This study is based on data gathered from two corpora. It investigates and analyses the written English of second language users, in this case English used by Swedes, with the English used online in blogs found in the Birmingham Blog Corpus, which includes blogs written in English by authors of various nationalities. The aim is to compare Swedes’ use of English in blogs and the English used in general in blogs. The study focuses on typical features associated with either American English (AmE) or British English (BrE) and investigates which variety is the most prominent online.  The results indicate that features that are generally associated with AmE have a higher frequency in both analysed corpora in this thesis. The conclusion is therefore that AmE tends to dominate both Swedish and international authors’ use of English in blogs.

Non-standard features such as copula deletion have long been dismissed as learner errors or were interpreted as results of simplification processes in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), and only recent publications tend to acknowledge the influence of language contact in ELF settings (cf. Schneider 2012). The present paper analyses tokens of copula deletion in the Asian Corpus of English (ACE 2014) with respect to speaker L1s, situational context and syntactic environment, with our results suggesting a correlation between copula usage patterns in the speakers’ L1s and constructions involving copula deletion found in ACE. Thus, opening up the field to ELF settings, our data confirm findings of previous studies such as Sharma (2009) that point to contact-induced copula usage in non-standard English(es).

This study aims to explore how the application of Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF) is perceived among the employees at a chosen company, exploring to what extent BELF is used, and identifying opportunities and challenges of BELF. Using a qualitative research methodology conducted through semi-structured interviews, consisting of six participants, the study delves into the usage of BELF in a bigger Swedish company, how the employees experience it, and what factors matter for its outcome. The results show overwhelmingly positive experiences of BELF among respondents, primarily due to its necessity and appreciated utility in facilitating communication with customers and colleagues who do not share the same mother tongue, emphasizing the significant role of English in diverse business contexts. However, despite the generally positive outlook, challenges such as multilingual meetings, code shifting, misunderstandings in different contexts, and a restricted vocabulary, are identified.

This paper was aimed at researching the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in a business context by the use of linguistic ethnography (LE). Previous research has been primarily either survey- or interview-based or strictly qualitative in its investigation. Using shadowing observations of three employees at a Swedish multinational company and subsequently interviewing the participants about their use of Business English as a lingua franca (BELF), the present study set out to investigate for what kinds of functions and how often these employees use English on an everyday basis. English was shown to be the default language of the multinational company and the findings suggest that employees’ use of language is not only determined by the nature of their work and the business setting, but also by their personal backgrounds. Their education, upbringing, and social experiences since moving to Sweden have come to shape their language use at work and in everyday life. Moreover, there could be subsequent implications for them not only in work-related functions and activities at the company but also in their integration and immersion in Swedish society. Using LE to investigate language choice and use in a corporate setting allows for a more nuanced collection of data, providing a context to linguistic research.

abstract: This study investigates how the teaching English as an international language (TEIL) framework can be integrated into the English curriculum of the Korea Military Academy (KMA). Addressing the research gap on TEIL and military settings, this study first critically reviews issues around the varieties of English (i.e., world Englishes), the international functions of English, and the pedagogical implications of TEIL in today’s globalizing world. The study then examines current challenges and objectives of ELT and suggests practical strategies for incorporating TEIL into the English curriculum of the KMA. The study suggests the following four strategies to apply TEIL into the English curriculum of the KMA: (a) introduce WE/EIL activities into the English Conversation course; (b) establish a WE/EIL course; (c) provide extracurricular WE/EIL activities; and (d) incorporate intercultural content into the Military English course. The study argues that implementing these suggestions would help cadets develop both their linguistic proficiency in English and intercultural communicative competence that are essential for them to become professional military communicators who can effectively communicate with interlocutors from diverse linguistic, cultural, and national backgrounds in international military contexts. While the study contributes to the literature by bridging the gap between TEIL and military contexts, it demonstrates the following implications: (a) a meaningful case of applying TEIL into the military context in Korea; (b) the importance of both linguistic proficiency in English and intercultural competence for ELT in the KMA; and (c) the possibility of influencing the Korea Air Force and Naval Academy to reexamine their English curricula. The study concludes that the English curriculum of the KMA should be revised based on the recognition of the symbiotic relationship among linguistic proficiency in English, exposure to diverse varieties of English, and intercultural competence in order to produce cadets who can effectively communicate in English as a military lingua franca for the success of their designated military objectives in the future. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis English 2019

