Publication details
Dimensions of English as a Lingua Franca
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Acta academica karviniensia |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Linguistics |
| Keywords | lingua franca - intercultural communication - diplomatic language - academic writing - EFL - cultural awareness - socio-cultural context - genre - stance |
| Description | This paper considers some aspects of the use of English as a lingua franca in three communicative contexts, namely diplomacy, scientific interaction and teaching English as a foreign language and considers how the insights gathered may provide a model for coping with the challenges of intercultural communication in general. The paper suggests that the some of the ways for coping with the challenges of intercultural communication are a critical assessment of one's own culture and open-mindedness towards other cultural backgrounds, text interpretation based on an understanding of genre conventions and the expectations of the target discourse community, and the use of a high level of explicitness and an avoidance of culture specific idiomaticity. The author claims that the new dimensions of English as a lingua franca need not be in conflict with the concern for protecting cultural and linguistic diversity in the modern global world. |
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