Abstract This paper draws on the perception of English as a lingua franca (ELF) as an activity, rather than a variety, whereby speakers of different lingua-cultural backgrounds respond to the needs of the immediate communicative environment. Such dynamic and context-related nature of ELF involves collaboration and accommodative behaviour of all interlocutors. As the main focus of research on ELF has been interaction predominantly among non-native speakers of English, the present study investigates how native English speakers behave in ELF interaction, that is, whether/how they accommodate their English and what their stance is towards linguistic accommodation. Responses were collected by means of an online questionnaire, yielding 377 respondents in total, who report making adjustments when communicating with non-native speakers, most frequently by enunciating clearly, using fewer idioms and speaking more slowly. The main reasons native speakers give for adjusting their language are promoting mutual intelligibility, showing courtesy and helping the interlocutor hone their English language skills. A fifth of the respondents, however, worry that accommodation might prevent the improvement of non-native speakers’ English proficiency, be perceived as being patronising, and reduce the quality of conversation.

中文翻译：

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交流是礼貌还是谦虚？以英语为母语的人或非母语人士的语言适应

摘要本文利用英语作为一种活动而不是一种多样化的活动来理解英语，因此，具有不同语言文化背景的说话者会响应即时交际环境的需求。ELF的这种动态和与上下文相关的性质涉及所有对话者的协作和适应行为。由于ELF研究的主要重点是非英语母语人士之间的互动，因此本研究调查了以英语为母语的人在ELF互动中的行为，即他们是否/如何适应英语以及他们对语言的态度。住宿。通过在线问卷调查收集了反馈，共有377名受访者表示与非母语人士沟通时进行了调整，最常见的方式是清楚地讲出字词，减少习语，然后说慢些。母语为母语的人提供的调整语言的主要原因是，促进彼此之间的清晰度，表现出礼貌并帮助对话者提高他们的英语水平。然而，五分之一的受访者担心，住宿可能会阻止非母语人士的英语水平提高，被认为是光顾的，并且会降低对话质量。