Abstract This study explores the phenomenon of brand co-creation from a communicative perspective. The study investigates how Finnish SMEs operating in international B2B markets use English as a business lingua franca (BELF) for brand communication. The purpose of the study is to contribute to brand co-creation theory by illustrating how using BELF affects spoken brand co-creation discourse and increase our understanding of brand co-creation communication by applying a discursive approach. The theoretical framework of the study is based on branding literature, BELF research, discourse theory and social constructionism. The study introduces an analytical framework for exploring BELF in spoken brand co-creation communication through the discourse dimensions of verbal language use, the communication of brand meanings and face-to-face social interaction among stakeholders. The empirical data was collected by implementing a business communication simulation designed for the study. It was used to analyse how internal stakeholders use verbal BELF to communicate brand meanings in face-to-face social interaction. A discursive approach was also applied in the analysis. In the study, three spoken brand co-creation discourses were identified: informative, credible and emotional discourse. This study shows that brand co-creation is a phenomenon intertwined with language. When the language of business communication is BELF, it can both enable and impede brand co-creation communication. Efficient and informative communication is often regarded as essential in business communication but from brand communication perspective informative communication may not be sufficient to create an interesting and a memorable brand. The study also shows that spoken brand co-creation communication with BELF requires versatile language and communication competence; especially emotional brand discourse may require more versatile BELF competence than previously has been acknowledged. From a managerial viewpoint, it is important to understand that internal stakeholders are continuously communicating about the brand to external stakeholders with spoken language. Thus, the brand is visible in the daily operations through language, although not necessarily as intended by the management. / Tiivistelmä Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkitaan brändin yhteisluomista yritysviestinnän näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten suomalaiset yritystenvälisillä markkinoilla (B2B) toimivat pk-yritykset käyttävät liike-englantia lingua francana (BELF) suullisessa yhteisluomisviestinnässään. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on lisätä ymmärrystä kielen ja viestinnän roolista brändin yhteisluomisessa ja kuvata, miten BELF vaikuttaa puhuttuun brändin yhteisluomisviestintään diskursiivisesta näkökulmasta. Tutkimus nojaa brändikirjallisuuden lisäksi BELF-tutkimukseen, diskurssiteoriaan ja sosiaaliseen konstruktionismiin. Tutkimus esittää brändin suullisen yhteisluomisviestinnän kolmiulotteisena ilmiönä, jota voidaan tarkastella sanallisen kielenkäytön, brändimerkitysten viestimisen ja kasvokkain tapahtuvan, sidosryhmien välisen vuorovaikutuksen avulla. Työn empiirinen aineisto kerättiin tutkimusta varten kehitetyn liikeviestintäsimulaation avulla, ja sen avulla analysoitiin, miten yrityksen sisäiset sidosryhmät käyttävät BELFiä viestimään brändimerkityksiä yrityksistään ja niiden tuotteista sosiaalisessa vuorovaikutuksessa. Tutkimuksessa hahmoteltiin kolme suullista brändin yhteisluomisdiskurssia: informatiivinen diskurssi, uskottavuusdiskurssi ja tunneperäinen diskurssi. Tutkimus osoittaa, että brändin yhteisluomisviestintä on kieleen kietoutunut ilmiö. Kun liikeviestinnän kielenä on BELF, vieraskielinen viestintä voi sekä mahdollistaa että vaikeuttaa brändin yhteisluomisviestintää. Tehokas ja faktaperäinen viestintä on usein tärkeää liikeviestinnässä, mutta brändäyksen näkökulmasta informatiivisesti painottunut viestintä voi olla riittämätöntä, jotta se herättäisi mielenkiintoa brändiä kohtaan tai loisi muistettavan brändin. Tutkimus osoittaa myös, että osallistuminen brändin yhteisluomisviestintään käyttämällä BELFiä edellyttää monipuolista kieli- ja viestintätaitoa. Erityisesti tunteita herättävä brändäysviestintä voi vaatia laajempaa kieli- ja viestintäosaamista kuin aiemmin on ajateltu. Liikkeenjohdon kannalta on tärkeää ymmärtää, että yrityksen henkilöstö viestii brändistä jatkuvasti jokapäiväisessä vuorovaikutuksessa eri sidosryhmien kanssa. Näin ollen brändi välittyy sidosryhmille kielen kautta, mutta ei kuitenkaan välttämättä sellaisena kuin yrityksen johto on tarkoittanut.

