English as a Lingua Franca in the global context: interconnectedness, variation and change

Abstract

In this chapter, we propose that consideration of current theory regarding the nature of globalisation’s impact on the social and political world order is of particular relevance to empirical work in the Outer Circle and Expanding Circle.
Locating English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in the transformationalist perspective of globalisation, we argue that far from a trend towards increased homogenisation, a fundamental consequence of interconnectedness (a defining feature of late modernity) is the blurring of distinctions between internal and external affairs, between the international and domestic and thus between the local and global, and that this blurring leads, on the contrary, to an increased hybridist of cultures. The chapter proposes that the transformationalist perspective shares much with the way ELF research approaches the use of English in lingua franca settings, whether these settings occur in Inner, Outer or Expanding Circle contexts. We argue that ELF interactional settings are sites where distinctions are blurred, and where there is considerable linguacultural intermixture. By reporting on other corpora and drawing on one of our own (Dewey's) corpus of naturally occurring talk in lingua franca settings, we present empirical evidence which suggests that the use of English in ELF communication is a perfect example of the kind of transformation of cultural resources, here linguistic ones, that are currently occurring in a globalising world. In situating descriptions of ELF within a theoretical framework of globalisation, especially in light of the continuing growth in discourse about both ELF and World Englishes, we take account of the fuller context within which debate and analysis regarding the diffusion of English internationally are situated.

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