Oxford university press is a department of the university of oxford. Richard nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and english at georgia southern university and the author of several. Lingua franca in nigeria nnamdi azikiwe university digital. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the problems hindering the effective use of english as a lingua franca in nigeria. Prior to then, education was done informally, as children were taught tradition, culture, history, and the likes by their parents who were in turn taught by their own parents. Thats all about the history of english language in nigeria, now lets check it main 10 uses. Lingua franca definition and meaning collins english. Elf interaction can include native english speakers, but in most cases, it is a contact language between people who share neither a common native tongue.
English as a lingua franca elt journal oxford academic. So english as a lingua franca is a name given to the language in its. Amuseghan 2007 summed up the place of english language that for most learners, english is a second language. Free essays on advantages and disadvantages of english as. I support this argument by making a distinction between languages for communication and languages for identification. Nigerians are too tribalistic to adapt a specific language for country wide communication, but i suppose using a nearly extinct one could work. Elf interaction can include native english speakers, but in most cases, it is a contact language between people who. The prime focus nowadays should be on new words appearance in south african. Elfa english as a lingua franca in the academia investigates english as it is currently used by speakers with different mother tongues. The objective of this bachelor thesis is to study english as a lingua franca, namely its. How to teach english as a lingua franca elf british council.
English might be the official language, but in a country with well over 250 other local languages, pidgin was developed to aid communication among people from different parts of the country, as well as between locals and europeans. English is the current lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation. We would have to invent the language we are supposed to. English as a lingua franca in academic settings university. Media caption akwasi sarpong from ghana and didi akinyelure from nigeria. For example, as much as swahili is a lingua franca in the whole of kenya, tanzania, rwanda, the democratic republic of congo, burundi, the east of uganda and some parts of zambia too. It has replaced french as the lingua franca of diplomacy since world war ii. There is no one lingua franca, which is why the person who asked the question wisely put the phrase lingua francas in the plural. Pdf world englishes, english as a lingua franca, and. Simply put, pidgin english is a mixture of english and local. The current lingua franca of international business is english. We would have to invent the language we are supposed to teach. Pdf english as a lingua franca used at international meetings. Preamble very languages on the globe is found going.
The above quotation epitomizes the central argument of this study, the thrust of which is to explore the imperatives ofnational language policy or lingua franca as an integrative mechanism in a plural and deeply divided society like nigeria 1. It is distinguished from other creole languages since most speakers are not true native speakers although many children learn it at an early age. English as a lingua franca, since the current surge of research activity is expanding our understanding of elf in useits processes, practices, and linguistic features. Barbara seidlhofer, english as a lingua fra nca, elt journal, volume 59, issue 4, october 2005, pages 339341. Katy simpson davies and laura patsko will deliver a british council seminar in glasgow on 26 november 20 on teaching pronunciation and listening in an elf context english as a lingua franca. Today, english is a common lingua franca across the globe. The integrated, almost borderless europe triggers mobility. Latin and koine greek were the lingua francas of the roman empire and the hellenistic culture.
Elf is also defined functionally by its use in intercultural communication rather than formally by its reference to nativespeaker norms whereas english as a second or foreign language aims at meeting native speaker norms and gives prominence to. Lingua franca english of south africa sciencedirect. A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a first language, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both speakers first languages. English has emerged as a global lingua franca only in the second half of the. In other parts of the world too lingua francas have been or are now used by millions of people. Nov 20, 2018 pidgin english is the lingua franca in nigeria, where more than 300 languages are spoken, according to francesco goglia, a researcher at the university of manchester. Prince charles speaks pidgin english and nigerians seem to. The historical lingua franca was not a mother tongue. So english as a lingua franca is a name given to the language in its worldwide function. A lingua franca is a language or way of communicating which is used between people who do. Some have argued that the research on we envisages the varieties of english in the outer circle contexts, such as the varieties of english spoken in singapore, nigeria, and india, and that people have used those varieties of english to exhibit their own identities kachru, 1992. Kachru also believed that acknowledging a variety of norms would not lead to a lack of intelligibility among different users of english and in a way, widdowson 1994 supported kachru. English as a lingua franca apples journal of applied language.
