Culture and Identity Through English As a Lingua Franca: Rethinking Concepts and Goals in Intercultural Communication (Developments in English As a Lingua Franca)

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. The use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) on a global scale forces a reassessment of our understanding of the relationships between language, culture and identity in intercultural communication. This book outlines how we might conceive of this relationship in the fluid communicative practices of ELF, which leads to a revaluation of notions of intercultural competence and related pedagogic practices The use of English as a lingua franca on a global scale forces a reassessment of our understanding of the relationships between language, culture and identity in intercultural communication. This book outlines how we might conceive of this relationship in the fluid communicative practices of English as a lingua franca.