Perspectives on English as a lingua franca

The following contribution is a joint article by the above authors, which summarizes the results of a workshop on English as a lingua franca at the 13th annual IAWE conference. The authors critically examine the Kachruvian terminology and present five complementary perspectives on the use of English as a lingua franca.The Lingua Franca Movement has not only adopted the construct lingua franca, but has also redefined it. In doing so, the formal properties of a variety of a language, in this case Lingua Franca English (LFE), and its communicative function are both denoted by the term. However, this act of naming has initiated considerable discussion not only about the canonical meaning of lingua franca as a linguistic concept, but in addition has invited scrutiny of the assumptions and theoretical underpinnings of LFE research. This paper extends such scrutiny of the relationship of LFE to English in Europe and the adequacy of “lingua franca” to represent the sociolinguistic realities of World Englishes.