According to the Oxford Dictionary, a lingua franca is “a language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.” Throughout the years English has taken the role of lingua franca in the business world and is now the language we all use when we communicate with people whose native language is different than ours.
English as a lingua franca does not necessarily follow the linguistic rules or cultures of British, American or Australian/New Zealand English. In fact, according to some researchers, English as a lingua franca acquires the speaker’s linguistic and cultural background. For this reason, it may be claimed that English as a lingua franca is rather more multicultural than culture-free.
Communication with English as a lingua franca does not exclude native speakers; however, they are usually less involved than non-native speakers. Furthermore, the capacity of speaking in English as a lingua franca mainly relies on communicative strategies rather than linguistic abilities or thorough knowledge of the English language.
