A Study of Expected Standards of English as a Lingua Franca for Multilingual Communities

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520552
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: English linguistics
• Research Institution: Bunkyo University
• Principal Investigator: Ikuta Yuko 文教大学, 国際学部, 教授 (50275848)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 共通語としての英語 / リンガフランカとしての英語 / 英語コミュニケーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study has investigated the expected standard of ELF (=English as a lingua franca) among non-native speakers of English. A survey was conducted among proficient Japanese ELF speakers who work for international organizations. The result shows that the tendency of IC (= Inner Circle) as a standard is prominent in their English writing, but hardly recognized in their speaking. In particular, “pronunciation with L1 identity”, is not considered as critical hindrance for communication at all, but intelligibility (clarity) and logic (logicality) of speaking are important factors not to impede their communication. They are likely to solve problems in communication by asking for repetition or clarification of utterances.

Free Research Field

英語学