English as a lingua franca in cross-cultural immigration domains

Meer over het boek

This book examines the cognitive and communicative processes of using English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in cross-cultural specialized contexts, focusing on interactions between non-native speakers, such as Western experts and non-Western migrants. It posits that the primary communicative challenges arise from ELF itself, as non-native speakers transfer their native language structures and socio-cultural frameworks into their English usage. This transfer enables them to authenticate various semantic, syntactic, pragmatic, and specialized-discourse structures that may not be accessible otherwise. Consequently, the diversity of ELF varieties reflects the unique communities of non-native speakers. The ethnographic case studies are driven by key research questions: What cognitive frames and communicative strategies do Western experts employ to share their culturally-specific knowledge through their ELF varieties with non-Westerners? What power imbalances emerge when non-Westerners express their knowledge using their ELF varieties? Can a shared mode of ELF specialized communication be established for both Western experts and non-Western migrants?