Cette thèse est une contribution à la branche professionnelle de l'anglais de spécialité et au domaine de l'anglais comme lingua franca. Le contexte de la recherche est le milieu de l'entreprise où les employés échangent des courriels dans le cadre de la réalisation d'actions professionnelles routinières. Dans ce contexte, l'anglais est considéré comme une langue internationale et, dans la situation où les employés sont natifs d'autres langues que l'anglais, la lingua franca. La première partie traite des quatre concepts fondamentaux de cette recherche : l'anglais comme langue internationale, le registre, la phraséologie et les discours professionnels. De ces quatre concepts émerge l'hypothèse selon laquelle l'analyse du discours professionnel en général et des courriels professionnels en particulier reposent sur la modélisation de situations professionnelles récurrentes en situations professionnelles typiques d'échange. Cette modélisation permet ensuite une analyse de registre. La seconde partie présente la démarche méthodologique dont l'objectif estla constitution d'un corpus de 500 courriels professionnels à partir d'une base de données plus large que nous avons constituée lors de notre enquête de terrain dans le monde de l'entreprise. Le corpus est tout d'abord défini selon quatre situations linguistiques que nous présentons ci-dessous : 1. scripteurs natifs et destinataires natifs 2. scripteurs natifs et destinataires non natifs 3. scripteurs non natifs et destinataires natifs 4. scripteurs non natifs et destinataires non natifs Il est ensuite défini selon les quatre situations professionnelles suivantes : 1. achats et ventes de produits 2. management d'équipes distantes 3. administration des ressources humaines 4. résolution de problèmes techniques A partir de ce corpus, nous menons une étude de la variation sur trois ensembles de traits linguistico-discursifs et paralinguistiques qui nous permettent d'évaluer le degré de minimalisme dans les courriels, le degré d'imbrication du texte dans le contexte ainsi que de mesurer le caractère interpersonnel et intime de ce type d'échange. Notre étude nous mène tout d'abord à confirmer que l'analyse de registre est une approche efficace pour la caractérisation des discours ordinaires et routiniers dans les entreprises. Elle interroge ensuite la solidité des normes et du concept de communauté de discours en présentant l'anglais en circulation sur les réseaux professionnels, éphémères et mondiaux, comme une variété fluide. / This dissertation is a contribution to both the professional branch of English for Specific Purposes and English as a lingua franca. The research takes place in the corporate world where employees exchange emails during the course of their professional routines. In this context, English is considered as an international language and, in the situations where employees are natives of other languages than English, the lingua franca. In the first part, the four fundamental concepts used in this study are introduced: (1) English as an international language, (2) register, (3) phraseology, and (4) professional discourse. From this introduction emerges the hypothesis that professional discourse analysis in general and professional emails in particular are based on modelising recurrent, professional situations into typical exchange situations then allowing for register analysis. The second part deals with the methodological approach which consists in building a corpus comprising 500 messages extracted from a larger database which was collected while we did fieldwork in the corporate world. The corpus is defined by the four following linguistic situations : 1. native professionals writing to native professionals 2. native professionals writing to non-native professionals 3. non-native professionals writing to native professionals 4. non-native professionals writing to non-native professionals It is also defined by four professional situations, namely : 1. selling and purchasing 2. team management 3. human resources management 4. technical problem solving The situations are then used to conduct a corpus-based, register analysis alongthree linguistic and paralinguistic dimensions. Each dimension seeks to characterise professional emails as a form of minimal, embedded, and interpersonal discourse. More generally, this thesis explores and challenges the solidity of traditional norms and that of the concept of discourse community by presenting the English used in global, ephemeral and professional networks as a fluid variety.

The present thesis is concerned with the reflection of Global Englishes (GEs) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in current teacher training manuals. The theoretical part introduces research into GEs and ELF with an emphasis on the pedagogical implications of the global role of English. The practical part consists in an analysis of four teachers training manuals of British provenance published between 2011 and 2014. Using a qualitative content analysis (see Schreier 2012), the author identifies in the selected publications textual material reflecting research into GEs and ELF. The identified textual material deals primarily with the teaching of language (e.g. pronunciation teaching) and culture (e.g. cultural relevance of materials), but attention is also paid to the current role of English in the world. On the basis of this material, the author then evaluates how the selected publications reflect research into GEs and ELF. The conclusion provides a summary of results, and suggestions for further research. Keywords: Global Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, teacher training manuals, ELT, qualitative content analysis

Introduction: Presently, there are more people who speak English as a second and foreign language than there are native speakers. This situation results, among others, in the fall of the native speaker model and subsequently in gradually changing attitudes to standard(s) and to language and teaching authorities in general. Present thesis reflects these current developments, which are sometimes referred to as 'a paradigmatic shift'. Objectives: The first goal of the thesis was to decipher the terminological pluralism pertinent to the domain. Next, this research set out to investigate, how familiar the phenomenon of English as a lingua franca (ELF) is in the Czech Republic, and consequently to raise awareness about it. Finally, it was our goal to conduct vast research exploring if and how the questions of language ideology are reflected in the teaching practice and in teacher training. Methodology: Both quantitative and qualitative research methods have been applied throughout the research process. The quantitative research included nine originally devised questionnaires. Qualitative data were obtained via conducting semi-structured interviews. Altogether, data were collected from 595 respondents (298 teachers, 285 students and 12 scientists). Results: First, the research results revealed the...

This paper aims to explore Swedish students’ experiences of English-medium instruction (EMI) in Swedish higher education. Previous research shows that students’ experiences of EMI in higher education are closely related to attitudes towards the proficiencies of lecturers and peers, which in turn are based on students’ conceptualisations of English. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, three interrelated themes are explored: (1) how prepared students felt they were to use English in higher education (2) students’ experiences of acquiring content through English and (3) students’ underlying conceptualisations of English. Three Swedish students at different institutions and programs were interviewed. Findings show that the students had varied views of what it was to be prepared for EMI as well as how prepared they felt they were according to their own definitions. Students also had differing experiences of acquiring content through English. All three students conceptualised English as a standard, native variety. Their conceptualisations of English as a standard had implications on student-student and teacher-student interactions, which was evidenced especially in regard to international non-native speakers of English. Findings are discussed in relation to relevant previous research on EMI and the Swedish context. Finally, suggestions are made for Upper Secondary school in-class practices, for the benefit of better preparing Swedish students for higher education in Sweden by implementing an English as a lingua franca (ELF-) perspective on English spoken interaction.