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English as a lingua franca. Eva Maria Nunnemann. 1. What is a lingua franca?. Definition: Any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages
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English as a lingua franca Eva Maria Nunnemann
1. What is a lingua franca? • Definition: • Any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages • A mixture of Italian with Provençal, French, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, and Turkish, formerly spoken on the eastern Mediterranean coast
1. What is a lingua franca? • Etymology • Italian: lingua, language + franca, Frankish (i.e. European) • 1670-1680 • Form of communication used in the Levant • From the Arabic custom to call all Europeans Franks
2. English as a lingua franca • Consensus of growing of English as a language of international communication • Burridge and Mulder(qtd . in Gramley, 2001): “World” or “International English” • A language stripped off its local identifiers, with a core of common vocabulary, grammar and spelling • Kachru(qtd. in Meierkord, 2006; 22): “a worldwide lingua franca such as English “belongs to all its users”” • Implies that users may adapt the language to their needs
2. English as a lingua franca • Widely held opinion: English as worldwide lingua franca endangers other languages • Chrystal (2001): “Not only does it [the internet] offer a home to the linguistic styles within a language; it offers a home to all languages – once their communities have a functioning computer technology.”
2. English as a lingua franca • Originally: the Internet was a totally English medium • US origins • Mid- 1990s: over 80% in English • Figure is decreasing
3. Usage of English as a lingua franca • Gramley(2001): much of Internet communication still by keyboard • Importance of literacy, often in English • Disadvantages of writing have led to changes : • Use of abbrevations • Use of emoticons • multilinguality
4. Examples • Taken from Youtube: • “Lol you put like the same comment on the other video! This isn't the orignal the original she wears a red dress. This is it remade i believe =)” • “what a shit song 2bf... god awful singing as well... “ • „I luv thisvideo“
5. Literature • Chrystal, David (2001): Language and the Internet. Cambridge University Press. • Gramley, Stephan (2001): The Vocabulary of World English. London: Arnold. • Meierkord, Christiane (2006): ‘Lingua Franca Communication past and present’. In: International Journal of the Sociology of Language;177, 2006; Berlin, NY: Mouton de Gruyter, 9-30.
5. Internet • www.wikipedia.org • www.youtube.com • http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lingua%20franca