Definite article usage in English as a Lingua Franca

Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik

der Universität Wien

Definitely Creative: Potential Functions of the Definite Article in ELF Contexts as Opposed to ENL Norms

122225 (Gruppe 1) SE Linguistics Seminar /

BA Paper Conformity and Creativity

SS 2016

LV-Leiter:                 Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Barbara Seidlhofer

Name:                 Isabella Koppensteiner

E-Mail:                 isabella.koppensteiner@gmx.at

Studienkennzahl:         A 190 344 347

Matrikelnummer:         a1102798

I hereby confirm that this paper was written by myself. I have clearly marked as a quote everything that was taken over verbatim from secondary literature. I have also indicated when I have taken over ideas from secondary sources.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction        1

2. Conceptual background        2

2.1. What is ELF?        2

2.2. The ownership debate        3

2.3. ELF versus EFL        5

        2.3.1. Differences in objectives        5

        2.3.2. Views on deviations from standard ENL norms        6

3. The definite article – An EFL perspective        7

3.1. Functions of the definite article according to ENL norms        7

3.1.1. Denote specific reference        8

3.1.2. Denote generic reference        8

3.2. Complexity of the definite article        9

3.3. Relevance of the correct use of the definite article        9

3.4. Potential reasons for deviations in use        10

4. Relative frequency in EFL and ELF corpora        11

5. Functions of the definite article in EFL        11

5.1. Enhancing prominence        12

5.2. Exploiting redundancy        15

6. Conclusion        18

7. Bibliography        19

1. Introduction

In the course of my schooldays and my studies at the English department the ultimate aim of the majority of students was to approximate their English to the speech of native speakers (NS) of Standard English (StE). Thus, being confronted with the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) paradigm was an immensely eye-opening experience for me.

My general interest in the topic of ELF was first sparked by various courses and lectures at the English department which touched upon this deeply fascinating topic. Once being aware of the concept of ELF, I could not help but notice a vast number of ELF conversations in my immediate environment. For instance, working as a tour guide for English-speaking tourists at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna further enabled me to participate in and listen to ELF conversations on a regular basis.

Throughout this course, I have developed a heightened sensitivity not only towards various creative processes involved in ELF speakers’ use of the language, but also towards emerging patterns in ELF. This seminar paper examines one of those patterns, namely the use of the definite article in ELF contexts. It will be investigated what novel functions the creative uses of the definite article assume in ELF contexts in contrast to traditional ENL (English as a Native Language) settings. By analysing a small number of examples from the Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE), this paper ought to provide fresh supporting evidence in order to confirm existing research showing that deviations from ENL norms regarding the use of the definite article are not deficient but simply serve a different purpose.

The first part of the paper will focus on selected aspects of the conceptual background of ELF, namely the ownership debate, as well as on the aims and views of ELF and English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Subsequently, the functions and the use of the definite article according to an EFL perspective will be briefly discussed, as well as the complexity of this grammatical item. Finally, emerging patterns concerning the use of the definite article ELF will be explained and a small number of particularly interesting and noteworthy non-conformist usages of the definite article found in VOICE will be analysed.

2. Conceptual background

Before embarking on a discussion of the definite article and its variations in use in standard ENL and ELF, it seems crucial to provide a definition, as well as a brief overview of the most salient issues concerning ELF. Thus, this introductory chapter serves to outline the development of ELF, explain the ongoing debate regarding the ownership of English, and finally to contrast the concepts of ELF and EFL with regard to their aims and viewpoints.

2.1. What is ELF?

Initially the term ‘Lingua Franca’ referred to one specific contact language used in the area of the Mediterranean as early as the 14th century AD, which ceased to exist in the 19th century (Brosch 2015: 72). However, the meaning of the term was extended, and ultimately developed from a proper into a common noun designating not solely one pidgin language (Brosch 2015: 73). Nowadays, ‘lingua franca’ is mostly related to the English language and the concept of ‘English as a Lingua Franca describes “communication in English between speakers with different first languages” (Seidlhofer 2005: 339), which means that native English speakers (NES) may be involved as well (Seidlhofer 2005: 339). In contrast to the original Lingua Franca, ELF is used globally, and thus, cannot be tied to a specific region (Friedrich & Matsuda 2010: 21). As a result of the worldwide use of ELF, its community

is not homogeneous, as it includes people with different linguacultural backgrounds, and is highly variable, as the speakers may change more or less frequently over time and space

(Cogo 2012: 98).  

There are numerous misconceptions regarding the concept of ELF. It is beyond the scope of this paper to dispel them all. However, one very common fallacy shall be addressed in the following. Sowden (2012: 90), views ELF as the

end result of the gradual abandonment, avoidance, or alteration by non-native speakers […] thus producing a reduced version of the language

completely failing to comprehend its creative nature. In her reply to Sowden’s article, Cogo (2012: 102) rectifies this common misconception by showing in an analysis of three ELF speech events how speakers make use of their linguistic resources, employ a number of communicative strategies, manage to negotiate meaning and accommodate to their interlocutors. Consequently, manifestations of non-conformist usages in ELF should not be in any way considered deficient.

The contexts in which speakers employ ELF are manifold and span from commerce, leisure activities and its use in influential organisations, such as the EU, UN or NATO to academia and many other (Seidlhofer, Breiteneder & Pitzl 2006: 4f.). According to Jenkins, Cogo & Dewey (2011: 297), two domains have been studied more extensively by ELF scholars, namely business and higher education.

In the past two decades, ELF has gained considerable momentum as a novel research area (Brosch 2015: 57). Meanwhile, extensive research has been conducted in the field. The empirical date of large ELF corpora, such as VOICE or the corpus of English as a Lingua Franca in Academic Settings (ELFA) enable scholars to investigate “patterns, consistencies and systematicities across the communicative spectrum of ELF interactions – throughout Europe and the world beyond” (Firth 2009: 148).

Having provided a concise overview of ELF, the contexts in which it is used, as well as its creative nature, the next part of this paper will touch upon the question of whether the status of NES automatically attributes them the role of custodians of the English language.

2.2. The ownership debate

Traditionally, English has always been closely linked to its NS and their (standard) language use, which is still the norm to which non-native English speakers (NNES) are expected to conform in EFL settings (Ranta 2009: 88). Therefore, depriving key influential stakeholders, such as NES or NNES in educational settings, as well as NES in general, of their social esteem would result in “a possible loss of power and prestige for native speakerism and all its ‘exports’ produced in the inner circle and sent to the periphery” (Schmitz 2012: 276f.). Unsurprisingly, a vast number of them seek to avert this impending danger. Yoo (2014: 84) for instance, chooses the telling title No English Ownership for the Expanding Circle for one of the chapters in his article on the grounds that “there are no local varieties [of English] spoken in the Expanding Circle” (Yoo 2014: 83f.). Moreover, he claims that NS renouncing the ownership of English would result in teaching a reduced version of English in the EFL classroom (Yoo 2014: 85). However, Yoo utterly disregards that an equal say of non-native speakers (NNS) in shaping English does not threaten the ‘stable centre’ of the language (Widdowson 1994: 379), because otherwise it would not be functional anymore.