English as lingua franca, identity, phraseology, nativeculturefree code. English as a lingua franca in intercultural communication 185 these situations english is used as a lingua franca, with speakers who intend to comprehend each other as precisely as possible. New zealand nigerian pakistani philippine san andres providencia scottish. Dec 11, 2003 in this paper i argue against the widespread assumption that the english language in its role as lingua franca is a serious threat to national languages and to multilingualism. Below you will find more information about a phenomenon that bears on language, culture, commerce, and diplomacy. Masaryk university english as a lingua franca used at.
Two or three years ago, i started asking newcomers to my seminars about their experience with elf. It explores the practices, regularities, and patterns of english as a lingua franca elf as it appears in natural use by expert users in university settings. Although you cant get by on just english in all countries. Pragmatics as a field of study predates the emergence of the notions of global englishes, english as an international language, and english as a lingua franca and was very much a product of the ideas that informed the communicative language teaching movement of the 1970s and early 1980s, and in particular the importance. Research into english as a lingua franca has been slower to take off, despite pioneering work by a. Katy simpson davies and laura patsko will deliver a british council seminar in glasgow on 26 november 20 on teaching pronunciation and listening in an elf context english as a lingua fra nca. The uses of english internationally are not just related to the expanding circle, but also it includes. Analysis of the history, evolution of english and its impact on other languages leads us to sketch out a prospective future of it as a global lingua franca.
Bulletin of the transilvania university of bra sov series iv. World englishes, english as a lingua franca and teacher education world englishes debate lead to related issues such as english as a lingua franca and teaching world englishes and teacher education. Lingua franca english that is predominantly used by nonnative speakers, is sociolinguistic reality and must be the subject of linguistic research. English, she says, has served as a lingua franca in the past, and continues to do so nowadays, in many of the countries that were colonized by the british from the late sixteenth century on often known collectively as the outer circle following kachru 1985, such as india and singapore. Lingua franca simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. At the same time, this new and incipient research gives rise to new questions, and inspires further explorations into the complex. English, says nicholas ostler, is a textbook example of a language with a large mother tongue community that is also widely used as a lingua franca the last lingua franca. The rise of english in diplomacy began in 1919, after world war i, when the treaty of versailles was written in english as well as in french.
Concepts, use, and implications article pdf available in elt journal 661. This, however, implies that elf should be taught to ensure better understanding both in nonnative. Akkadian died out during classical antiquity and then aramaic remained the common languages of a large part of western asia from several earlier empires the hindustani language hindiurdu is the lingua franca of pakistan and northern india. This leads to communicative inequality phillipson 2003. But it was a different kind of lingua franca, less plebeian by far than koine, and less regnant than latin. English as a lingua franca elf is the use of the english language as a common means of. Keywordsenglish, global lingua franca, history, evolution, simultaneous. Teachers are helping students to use english as a lingua franca. How to teach english as a lingua franca elf british. Lingua franca definition of lingua franca by merriamwebster. It furthers the universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.
While not overlooking the evils and injustices of colonialism and conquerors, one thing they left behind was a large. Pidgin is an english based creole language and nigeria s real lingua franca. Swahili happens to be the lingua franca in a number of countries in africa where it serves as on in a country but also as a lingua franca for a number of countries. India, nigeria, bangladesh, pakistan, the philippines and many others. This, we believe, will mean coming to terms with the kinds of language forms and skills involved in the use of european elf english as a lingua franca, and a corresponding move away from. A medium of communication between peoples of different languages. Pidgin is an englishbased creole language and nigerias real lingua franca. Prescriptivists generally nonlinguists tend to dismiss elf as a kind of foreigner talk or what has been disparagingly called bsebad. Pdf the paper deals with the use of english as a lingua franca.
Hegemony, english, global, dominance, resistance, nigerian. The thesis deals with the use of english as a lingua franca. At its simplest, elf is a way of referring to communication in english between speakers who have different first languages. The study of english regional and social dialectology in postapartheid south africa if of special interest due to changing language norms in a desegregating society. Although most contemporary linguists regard english as a lingua franca elf as a valuable means of international communication and worthwhile object of study, some have challenged its value and the idea that elf is a distinct variety of english at all. The present status of the english language in nigeria is one identified by many, as a lingua franca. Nigeria as a country has different cultures and ethnic groups. If the nigeria pidgin english would be considered as a lingua franca, it would require major. At the same time english as a lingua franca elf is a research field some.
