We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
English in Germany as a foreign language and as a lingua franca.
- Authors
Mair, Christian
- Abstract
The massive expansion of English in Germany over the past few decades has not challenged a robustly exonormative orientation, which still by and large recognises standardised British and American English as the most authentic and prestigious representations of the language. Attitudes to the use of English in the national context are diverse, ranging from enthusiastic embracement via grudging acceptance to active resistance. This diversity of opinion reflects the fact that English is currently transitioning from a foreign language (EFL) to a lingua franca (ELF). On the national scale, ELF use is promoted in business, academia and, more generally, among young and well‐educated Germans with an international orientation, but deeply resented by sectors of society. This paper argues that English (in its lingua franca function) has become the only language other than German that has open prestige. The task ahead will be to develop strategies of intelligent multilingualism that will help to 'domesticate' English in the national sociolinguistic context.
- Subjects
GERMANY; ENGLISH language education; FOREIGN language education; LINGUA francas; SOCIOLINGUISTICS
- Publication
World Englishes, 2024, Vol 43, Issue 2, p244
- ISSN
0883-2919
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/weng.12641