Abstract
International business communication is sometimes perceived as being culture-neutral; however, the speakers’ linguacultural repertoires may be exploited as communicative resources in English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) interactions. Indeed, plurilingual phenomena can be inscribed in a view of ELF communication that sees such practices as a potential asset in intercultural communication. Multicultural competence – which may include the exploitation and integration of other linguacultures – alongside BELF competence and business-specific knowledge is identifiable as an essential skill for successful interactions on the workplace. This paper aims at exploring the domain of internationally oriented business communication in English by analyzing naturally occurring data of workplace interactions involving non-native speakers of English. Specifically, the analysis will look at how non-English linguistic and cultural elements are incorporated in ELF talk in business contexts. The Professional Business section of the VOICE corpus will be analyzed to this purpose through a qualitative approach in order to shed light on the functions of L1 and LN (other languages) cultural and linguistic elements in BELF interactions and their role in conducting successful business transactions.
Abstract
La comunicazione internazionale in ambito lavorativo è a volte percepita come culturalmente neutrale; in realtà, i repertori linguaculturali dei parlanti possono essere efficacemente utilizzati come risorse comunicative nelle interazioni BELF. Infatti, fenomeni plurilingui possono essere ricondotti a una prospettiva della comunicazione ELF che vede queste pratiche come una potenziale risorsa nelle interazioni interculturali. La competenza multiculturale – che può includere l’utilizzo e l’integrazione di altre lingue-culture –, insieme alla competenza BELF e alla conoscenza specifica delle pratiche e generi comunicativi del business, può essere considerata un’abilità essenziale per la gestione di interazioni interculturali in ambito lavorativo. Questo contributo si pone lo scopo di esplorare l’ambito della comunicazione d’affari internazionale in lingua inglese attraverso l’analisi di un corpus di interazioni faccia a faccia sul luogo di lavoro che coinvolgono parlanti non nativi. Nello specifico, l’analisi investigherà come elementi linguistici e culturali non pertinenti alla lingua inglese vengano incorporati nella comunicazione BELF. La sezione di Professional Business del corpus VOICE sarà analizzata a questo scopo mediante un approccio qualitativo volto a fare luce sulle funzioni di elementi linguistici e culturali L1 e LN nelle interazioni BELF e il loro ruolo nella conduzione efficace di transazioni d’affari.
About the author
Valeria Franceschi completed her PhD in English studies at the University of Verona in 2014. Her dissertation focused on code-switching in written ELF in relation to online fan practices, namely fan fiction. In addition to ELF, her research areas of interest include digital communication, idiomaticity and phraseology. She has recently developed an interest in discourse analysis in the media.
Appendix: VOICE transcriptions conventions (VOICE Project 2007)
Note: not all markup elements in the corpus are reported in the paper.
- <L1dut>
Tag signaling that a word is produced in the speaker’s L1. The language is specified.
- <LNspa>
Tag signaling that a word is produced in an LN. The language is specified.
- ?
rising intonation
- e:r
lengthened sound
- (.)
brief pause
- (1)
longer pause, timed in seconds
- <pvc>
Variation from native norms in terms of phonology, morphology or lexis. May indicate creations that do not exist in ENL.
- @
laughter
- <1>words</1>
overlapping speech
- (regular)
uncertain transcription
- <un>xxx</un>
unintelligible speech
- {words}
translation of non-English speech and contextual events
- CAPS
emphasis of a syllable or a word
- =
continuation/completion of speech by another speaker without pauses
- .
follows words pronounced with a falling intonation
- <soft>words</soft>
soft voice
- [org23]
anonymization of organization names
- te-
The hyphen indicates that a word is not produced in its entirety.