A lingua franca pronounced lingwa franka is a language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication by people whose native languages are different. Examples of lingua francas are numerous, and exist on every continent. In terms and also an aspect of communication, english language is used worldwide. Mothertongue interference on english language pronunciation. French, greek, portuguese and latin have all been major lingua franca at some point in history. Doc effect of choosing common lingua franca in nigeria. English might be the official language, but in a country with well over 250 other local languages, pidgin was developed to aid communication among people from different parts of the country. To schwarz, therefore, english is the language of integration in nigeria. A number of factors militate against the use of this language in different parts of the country.
Effect of choosing common lingua franca in nigeria by salaudeen ali. History and importance of english language in nigeria. Doc effect of choosing common lingua franca in nigeria by. English as a lingua franca a native culturefree code. Now you can navigate through and manipulate 3d models in pdf documents. British linguist jennifer jenkins points out that elf is not a new phenomenon. This local role of elf is seen in nigerian english for example, where english being.
Nigerian pidgin is an english based pidgin and creole language spoken as a lingua franca across nigeria. A lingua franca is a language that is used widely outside the country where it is spoken as a native language. May 19, 2018 simply because we were colonized by the brits. The english language has become this lingua franca, as about 1,5 billion people speak english today. Mothertongue interference on english language pronunciation of senior primary school pupils in nigeria. The status of english language in nigeria library gurus.
Keywords english, global lingua franca, history, evolution, simultaneous. English as a lingua franca elf is the use of the english language as a common means of communication for speakers of different first languages. Today when we find a language which is commonly used by people whose native languages are different, we describe it as a lingua franca. Jul 15, 2017 nigerian pidgin is an english based pidgin and creole language spoken as a lingua franca across nigeria. As a result, english is the language spoken in nigeria during the britishs colonization of the country.
In addition, some fraction of the population is made up of other languages that are nevertheless able to speak at least one of the major languages as an additional. As far as their english lessons at school were concerned, none of them. The above quotation epitomizes the central argument of this study, the thrust of which is to explore the imperatives ofnational language policy or lingua franca as an integrative mechanism in a plural and deeply divided society like nigeria 1 this becomes necessary in the sense that language is widely recognized to be an important theme of symbolic policymaking, and a potential instrument. The use of lingua francas has existed since antiquity. To switch to any nigerian language is almost an impossible switch, there are diverse languages in nigeria. Now, there are many tribes and the cultural differences make it hard for nigeria to unite as a country and for the people to communication. Lingua franca definition and meaning collins english dictionary. In nigeria, english has become one of the languages available for use, and it is its communication potential which makes people decide to use english. This confirms the entrenchment of english as a dominant language of nigeria oluwole, 2008. The christian missionaries who came from great britain introduced formal western education to nigeria, just before the middle of the 19 th century. However, he did not mention that what he said might also be relevant to english as a lingua franca and the use of english in the expanding circle.
English language dominance and the fate of indigenous. Nigeria the british ruled nigeria before they became independent. Lingua franca definition of lingua franca by the free. Lingua franca in nigeria nnamdi azikiwe university. English language as a lingua franca english language essay.
According to some estimates, almost 80 percent of english speakers in the world are nonnative speakers. The status of english in nigeria and the world nicom iplan. Implications for pedagogy 283 the population of the country. Lingua francas of the world 661 the use of this particular form of french eventually died out, but not before having left its own name as its heritage for languages which are used in a similar fashion. English today is, no doubt, a lingua franca in the sense of unescos broad definition, but it is at the same time a native language of a substantial subset of participants in the communication that is expressed in it. For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription. World englishes, english as an international language and. World englishes, english as a lingua franca, and english pedagogy. Mauranen and others published english as a global lingua franca. English as a lingua franca elf does not comprise a variety but, rather, entails the use of english among speakers of different first languages for whom english is the communicative medium of. Teachers are helping students to use english as a lingua fra nca. A literary lingua franca, less widely known than its forerunner.
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