Marie-Luise Pitzl

ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN EUROPE: CHALLENGES FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS

The omnipresence of English in Europe has led to numerous discussions about its widespread functions and special status compared to all other European languages. Yet, many of these discussions conceive of Europe as a group of nation states where English is either a first or a foreign language. This chapter seeks to question this well-established distinction by investigating what is in fact the most common use of English in Europe, namely English as a lingua franca (ELF). The chapter suggests a different way of conceptualizing the language in European contexts and provides an updated overview of empirical research into its lingua franca use. Examples of a particular approach to ELF research are provided in the form of two case studies focussing on different aspects of ELF interactions. These studies demonstrate how users of ELF exploit the possibilities intrinsic in the language to achieve their own communicative purposes. Finally, the chapter highlights some future directions for linguistic research and addresses the challenges that the emergence of ELF poses for various areas of applied linguistics.

Creativity meets convention: idiom variation and remetaphorization in ELF

Abstract This article discusses creativity in English as a lingua franca (ELF) and its link to a phenomenon of conventional language use, namely the use of idioms. Reviewing a number of approaches to creativity in linguistics, it attempts to address some of the salient and recurring issues that different conceptualizations have in common, such as the importance of norms and conventions for the occurrence of creativity. It proposes a two-fold distinction between norm-following and norm-developing creativity that relates to the synchronic-diachronic dimension of language variation and change, and it suggests that such a conceptualization of creativity may be particularly relevant for ELF. Referring to general findings of previous ELF research, the article builds on the assumption that ELF is generally effective in communication, in spite of the considerable variability in linguistic forms it exhibits, and proposes that creativity might serve as a fundamental concept in accounting for the variability and situational adaptability that seems to be central to ELF. Using this conceptualization as a basis, the article reports on the findings of an extensive qualitative corpus linguistic study on the variation of idioms in spoken ELF. It provides a short overview of formal characteristics of creative idioms, points out dimensions of metaphorical creativity and illustrates the range of discourse functions of creative idioms and metaphors in the Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE). Exploring the general tension between creativity and convention in language use, the article stresses the importance of the intrinsic (diachronic) link between two seemingly distinct (synchronic) categories, i.e. conventional idioms and creative metaphors, and suggests that this link is paramount to the intelligibility and functionality of variable idiom use in ELF. It suggests that processes like idiomatizing and re-metaphorization take precedence over distinct categories like idiom and metaphor in the context of ELF research.

Understanding and misunderstanding in the Common European Framework of Reference: what we can learn from research on BELF and Intercultural Communication

Abstract Building on descriptive findings and theoretical insights from research on Intercultural Communication (IC) and English as a lingua franca (ELF), with a special emphasis on research in business contexts (i.e., BELF), this article examines how understanding and instances of miscommunication such as misunderstanding or breakdown are represented and discursively constructed in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2001). Using corpus linguistic methods, the analysis shows how the intercultural and linguistically diverse nature of interactions is portrayed as leading to – and being responsible for – the occurrence of misunderstanding in the CEFR. The observed patterns are equivalent to “analytic stereotyping” (Sarangi 1994: 409) of intercultural communication criticized by scholars already twenty years ago. The present paper argues that the deficit portrait of intercultural communication in the CEFR may be based on a number of implicit logical fallacies, such as the idealized notion that L1 communication is perfect and devoid of miscommunication. It is suggested that (E)LT discourse and language teaching practice would benefit from abandoning these essentialist concepts in favor of a more realistic approach to understanding as a jointly negotiated and interactional process as is proposed by many (B)ELF and IC researchers.

English as a Lingua Franca: Perspectives and Prospects: Contributions in Honour of Barbara Seidlhofer

The recent book edited by Marie-Luise Pitzl and Ruth Osimk-Teasdale, aims at identifying the nexuses between ELF (English as a lingua franca) and related fields. It is organized around two main sections, i.e. Perspectives on the study of ELF and The study of ELF in a wider context under which there exist three sub-sections that focus primarily on the ELF’s relationship with domains like sociolinguistics, multilingualism, policy and pedagogy.

Creativity in English as a Lingua Franca: Idiom and Metaphor

In this volume, Marie-Luise Pitzl offers an insightful analysis of the notion of creativity in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), focusing in particular on the exploration and description of idioms and metaphors from an ELF perspective, that is, from a standpoint where these phenomena are no longer restricted or limited to a nativelike use of language. The author states that ELF is “a language use in its own right, i.e. a language use that is subject to and indicative of sociolinguistic variation just like any other language use outside the classroom” (3); for this reason, ELF has to be considered as a “natural linguistic development” (5) of a global language use where the ‘native speaker’ is no longer the reference point for what is appropriate or desirable. Moreover, as in any other spoken language use, perfect communication does not exist and successful communication also includes miscommunication, creativity and variation. From this point of view, Pitzl aims at investigating creativity in ELF, analysing how idioms and metaphors are linguistically created in ELF interactions and which functions they perform in these contexts. In Chapter 1, “English as a lingua franca: why creativity?,” the author emphasises her perspective on English and English as a Lingua Franca. She provides a visual label, an asterisk, before the word ‘English’ to highlight how this notion is no longer a homogeneous entity, but instead an umbrella term that refers to different and manifold realities. As a consequence of this assumption, the label ‘native speaker’ as traditionally conceived no longer stands, since on the one hand there is no longer a fixed and precise language of reference and, on the other hand, ELF speakers are multilingual and this changes the perspective on the reference model to be adopted. Furthermore, Pitzl suggests using the notion of ‘Transient International Group’ (TIG) when speaking of participants in ELF conversations, because it comprises the temporary nature of ELF communities. She defines TIGs as “groups comprised of multilingual ELF users who interact for a particular purpose at a particular

Transient international groups (TIGs): exploring the group and development dimension of ELF

Abstract In the past years, it has become generally accepted that the social dynamics of ELF cannot be captured by the notion of a speech community. Instead, the concept Community of Practice (CoP) has gained widespread currency in ELF research. While applications of the CoP framework have given rise to valuable insights, even ELF scholars who work with the concept often acknowledge its limitations. Since factors like situationality and ad hoc negotiation are seen as particularly important in ELF interactions, many ELF researchers have recently emphasized the transient and dynamic nature of the social clusters in which ELF communication typically takes place, especially in light of the multilingualism and language contact. This paper offers a first sketch of how the social dimension of ELF might on many occasions be conceptualized as involving Transient International Groups (TIGs) rather than more stable CoPs. Building on the idea that the Individual Multilingual Repertoires (IMRs) of ELF speakers make up a Multilingual Resource Pool (MRP) in each ELF interaction, the paper argues that ELF theory-building and descriptive work would benefit from exploring the group and the development dimension of ELF more thoroughly than has been done so far. In support, the paper provides a qualitative case study of a TIG in the leisure domain of VOICE. This case study illustrates how an in-depth micro-diachronic analysis of multilingual practices and instances of explicit reference to languages, countries, places, etc., can make visible the group’s development of shared translingual and transcultural territory.