This paper argues that Dev Virahsawmy, an author who manipulates literary translation for the purposes of linguistic prestige formation and re-negotiation, is a critical language-policy practitioner, as his work fills an important gap in language planning scholarship. A micro-analysis of the translation of a Shakespearean sonnet into Mauritian…

This paper identifies several key issues that have emerged through the debate over English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), and suggests a practice-based perspective--which treats language not as a fixed system but as an emergent product of speakers' practices--as a guide for reconsidering some fundamental assumptions of the ELF research project. In…

In this study we explored variation in the countability of nouns in Outer Circle, Expanding Circle and lingua franca Englishes, a phenomenon which is frequently cited as a marker of Inner Circle norms in TESOL and of endonormative and emerging varieties in the Outer and Expanding Circles. We inspected a set of mass nouns like "information" and…

Given the rapid growth in international contacts worldwide, English is increasingly becoming the chosen medium to facilitate communication among people of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. However, the question remains as to how non-native speakers of English of varying levels of proficiency, using different varieties of English, are…

One of the objectives of English as Lingua Franca (ELF) researchers is an account of the unique features of English that they have found in the speech of European users of English. These features, it is argued, describe a variety of English which they label "English as Lingua Franca". The choice of this particular term is problematic…

This paper first briefly reviews the concept of intelligibility as it has been employed in both English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and world Englishes (WE) research. It then examines the findings of the Lingua Franca Core (LFC), a list of phonological features that empirical research has shown to be important for safeguarding mutual intelligibility…

This paper considers the problems, the properties, and the prospects of using "English as a lingua franca" as a construct and as a reality. It will therefore focus on what is meant by the term "lingua franca", what is represented as a "lingua franca", and what the debates are about English as a lingua franca. The…

This paper argues that the "world Englishes paradigm" and English as a lingua franca (ELF) research, despite important differences, have much in common. Both share the pluricentric assumption that "English" belongs to all those who use it, and both are concerned with the sociolinguistic, socio-psychological, and applied linguistic implications of…

This paper offers an examination of the role played by ideology in the research and regulation of "English within a globalized context" (EGC). It analyzes the two major paradigms in this field: that which promotes English as a single, universal code; and that which advocates the need for the acknowledgement of discrete, localized varieties. It…

This paper evaluates a range of factors that have contributed to the limited spread of English to rural Kisii, Kenya, making the presence of English in this non-urban context fall closer to an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or Expanding Circle continuum than to the expected English as a Second Language (ESL) context. Kenya is an Outer Circle…

It is not easy to look at the current momentum of the worldwide diffusion of English and imagine what the future trends will be by mid-century or even in the next two or three decades. A prudent undertaking is to review briefly the present situation and project what the coming decades hold in view of several developments that are shaping our…

This paper takes up three topics for discussion. The first is whether the Kachruvian three-circle model can accommodate the possible change of English use (e.g. native/non-native to individual proficiency, a special talent to a basic skill). The second is what transformation English would undergo if it survives as English as an international…

In 2008, the need for intra-European communication has long exceeded the limits set by language barriers. As a result, English acts extensively as a lingua franca among Europeans with different mother tongues, particularly so in the professional domains of education, business, international relations and scientific research. Yet, despite its…

This paper tests claims concerning the English as Lingua Franca (ELF) movement's position within the world Englishes paradigm. To do so, it considers the writings of Jennifer Jenkins, a leader in this movement, on what she calls "phonological intelligibility", and the writings of Larry Smith, an established scholar on intelligibility in…

The role which English maintains as a lingua franca is currently being conceptualized in differing ways. English as an international language, Euro-English, and English as a lingua franca are analyzed from two main perspectives; first, the relevance that such descriptions of English-language usage have for variety building (for mainland Europe);…