This book is an outcome of the GlobEng conference held at the University of Verona, Italy in 2008. The conference triggered strong response, generating three edited volumes in the series “Linguistic insights.” The editors of the current volume, Roberto Cagliero & Jennifer Jenkins, set out the background of this volume in the introduction: “Global English is now an established academic topic, … but the political relevance of such a linguistic migration is far from being resolved” (9). As such, this book addresses the implications of the changing status of English, from English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to English as an International Language (EIL) or English as a Lingua Franca (ELF).
The ten empirical studies in this volume provide telling examples of the influences of Global English in various domains. The four articles in Section 1, “Global English, global media”, describe the uses of English both in non-English media and in the media for global audience (magazines in Italy, university websites in eight countries, an international news agency, and radio in the US). The three articles in Section 2, “Accepting English as Lingua Franca?”, display the global circulation of language and culture in education, academic publications, and world music. The three articles in Section 3, “Internalization and discourse communities,” trace the influence of Global English in particular discourse communities where English has long been the official language for professional practice (the international community of psychoanalysts, marketing in Romania, and accounting in Denmark).
Many of the studies make explicit the links between Global English and certain values and beliefs, which serve to promote the dominance of the language. Anna Belladelli's study on Italian magazines and Luisa Caiazzo's study on university websites illustrates how Global English evokes a positive impression and de-ethnicizes what is considered local. Lise Mourier's study on accounting terminology in Denmark highlights the tension between two standards, US English and UK English, which both carry prestige in Europe.
However, the studies also show that influences are not unidirectional. As the editors noted in the introduction, “English seems to be at the same time more dominant and more dominated” (10). Jennifer Jenkin's study of nonnative English teachers describes how the nonnative speakers are ambivalent about becoming completely native-like, and how they use localized English to mark their ethnic identity. Laurie Anderson's study of peer-reviewed working papers by international scholars demonstrates that a certain amount of deviance from Standard English is allowed even in academic publications. Linda Manney's study of the lyrics of world music and Lise Mourier's study of marketing terminology in Romania show how hybrid forms and linguistic innovations emerge through the interplay between English and the local language.
In sum, this volume demonstrates, from a European perspective, that issues of acceptability and ownership become increasingly complex as English is used for communication at a global scale. It also illustrates the issue of identity for the users of Global English who experience negotiation between resistance to globalization and desire for international visibility.
