Málfríður - 15.10.2011, Blaðsíða 20

1. Introduction
The debate on whether English has or should become
a ‘world language’ has seen much controversy and
experts have highlighted the various implications
of the preference for the use of a single language as
a Lingua Franca, at the international level (Jenkins,
2003; Crystal, 1987;Van Parijis, 2007; Kankaanranta,
2007). The English language has for centuries been
the symbol of a conquering empire. Jenkins outlines
the “legacy of colonialism” and the historical fear that
the ‘en masse’ introduction of English could be seen
as a threat to indigenous languages (World Englishes
p. 50). However, this pandemic view of English as a
Lingua Franca (ELF) is shifting toward an idea that
English could shed its past ascendancy, and become
a tool for global communication, between non-native
speakers. Various experts have concluded that despite
everything English is, de facto, becoming the Lingua
Franca of the modern world (Seidlhofer, Breiteneder,
and Pitzl 2006; Jenkins, 2003).
2. English as a Lingua Franca in the
Business World
Employees of many international companies and
organisations are expected to communicate in English,
despite often sharing another common native language.
Barbara Seidlhofer addressed the issue in her article
English as a Lingua Franca in Europe: Challenges for
Applied Linguistics. She noted that “the internation-
alization of the economies of European countries” has
resulted in English becoming “an integral part of the
professional lives of a growing number of Europeans”
(2006, p.3) and that a growing number of companies
have “adopted English as their company language,
no matter whether they have subsidiaries in English-
speaking countries or not” (see also Melchers & Shaw,
2003).
Numerous Icelandic companies have taken the
stance that English is to be their main language of com-
munication, regardless of the fact that these corpora-
tions are not immersed in a native English speaking
environment (Davíðsdóttir, 2006). This development
has received widespread criticism in Iceland, including
Guðrún Kvaran who in her speech “Icelandic Language
Policy in Past, Present and Future” recognised English
as “the greatest danger for the Icelandic language
today” (EFNIL conference, 2003). This “threat” to
Icelandic has been the main focus of any discussion
related to the development of English usage in Iceland
but there has been little discussion as to what effect
this newfound demand for the language has had on
Icelanders, especially within the business sector.
The business sector could therefore serve as an
appropriate microcosm for research on the nature and
use of English as a Lingua Franca, as businesses are
not only required to be culturally and socially aware,
but they are also expected to maintain a degree of flu-
ency in the ‘language currency’ of their environment.
Iceland’s population and culture is relatively homog-
enous and this could provide an opportunity to ana-
lyse the development of ELF in an environment where
there are fewer external factors that require attention.
Research on ELF is just beginning. The linguistic
and pragmatic characteristics of the use of English
as a Lingua Franca in communication amongst non-
native users is not well understood, nor is the effect of
the use of ELF on the outcomes of the speech acts in
which it is employed. In light of these developments,
my study focuses on describing the nature of ELF in
the international business world. The study is part of
a larger RANNÍS (The Icelandic Centre for Research)
funded study, researching the status of English as a
Lingua Franca in Iceland. The study is funded for three
years and aims to shed light on perception, use and
exposure, in English, of Icelanders, from kindergarten
through to the professional level.
3. The Study
The study was launched in 2010 and is ongoing. It
attempts to answer the question “is there a differ-
20 MÁLFRÍÐUR
To what extent do native and non-native speakers
believe that their English proficiency meets their daily
communication needs within the business environment?
Hulda Kristín Jónsdóttir is
a sessional Teacher (non
tenured Teacher) at the
University of Iceland. She
is currently working on her
PhD. dissertation, exploring
the status of English as a
Lingua Franca in Iceland