The Linguistics Journal September 2009 Special Edition Language

The Linguistics Journal – September 2009
ELF can be defined simply as “a way of referring to communication in English between speakers with
different first languages” (Seidlhofer, 2005: 339). While lingua franca communication has not
traditionally included native speakers, it must be recognised that native English speakers (NES) are also
part of the global use of English. This has resulted in a wider definition of ELF in which native speakers
are included; yet crucially the norms of ELF communication are not driven by NES norms, whether
lexical, grammatical, phonological or cultural (Baker, 2008b; Cogo and Dewey, 2006; Deterding and
Kirkpatrick, 2006; Jenkins, 2000; 2006; 2007; Seidlhofer, 2004). A reformulated definition of ELF has
been offered as communication in English between participants who have different ‘linguacultures’
(Jenkins, 2006: 164), whether categorised as NES, or second/foreign language users. The inclusion of the
term ‘linguacultures’ is also useful in highlighting the language-culture connection and the importance of
different languages and cultures in communication. This conception of ELF, thus, recognises the
plurality of forms of English and the power of the majority of non-NES users. In so doing ELF, in
definition at least, is removed from exocentric ‘monolithic’ language and communication norms
associated with ‘native speaker’ English.
Turning to Asia, English is now commonly described as the lingua franca of the region
(McArthur, 2003; Kachru, 2005; Kirkpatrick, 2007; Tsui and Tollefson, 2007). While Asia contains
other widely distributed languages such as Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, and Arabic, which have a worldwide
usage, they are mainly used within concentrated geographical areas and are not used on a pan-Asian
scale in the same way as English. Furthermore, as McArthur notes, speakers of these languages also
learn and use English as a language for international communication alongside these languages (2003:
20). Thus, the scale of English use in Asia is immense. Although the numbers are hard to predict
accurately, rough estimates of English users in India and China have been put at around half a billion
making them the largest ‘consumers’ of the language in the world (Kachru, 2005: 14; Kirkpatrick, 2003;
McArthur, 2003: 22). This leads McArthur to propose that while the centre of native speaking English
may be the North Atlantic countries, the centre of English as a second language is South and East Asia.
Furthermore, English has been used in parts of Asia such as India, Singapore and the Philippines for
almost 200 years, which compares well with Australia and New Zealand in terms of historical
penetration (Kachru, 1998: 91). Kachru (2005) has adapted his model of the three concentric circles of
English to Asia. The inner circle, norm providing countries include Australia and New Zealand; the
outer circle, norm developing countries include India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore; and
The Linguistics Journal – Special Edition Page 10