Culture and Identity through English as a Lingua Franca

Culture and Identity through English as a Lingua Franca
Author: Will Baker
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2015-07-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1501502166

The use of English as a global lingua franca has given rise to new challenges and approaches in our understanding of language and communication. One area where ELF (English as a lingua franca) studies, both from an empirical and theoretical orientation, have the potential for significant developments is in our understanding of the relationships between language, culture and identity. ELF challenges traditional assumptions concerning the purposed 'inexorable' link between a language and a culture. Due to the multitude of users and contexts of ELF communication the supposed language, culture and identity correlation, often conceived at the national level, appears simplistic and naïve. However, it is equally naïve to assume that ELF is a culturally and identity neutral form of communication. All communication involves participants, purposes, contexts and histories, none of which are 'neutral'. Thus, we need new approaches to understanding the relationship between language, culture and identity which are able to account for the multifarious and dynamic nature of ELF communication.

English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity

English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity
Author: Jennifer Jenkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2007-07-26
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN:

Based on research conducted among teachers, this text examines the role of standard language ideology in ELF attitude formation, critiques current SLA theories and ELT practices, highlights links between ELF accent attitudes and ELF identities, and includes proposals for making ELT pedagogy and testing more relevant.

English as a Lingua Franca

English as a Lingua Franca
Author: Marie-Luise Pitzl
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9781501511226

This edited volume addresses perspectives and prospects of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in connection with other areas of linguistics. It is the first volume that brings together ELF scholars and experts from a wide range of areas in linguistics (such as corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, language pedagogy, language policy, intercultural communication) in order to explore how ELF relates to these fields.

The Ambiguity of English as a Lingua Franca

The Ambiguity of English as a Lingua Franca
Author: Stephanie Rudwick
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2021-08-29
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0429631812

Grounded in ethnography, this monograph explores the ambiguity of English as a lingua franca by focusing on identity politics of language and race in contemporary South Africa. The book adopts a multidisciplinary approach which highlights how ways of speaking English constructs identities in a multilingual context. Focusing primarily on isiZulu and Afrikaans speakers, it raises critical questions around power and ideology. The study draws from literature on English as a lingua franca, raciolinguistics, and the cultural politics of English and dialogues between these fields. It challenges long-held concepts underpinning existing research from the global North by highlighting how they do not transfer and apply to identity politics of language in South Africa. It sketches out how these struggles for belonging are reflected in marginalisation and empowerment and a vast range of local, global and glocal identity trajectories. Ultimately, it offers a first lens through which global scholarship on English as a lingua franca can be decolonised in terms of disciplinary limitations, geopolitical orientations and a focus on the politics of race that characterize the use of English as a lingua franca all over the world. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, World Englishes, ELF and African studies.

Transcultural Communication Through Global Englishes

Transcultural Communication Through Global Englishes
Author: Will Baker
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2021-06-28
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1000398609

This textbook introduces current thinking on English as a global language and explores its role in intercultural and transcultural communication. It covers how English functions as a lingua franca in multilingual scenarios alongside other languages in a wide variety of global settings, and the fluid and dynamic links between English, other languages, and cultural identities and references. The implications for English language teaching (ELT), academia, business, and digital communication are explored. Contemporary research and theory are presented in an accessible manner, illustrated with examples from current research, and supported with discussions and tasks to enable students to relate these ideas to their own experiences, needs, and interests. Each chapter contains activities to help students orientate towards the topic, reflect on personal experiences and opinions, and check their understanding. Additionally, a detailed glossary of key terminology in Global Englishes and Intercultural Communication is provided. Exploring in depth the links between Global Englishes, Intercultural Communication research, and Transcultural Communication reasearch, this is key reading for all advanced students and researchers in Global or World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), and Intercultural Communication.

The Cultural and Intercultural Dimensions of English as a Lingua Franca

The Cultural and Intercultural Dimensions of English as a Lingua Franca
Author: Prue Holmes
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2016-03-01
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1783095113

This book investigates the cultural and intercultural aspects of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Authors discuss how ‘culture’ and the ‘intercultural’ can be understood, theorised and operationalised in ELF, and how the concepts can be integrated into formats of ELF-oriented learning and teaching. The various cultural connotations are also discussed (ideological, political, religious and historical) and whether it is possible to use and/or teach a lingua franca as if it were culturally neutral. The chapters consider the communication and pedagogical implications of the cultural and intercultural dimensions of ELF and offer suggestions for new directions in ELF research, pedagogy and curriculum development.

