English as a lingua franca

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The English language has developed into the most important international lingua franca in the course of the 20th century . The development towards that point began with the emergence of the British Empire , from colonialism of the 17th century to imperialism of the 19th century. English retained this importance even after the collapse of the British Empire, as an English-speaking former colony, the USA , developed into a global superpower in the course of the 20th century .

In some formerly colonized countries, English has retained the status of a lingua franca, in some even an official language . At the beginning of the 21st century, English can be seen as the most important world language : English is an important foreign language in school education worldwide; In world politics, the world economy and in many sciences, especially natural sciences, English is the international lingua franca. " Simplified English " is the linguistic standard for maintenance documentation in the aerospace industry.

Scientific research by ELF

In linguistics, a distinction is sometimes made between

  • "English in the Inner Circle" (= English is rooted as the original language in these countries)
  • "English in the Outer Circle" (= English has become a (co-) official language relatively young in these countries)
  • “English in the Expanding Circle” (= English plays an important role as a foreign language in these countries).

Scientific research into English as a lingua franca (ELF) in the sense of English in the Expanding Circle is relatively young. Jennifer Jenkins , Barbara Seidlhofer , Christiane Meierkord and Joachim Grzega have dealt with her .

ELF and English lessons

For international communication, various models of “simplified English” have been proposed for ELF teaching.

English as the scientific language in German-speaking countries

In scientific research, English has established itself as the predominant communication and publication language in the entire German-speaking area. In humanities research, however, the diversity of languages ​​also creates a world of knowledge of its own .

The current research landscape is largely dependent on funding and the acquisition of third-party funds . Such awarding bodies therefore have a decisive influence on the direction of research. In German-speaking countries, these are primarily the national sponsors of scientific research ( DFG in Germany , SNSF in Switzerland , FWF in Austria ). In Germany and Switzerland, research is also financed through private foundations (e.g. Volkswagen Foundation ). However, this is far less common in Austria, which is why the FWF is the most important national funding agency. The DFG allows applications to be submitted in both English and German. The Swiss SNSF even actively supports publications in French and German. It is argued that, especially in the humanities and social sciences, a command of several languages ​​is essential. The Austrian FWF takes a contrary position here. Since 2008, research applications in all scientific disciplines have to be submitted in English only. In addition, since 2015 applicants have been required to publish publications outside of Austria and German-speaking countries. This step was taken with the aim of increasing international visibility. This changeover received widespread criticism, especially from the humanities, as the FWF was moving from a service facility for researchers to a regulatory authority and discussions were sometimes unsuccessful.

On April 10, 2015, the petition for German-language applications to the FWF was initiated in Austria . This petition received around 3,000 signatories and was also dealt with by a parliamentary question in the National Council. The FWF published a statement online in response to this petition. As counter-arguments u. a. the equal treatment and comparability of applications, the promotion of interdisciplinary research, the increase in the visibility of Austrian research and the possibility of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with international partner organizations.

English as the official language of all EU member states

The introduction of English as an administrative and then as an official language in the European Union is under discussion. According to a representative YouGov survey from 2013, 59 percent of Germans would like the English language to become an official language throughout the European Union (in addition to the previous languages); in other European countries, approval rates are sometimes over 60 Percent.

literature

See also

Robert Phillipson

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See for example Kachru, Braj (1985), "Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism", in: Quirk, Randolph (ed.), English in the World , 11-34, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  2. ↑ See the press reports on the BGE website .
  3. ↑ Oliver Jens Schmitt : Can science only speak English? in: nzz.ch. August 4, 2015. Retrieved on: August 4, 2015.
  4. ↑ Initiative for German-language applications to the FWF in: derstandard.at. July 7, 2015, Retrieved on: August 4, 2015.
  5. ^ FWF statement on the petition "For German-language applications to the FWF" in: fwf.ac.at. May 19, 2015. Retrieved on August 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ Survey: Majority of Germans for English as the second official language , YouGov opinion research institute, August 9, 2013