References
Bargiela-Chiappini, Francesca (ed.). 2009. The handbook of business discourse. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.10.1515/9780748631834Search in Google Scholar
Berthoud, Anne-Claude, François Grin & Georges Lüdi (eds.). 2013. Exploring the dynamics of multilingualism. The DYLAN project. Amsterdam: Benjamins.10.1075/mdm.2Search in Google Scholar
Breiteneder, Angelika, Marie-Luise Pitzl, Stefan Majewski & Theresa Klimpfinger. 2006. VOICE recording – methodological challenges in the compilation of a corpus of spoken ELF. Nordic Journal of English Studies 5(2). 161–188.10.35360/njes.16Search in Google Scholar
Cogo, Alessia & Martin Dewey. 2006. Efficiency in ELF communication: from pragmatic motives to lexico-grammatical innovation. Nordic Journal of English Studies 5(2). 59–93.10.35360/njes.12Search in Google Scholar
Cogo, Alessia. 2009. Accommodating difference in ELF conversations: A study of pragmatic strategies. In Anna Mauranen & Elina Ranta (eds.), English as a lingua franca: Studies and findings, 254–273. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Search in Google Scholar
Cogo, Alessia. 2010. Strategic use and perceptions of English as a lingua franca. Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 46(3). 295–312.10.2478/v10010-010-0013-7Search in Google Scholar
Cogo, Alessia. 2012. ELF and superdiversity. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 1(2). 287–313.10.1515/jelf-2012-0020Search in Google Scholar
Cogo, Alessia. 2016. “They all take the risk and make the effort”: Intercultural accommodation and multilingualism in a BELF community of practice. In Lucilla Lopriore & Enrico Grazzi (eds.), Intercultural communication: New perspectives from ELF, 365–383. Rome: Roma Tre-Press.Search in Google Scholar
Cook, Vivian (ed.). 2002. Portraits of the L2 user. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781853595851Search in Google Scholar
Cook, Vivian. 2002. Background to the L2 user. In Vivian Cook (ed.), Portraits of the L2 user, 1–31. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781853595851Search in Google Scholar
Council of Europe. 2001. Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_EN.pdf (accessed 15 December 2016).Search in Google Scholar
Creese, Angela & Adrian Blackledge. 2010. Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? The Modern Language Journal 94(1). 103–115.10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00986.xSearch in Google Scholar
Creese, Angela & Adrian Blackledge. 2015. Translanguaging and identity in educational settings. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35. 20–35.10.1017/S0267190514000233Search in Google Scholar
Ehrenreich, S. 2009. English as a lingua franca in multinational corporations – Exploring business Communities of Practice. In Anna Mauranen & Elina Ranta (eds.), English as a lingua franca: Studies and findings, 126–151. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Search in Google Scholar
Ehrenreich, Susanne. 2010. English as a business lingua franca in a German multinational corporation. Journal of Business Communication 47(4). 408–431.10.1177/0021943610377303Search in Google Scholar
García, Ofelia. 2009. Bilingual education in the 21st century. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar
García, Ofelia & Li Wei. 2014. Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1057/9781137385765Search in Google Scholar
Gerritsen, Marinel & Catherine Nickerson. 2009. BELF: Business English as a lingua franca. In Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini (ed.), The handbook of business discourse, 180–192. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.10.1515/9780748631834-021Search in Google Scholar
Galloway, Nicola & Heath Rose. 2015. Introducing global Englishes. Abingdon: Routledge.10.4324/9781315734347Search in Google Scholar
Heller, Monica. 1999. Linguistic minorities and modernity: A sociolinguistic ethnography. London: Longman.Search in Google Scholar
Gumperz, John J. 1982. Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511611834Search in Google Scholar
House, Juliane. 2013. Developing pragmatic competence in English as a lingua franca: Using discourse markers to express (inter)subjectivity and connectivity. Journal of Pragmatics 59. 57–67.10.1016/j.pragma.2013.03.001Search in Google Scholar
