elf british council. The current lingua franca of international business is english. This series welcomes book proposals detailing innovative and cutting edge research and theorisation in the field of english as a lingua franca elf, in essence. More than 1 billion people speak english worldwide but only about 330m of them as a first language, and this population is not.
English, says nicholas ostler, is a textbook example of a language with a large mother tongue community that is also widely used as a lingua franca the last lingua franca. While it has been a subject of controversy for some time, linguistic observations on actual use have largely been missing out of the debate. In the english teaching materials, not only the culture of native speakingenglish countries is introduced, but also the culture from the inner and expending counties is presented inside. 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. The speed and availability of travel, the increasingly global nature of trade and forei. How is this book different from empires of the word, a language history of the world. English as a lingua franca elf is a term used to describe the use of english as a common language for communication between speakers whose first language is not english. English is expanding as a lingua franca but not as a mother tongue. The routledge handbook of english as a lingua franca elf provides an accessible, authoritative and. Historically, the essential factor for the establishment of a global language is that it is spoken by those who wield power.
See lingua franca in the oxford advanced american dictionary. A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a first language, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both speakers first languages examples of lingua francas are numerous, and exist on every continent. Mar, 2018 most of these journals are excluded from prestigious journal indexes, thus perpetuating the ideology that english is the global academic lingua franca. Something to read over, go back over excerpts, etc.
Including 47 stateofthe art chapters from leading international scholars, the handbook covers key concepts, regional spread, linguistic features and communication. Very thorough, with an extensive look at many other examples of mainly past linguafrancas. New book argues that english has become the global language of science. English is the worlds lingua francathe most widely spoken language in human history. English language materials and testing are discussed. English is the worlds lingua franca the most widely spoken language in human history. Taking hong kong as an example, english is set to be the second language here, abilities of english usually come first than chinese. Understanding english as a lingua franca ebook united. The journal of english as a lingua franca jelf is the first journal to be devoted to the rapidlygrowing phenomenon of english as a lingua franca. Although some researchers hold that english as a lingua franca is a neutral and culturefree tool, others hold that it carries the culture and language of its speakers.
It started with the british empire and the colonization of america. How and why did english supplant french as the worlds. How to teach english as a lingua franca elf british. There are arguably benefits to the world in having a lingua franca. 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. Below you will find more information about a phenomenon that bears on language, culture, commerce, and diplomacy. Although you cant get by on just english in all countries.
A subscription is required to access the full text content of this book. Jan 18, 2016 here are five of our favorite books about the evolution of the english language. English is the current lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation. It is also the language of film, television, pop music, and the world of computing.
It has replaced french as the lingua franca of diplomacy since world war ii. A lingua franca of a different and fascinating kind is the nonphonetic chinese script. What are the benefits of english being a lingua franca. English is the worlds lingua franca today, but how did it get to be that way. The pressure to publish in journals listed in prestigious indexes has become a global trend, most recently reaching latin america and africa.
Lingua franca is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic history or structure of the language. Walker suggests using interviews with nonnative internationally known figures, such as football managers, or using clips from news websites from around the world. But it was a different kind of lingua franca, less plebeian by far than koine, and less regnant than latin. 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. Word origin late 17th cent from italian, literally frankish tongue. The most obvious modern example is english, which is the current dominant. The rise of english in diplomacy began in 1919, after world war i, when the treaty of versailles was written in english as well as in french. Nov 12, 2017 the question leads to seek clarification as to benefits to whom. Lingua franca the history of the book in translation sharp. Later, due the the vast influence and holdings of the british empire, english became a lingua franca of the world. It explores the various ways in which elf represents a challenge to the predominance of the nativespeaker model, as well as its implications for other fields of linguistic research and for english language teaching. English is the first truly global lingua franca, if by global we mean used on every inhabited continent. English is unchallenged as the lingua franca of europe. The question leads to seek clarification as to benefits to whom.
The history here is both complex and fascinating, but ill just. The dangers of english as lingua franca of journals. English until the return of babel, as indicated by the title, is that english will eventually cease to operate as a global lingua franca, but no other language will take its place. The british empire colonized a significant portion of the earth. I never knew how i landed on the radar squarely enough to.
According to some estimates, almost 80 percent of english speakers in the world are nonnative speakers. Lingua franca meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. In other parts of the world too lingua francas have been or are now used by millions of people. The unprecedented rise of english to become a global lingua franca has sparked a growing academic interest with numerous research publications on global englishes, english as a lingua franca, and english as an international language. Chapter 2 the spread of english as a lingua franca begins with a historical. Such languages, essential in the history of communication, are usually a byproduct of empire. A lingua franca is a language that is used widely outside the country where it is spoken as a native language. It has even been suggested that in some countries of northern europe it has become a second rather than a foreign language. English, she says, has served as a lingua franca in the past, and continues to do so nowadays, in many of the countries that were colonized by the british from the late sixteenth century on often known collectively as the outer circle following kachru 1985, such as india and singapore.