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Article published In:
Thematic issue: Trends in Second Language Pragmatics Research Part I
[Applied Pragmatics 4:2] 2022
► pp. 121–136

The pragmatics of English as a lingua franca

| Universität Hamburg

In this paper I first briefly define the notion of English as a lingua franca and then give an overview of research into the pragmatics of English as a lingua franca (ELF). Investigations into the phenomenon of ELF started during the last two decades of the previous century. ELF in oral interactions was characterized by interactants’ joint, collaborative action making the discourse robust and ‘normal’ in the face of interactants’ often non-normative use of the English language. Later research focused on how ELF interactants managed to accommodate to each other, how they negotiated meanings and co-constructed utterances often employing ELF-specific pragmatic markers. Researchers also investigated how ELF users turn to pragmatic transfer and code-switching whenever it is necessary to plug competence gaps arising in their use of English. Finally, I list several critical points of ELF research and make a few suggestions for the future of ELF research.

Keywords: English as a lingua franca, pragmatics, discourse, interaction
Article outline
  • 1.English as a lingua franca
  • 2.Early work on the pragmatics of ELF
  • 3.More recent work on the pragmatics of ELF
    • 3.1Negotiation of meaning
    • 3.2Multilingual resources
    • 3.3Interactional elements
      • 3.3.1Use of discourse markers yeah/yes/ja in ELF
      • 3.3.2The use of the discourse marker So in ELF talk
      • 3.3.3The use of the discourse marker Okay in ELF talk
      • 3.3.4Distribution of Okay in different genres
  • 4.Critical insights and future directions
  • References
Published online: 13 April 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ap.00005.hou
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