Hülmbauer, Cornelia. 2009. “We don’t take the right way. We just take the way that we think you will understand” – The shifting relationship between correctness and effectiveness in ELF. In Anna Mauranen & Elina Ranta (eds.), English as a lingua franca: Studies and findings, 323–347. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.Search in Google Scholar
Hülmbauer, Cornelia & Barbara Seidlhofer. 2013. English as a lingua franca in European multilingualism. In Anne-Claude Berthoud, François Grin & Georges Lüdi (eds.). Exploring the dynamics of multilingualism. The DYLAN project, 387–406. Amsterdam: Benjamins.10.1075/mdm.2.18hulSearch in Google Scholar
Jenkins, Jennifer. 2015. Repositioning multilingualism in English as a lingua franca. English in Practice 2(3). 49–85.10.1515/eip-2015-0003Search in Google Scholar
Jørgensen, J. Normann. 2008. Polylingual languaging around and among children and adolescents. International Journal of Multilingualism 5(3). 161–176.10.1080/14790710802387562Search in Google Scholar
Kangasharju, Helena & Tuija Nikko. 2009. Emotions in Organizations. Joint Laughter in Workplace Meetings. Journal of Business Communication 46(1). 100–11910.1177/0021943608325750Search in Google Scholar
Kankaanranta, Anne & Brigitte Planken. 2010. BELF competence as business knowledge of internationally operating business professionals. Journal of Business Communication 47(3). 380–407.10.1177/0021943610377301Search in Google Scholar
Kankaanranta, Anne & Leena Louhiala-Salminen. 2010. English? – Oh, it’s just work!: A study of BELF users’ perceptions. English for Specific Purposes 29. 204–209.10.1016/j.esp.2009.06.004Search in Google Scholar
Kankaanranta, Anne & Leena Louhiala-Salminen. 2013. “What language does global business speak?” – The concept and development of BELF. Ibérica 16. 17–34.Search in Google Scholar
Kaur, Jagdish. 2009. Pre-empting problems of understanding in English as a lingua franca. In Anna Mauranen & Elina Ranta (eds.), English as a lingua franca: Studies and findings, 107–123. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.Search in Google Scholar
Klimpfinger, Theresa. 2007. “Mind you sometimes you have to mix” – The role of code-switching in English as a lingua franca. Vienna English Working Papers 16(2). 36–61. https://anglistik.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/dep_anglist/weitere_Uploads/Views/Views_0702.pdf (accessed 15 December 2016)Search in Google Scholar
Klimpfinger, Theresa. 2009. “She’s mixing the two languages together” – forms and functions of code switching in English as a lingua franca. In Anna Mauranen & Elina Ranta (eds.), English as a lingua franca: Studies and findings, 348–371. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.Search in Google Scholar
Knapp, Karlfried & Christiane Meierkord (eds.). 2002. Lingua franca communication. Frankfurt/Main: Lang.10.3726/978-3-653-04730-1Search in Google Scholar
Li Wei. 2015. New Chinglish and the Post-Multilingualism challenge: Translanguaging ELF in China. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 5(1). 1–25.10.1515/jelf-2016-0001Search in Google Scholar
Lopriore, Lucilla & Enrico Grazzi (eds.). 2016. Intercultural communication: New perspectives from ELF. Rome: Roma Tre-Press.Search in Google Scholar
Louhiala-Salminen, Leena, Mirjaliisa Charles & Anne Kankaanranta. 2005. English as a lingua franca in Nordic corporate mergers: Two case companies. English for Specific Purposes 24(4). 401–421.10.1016/j.esp.2005.02.003Search in Google Scholar
Louhiala-Salminen, Leena & Mirjaliisa Charles. 2006. English as the lingua franca of international business communication: Whose English? What English? In Juan Carlos Palmer-Silveira, Miguel F. Ruiz-Garrido & Immaculada Fortanet-Gomez (eds.), Intercultural and International Business Communication, 27–54. Bern: Peter Lang,Search in Google Scholar
Louhiala-Salminen, Leena & Anne Kankaanranta. 2011. Professional communication in a global business context: The notion of global communicative competence. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 54(3). 244–262.10.1109/TPC.2011.2161844Search in Google Scholar
Louhiala-Salminen, Leena & Anne Kankaanranta. 2012. Language as an issue in international internal communication: English or local language? If English, what English? Public Relations Review 38(2). 262–269.10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.12.021Search in Google Scholar