The Discourse of Culture and Identity in National and Transnational Contexts

The Discourse of Culture and Identity in National and Transnational Contexts
Author: Christopher J. Jenks
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2017-10-02
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 131745037X

This collection examines and uses discourse to promote a better understanding of culture and identity, with the primary goal of advancing an understanding of how discourse can be used to examine social and linguistic issues. Many of the contributions explore how the formation of culture and identity is shaped by national and transnational issues, such as migration, immigration, technology, and language policy. The collection contributes to a better understanding of the process of intercultural communication research, as each author takes a different theoretical or methodological approach to examining discourse. Although different aspects of discourse are analyzed in this collection, each contribution examines issues and concepts that are central to understanding and carrying out intercultural communication research (e.g., structure and agency, static and dynamic cultural constructs, sociolinguistic scales, power and discourse, othering and alienness, native and non-native). This book was originally published as a special issue of Language and Intercultural Communication.

Identity and Pragmatic Language Use

Identity and Pragmatic Language Use
Author: Yoko Nogami
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2021-03-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9781501512131

ELF (English as a lingua franca) research counters the monocentric view of English based on norms of native speakers of English, and supports any usages reflecting sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic reality of ELF communication. Such an approach empowers any speakers of English to contemplate their own varieties of English as legitimate, providing them greater options for positive self-identification. Based on qualitative and interpretive methodology, this book illustrates how Japanese L2 English users establish identities related to L2 English as part of their multiple identities, and how they explore new identity options through ELF. Moreover, the author demonstrates how power relations relating to English language are constructed through the participants' experiences in ELF interactions. Also, analysis of the data reveals that to what degree the Japanese L2 English users wish to affiliate with particular groups in ELF interactions with people from diverse cultural background. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the study, this book will appeal to a broad audience such as scholars and students who are interested in further understanding of identity and sociocultural issues involved in intercultural communication.

Interactions Across Englishes

Interactions Across Englishes
Author: Christiane Meierkord
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2012-04-26
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0521192285

The global spread of English has resulted in contact with an enormous variety of different languages worldwide, leading to the creation of many new varieties of English. This book takes an original look at what happens when speakers of these different varieties interact with one another.

The Oxford Handbook of Multicultural Identity

The Oxford Handbook of Multicultural Identity
Author: Veronica Benet-Martinez
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2015-08-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0199796750

Multiculturalism is a prevalent worldwide societal phenomenon. Aspects of our modern life, such as migration, economic globalization, multicultural policies, and cross-border travel and communication have made intercultural contacts inevitable. High numbers of multicultural individuals (23-43% of the population by some estimates) can be found in many nations where migration has been strong (e.g., Australia, U.S., Western Europe, Singapore) or where there is a history of colonization (e.g., Hong Kong). Many multicultural individuals are also ethnic and cultural minorities who are descendants of immigrants, majority individuals with extensive multicultural experiences, or people with culturally mixed families; all people for whom identification and/or involvement with multiple cultures is the norm. Despite the prevalence of multicultural identity and experiences, until the publication of this volume, there has not yet been a comprehensive review of scholarly research on the psychological underpinning of multiculturalism. The Oxford Handbook of Multicultural Identity fills this void. It reviews cutting-edge empirical and theoretical work on the psychology of multicultural identities and experiences. As a whole, the volume addresses some important basic issues, such as measurement of multicultural identity, links between multilingualism and multiculturalism, the social psychology of multiculturalism and globalization, as well as applied issues such as multiculturalism in counseling, education, policy, marketing and organizational science, to mention a few. This handbook will be useful for students, researchers, and teachers in cultural, social, personality, developmental, acculturation, and ethnic psychology. It can also be used as a source book in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on identity and multiculturalism, and a reference for applied psychologists and researchers in the domains of education, management, and marketing.