English as a Lingua Franca in Wider Networking

In a constantly interconnected world communication takes place beyond territorial boundaries, in networks where English works as a lingua franca. The volume explores how ELF is employed in internationally-oriented personal blogs; findings show how bloggers deploy an array of resources to their expressive and interactional aims, combining global and local communicative practices. Implications of findings in ELF and ELT terms are also discussed.

Auteur

Paola Vettorel, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.

Texte du rabat

This series welcomes book proposals detailing innovative and cutting edge research and theorisation in the field of English as a lingua franca (ELF), in essence, English as the chosen medium of communication among people from different first languages. The unprecedented use of English as an international lingua franca, largely because of its relationship with the processes of globalisation, has led to the realization that conventional attitudes to English and approaches to its study need to be critically examined. This has resulted in a very considerable and fast-growing field of research that is concerned both with the sociolinguistic significance of English as lingua franca as a naturally adaptive linguistic development and with its theoretical as well as applied linguistic implications. ELF, as phenomenon and as study, is not only diverse and emergent, it is also controversial and rapidly gaining in importance. The purpose of the series is to offer a wide forum for work on ELF, including aspects such as descriptions and analyses of ELF; ELF use in a range of domains including education (primary, secondary and tertiary), business, tourism; conceptual works challenging current assumptions about English use and usage; works exploring the implications of ELF for English language policy, pedagogy, and practice; and ELF in relation to global multilingualism. Finally, in line with the subject matter of the series, authors are not required to use native English, but to write in a way that is intelligible to a wide international readership. To our knowledge, Developments in English as a Lingua Franca is the first book series to build this approach into its official policy. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Natalie Fecher.

Résumé

PaolaVettorel's volume English as a Lingua Franca in Wider Networking presents detailed and comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of English as a lingua franca with reference to the 'blogging practices'. With its empirical investigation, the author shows how bloggers utilize a remarkable range of communication resources to express themselves in the context of the interactive blog. Appreciable analytical rigor against the developments of Computer-Mediated Communication and breadth of references will certainly be valuable to scholars of the field of CMC.
Therefore, for the original and well-balanced approach to a rapidly changing phenomenon, the volume has been judged worthy of honorable mention.

--AIA (Associazione Italiana di Anglistica) Bookprize for English Studies 2016 - Language and Linguistics