REPBLICA BOLIVARIANA DE VENEZUELA

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL EXPERIMENTAL MARTIMA DEL CARIBE

VICERRECTORADO ACADMICO DIRECCIN DE DOCENCIA
COORDINACIN DE IDIOMAS
ENGLISH V/VI.

ENGLISH AS LINGUA FRANCA

As we know that today, English has become a global language. As far as I know, most of
countries around the world, include Indonesia, are using this language, whether in
communication, in procedure of import products, in science and economic terms, in internet
dominant language, etc. Because of that, English is important to be studied, even use it as
countrys official language (Lingua Franca) as it is written in an article by Pierre Frath title
SHOULD THE WORLD RELY ON ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA?. The article is about
the use of English as Lingua Franca in many countries. The writer, Pierre Frath, argues that
although English has many positive aspects in its role as lingua franca, but using this
phenomenon might threaten the existence of local language. To solve this problem, Frath gives
recommendation to use multilingualism as an alternative and alphabetisation in mother tongue.
This article has opened my mind to see English as lingua franca in different perception.
In the beginning, it might be normal, even great, if everybody said that English is important and
have to be studied because it is a global language that connected everyone in the world by using
the same language to communicate as it is state by Alison (2010) in Should We Use English as
a Lingua Franca? at alsintl.com. Although there are certainly other options available, an English
lingua franca seems like the reasonable choice for two primary reasons. First, English is already
a popular language, spoken by individuals of diverse backgrounds around the world. English is
also currently ranked as the most-used internet language, although this may change in years to
come.
A second, more cynical standpoint is the argument that native English-speakers, notably
Americans, is far less likely than others to take the time and trouble to learn a second language. It

wasnt until about ten years ago that the US finally started to acknowledge its incompetence in
foreign language instructions, and to revamp its elementary and high school language education
systems. In any case, English-language education systems have already been implemented
around the globe, making an English lingua franca the best bet for a future global communication
system.
But, many problems will appear if English become a lingua franca in
every country. Fraths thought which says that English can threaten the
existence of local language is supported by Emilie Zelander (2006) in her
journal titled English as a Global Language- Good or Bad?. In that journal
she is state the first problem that an introduction of a global language might
lead to discrimination of other languages. Losing a language equals losing
identity. The language is much more than just a tool for communication.
According to her, there is an intimate relation between language and culture
and a large homogenisation of culture might lead to a shift in language
where native people adopt another language and eventually the old
language may die out.
Another problem is minority languages may be removed from the
media and educational systems. Just like what happened in Indonesia.
Minority language like vernacular (sasaknese, Balinese, sundanese, etc) is
less appears in media compare with the official language, Bahasa Indonesia
or global language, English.

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Next problem is a global language might cultivate an elite class with native speakers,
who take advantage of the possibility to think and work quickly in their mother-tongue. If this
was the case they might manipulate it to their advantage at the expense of those who has another
language as their mother-tongue and in this way create a linguistic gap between people. (Crystal
in Zelander, 2006).
The forth problem is English has a history, sometimes cruel and violent with colonialism
and war, and introducing English as the global language might be seen as a threat of future
dominance. Perhaps a global language will make people unwilling or unable to learn other
languages and make other languages unnecessary. (Crystal in Zelander, 2006).
Still recording to Zelander (2006), another problem is the risks having only one
language is that the chosen language may become very technical and impoverished for nonnative speakers, e.g. the Eskimos, who have several words for snow, because they need it. They
would probably not be able to express themselves properly if they only had one word for snow.
And Swedish people would not be able to use the word lagom, a word which says a lot about
the Swedish society and people.
Coury 2001 also held a research about this case in Brazil. One of the results is our sixth
problem. That is misunderstanding. The following misunderstandings in terms of writing arose:
problems with false cognates, e.g. to intend in English is the verb pretender in Portuguese,
therefore a typical error is I pretend to discuss .... instead of intend, e.g. currently in English is
atualmente in Portuguese, therefore many Brazilians would write I am actually studying ....;
problems with English loan words that have changed morphologically e.g. one person reported
that in Portuguese the disk drive of a computer is called a Winchester and he wrote this in a paper

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for a conference. The referee who has reviewed it said he was not able to understand this term. In
fact, Winchester disk exists, meaning an inflexible disk in which the storage capacity varies
according to the disk size, but in Portuguese it has changed its meaning; problems with register,
e.g. one academic said that after having an article corrected by a referee, he discovered he was
being too direct when writing certain phrases because of L1 interference.
Not only in writing, but misunderstanding also happen in speaking. According to the
Courys questionnaire the academics who were interviewed speak English face to face with other
peoples most misunderstandings arise from pronunciation errors. To follow are some examples:
in Portuguese /r/ is usually pronounced /h/. One Brazilian said he had a communication
breakdown when he was trying to say the colour red, but the listener understood head; many
Brazilians pronounce /ed/ endings in regular past simple verbs as /id/. Another academic said he
has had various problems in making himself understood because he pronounces these final
syllables incorrectly. Other misunderstandings concerning pronunciation included English loan
words which have been incorporated into the Portuguese language and then mispronounced in
the English language.
In addition Michaela Albl-Mikasa (2010)s research in German shows that, people also
feel threaten the existence by English as lingua franca. In his questionnaire it is state that the
final block of questions (9) regarding the implications of ELF for conference interpreters
comprises of the following questions: do you feel threatened by the global spread of English in
any way? Do you have any fears? What future do you see for your profession in the face of this
development? 59% of respondents expressed certain fears and saw a negative impact, 16% felt
that the interpreting profession was not under threat in general, but that certain shifts were

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noticeable (e.g. from conference interpreting to other modes of interpreting such as community
interpreting). 22% did not perceive any threat to the profession at all. It is shown that, people
also know and realize about negative impact of this condition.
Based on those explanations, we can conclude that although it is important to learn
English, but it does not mean English should be lingua franca in a country. Learning English can
be in many terms such as learn it as second or foreign language. Making English as lingua franca
only makes some problems like threaten the existence of the local language, cultivate an elite
class with native speakers, chosen language may become very technical and people would feel
poor when it comes to expressing feelings and emotions in a language that is not their mothertongue. Not making English as lingua franca, but only learn and use that as second or foreign
language can conserve the existence of local language that make the world rich of language,
culture and uniqueness.

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REFERENCE
Albl-Mikasa, Michaela.2010. Global English and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF):
Implications for the Interpreting Profession, http://www.transkom.eu/bd03nr02/trans-kom_03_02_01_AlblMikasa_Global_English.20101218.pdf Accessed on January 23, 2012
Alison,2010. Should We Use English as a Lingua Franca?,
http://www.alsintl.com/blog/english-lingua-franca/ Accessed on
January 23, 2012
Coury, Jane Godwin.2001. English as a Lingua Franca in the Brazilian Academic World,
http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/linguafranca.htm Accessed on January 23,
2012
Frath, Pierre.--. SHOULD THE WORLD RELY ON ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA?,
Universit de Reims Champagne-Ardenne
Zelander, Emilie.2006. English as a Global Language- Good or Bad?, Mid Sweden University

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