Mauranen, Anna. 2006. Signaling and preventing misunderstanding in ELF communication. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 177. 123–150.10.1515/IJSL.2006.008Search in Google Scholar
Mauranen, Anna. 2012. Exploring ELF. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Mauranen, Anna & Elina Ranta (eds.). English as a Lingua Franca: Studies and Findings. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.Search in Google Scholar
Meierkord, Christiane 2002 “Language stripped bare” or “linguistic masala”? Culture in lingua franca conversation. In Karlfried Knapp & Christiane Meierkord (eds.), Lingua franca communication, 109–133. Frankfurt/Main: Lang.10.3726/978-3-653-04730-1Search in Google Scholar
Palmer-Silveira, Juan Carlos, Miguel F. Ruiz-Garrido & Immaculada Fortanet-Gomez (eds.). 2006. Intercultural and International Business Communication. Bern: Peter Lang.Search in Google Scholar
Palmer-Silveira, Juan Carlos. 2013. The need for successful communication in intercultural and international business settings: Analytic and comparative studies, new trends and methodologies. Ibérica 16. 9–16.Search in Google Scholar
Pitzl, Marie-Luise. 2010. English as a lingua franca in international business. Resolving miscommunication and reaching shared understanding. Saarbrücken: VDM-Verlag Müller.Search in Google Scholar
Pitzl, Marie-Luise. 2016. Investigating multilingual practices in BELF meetings with VOICE: A corpus linguistic case study with methodological considerations. Waseda Working Papers in ELF 5. 15–40.Search in Google Scholar
Pölzl, Ulrike. 2003. Signalling cultural identity: The use of L1/Ln in ELF. Vienna English Working Papers 12(2). 3–23. http://anglistik.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/dep_anglist/weitere_Uploads/Views/VIEWS122.PDF (accessed 15 December 2016).Search in Google Scholar
Poppi, Franca. 2012. Global interactions in English as a lingua franca. Bern: Peter Lang.10.3726/978-3-0351-0508-7Search in Google Scholar
Romero, Eric J. & Kevin W. Cruthirds. 2006. The use of humor in the workplace. Academy of Management Perspectives 20(2). 58–69.10.5465/amp.2006.20591005Search in Google Scholar
Seidlhofer, Barbara. 2011. Understanding English as a Lingua Franca, Kindle Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Sweeney, Emma & Hua Zhu. 2010. Accommodating toward your audience: Do native speakers of English know how to accommodate their communication strategies towards nonnative speakers of English? Journal of Business Communication 47(4). 477–504.10.1177/0021943610377308Search in Google Scholar
Vettorel, Paola. 2014. ELF in wider networking: Blogging practices. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110336009Search in Google Scholar
Vettorel, Paola & Valeria Franceschi. 2016. English as a lingua franca. plurilingual repertoires and language choices in computer-mediated communication. In Lucilla Lopriore & Enrico Grazzi (eds.), Intercultural communication: New perspectives from ELF, 365–383. Rome: Roma Tre-Press.Search in Google Scholar
Vinton, Karen L. 1989. Humor in the workplace: It is more than telling jokes. Small Group Behavior 20(2). 151–166.10.1177/104649648902000202Search in Google Scholar
VOICE. 2013a. The Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (version 2.0 online). Director: Barbara Seidlhofer; Researchers: Angelika Breiteneder, Theresa Klimpfinger, Stefan Majewski, Ruth Osimk-Teasdale, Marie-Luise Pitzl, Michael Radeka. http://voice.univie.ac.at/ (15 December 2016).Search in Google Scholar
VOICE. 2013b. The Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (version POS Online 2.0). Director: Barbara Seidlhofer; Researchers: Stefan Majewski, Ruth Osimk-Teasdale, Marie-Luise Pitzl, Michael Radeka, Nora Dorn. http://voice.univie.ac.at/pos/ (15 December 2016).Search in Google Scholar
VOICE Project. 2007. Mark-up conventions. VOICE Transcription Conventions [2.1]. http://www.univie.ac.at/voice/documents/VOICE_mark-up_conventions_v2-1.pdf (15 December 2016).Search in Google Scholar
Widdowson, Henry. 2012. ELF and the inconvenience of established concepts. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 1(1). 5–26.10.1515/jelf-2012-0002Search in Google Scholar
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
