This book is published as part of the series ‘Second language acquisition (SLA)’ and focuses on the sociolinguistics of English as a lingua franca (ELF). Through the rigorous analysis of data collected from email exchanges, Durham explores how nonnative speakers of English acquire considerable sociolinguistic competence.
The book comprises eleven chapters. Chapter 1 opens with as an introduction to the book's structure and scope. It presents a general survey of the field of World Englishes, explaining the key concepts underlying the concept of ELF, and discussing the strengths of a sociolinguistic approach to understanding the use and implications of ELF.
Chapter 2 is dedicated to the topic of second language variation (SLV) research. It discusses sources of nonnative variation, clarifies types of nonnative speakers, and explains how recent findings in this field can be applied to an ELF context. Chapter 3 moves on to explore ELF within the multilingual context of Switzerland. The well-designed tables and graphics help to illustrate the demographic distribution of speakers of the country's three national languages (i.e. German, French, and Italian) used intranationally. Factors contributing to the use of ELF in Switzerland are also analyzed.
Chapters 4 and 5 are concerned with methodological issues of this book project. In Chapter 4, Durham describes her method of data collection and elaborates on her reasons for choosing to analyze email exchanges of members of the Swiss International Federation of Medical Students’ Association (IFMSA). Chapter 5 outlines the methodology of the study and explains why she considers comparative sociolinguistics and the multivariate analysis to be the best approach for her research. The rationale behind the selection of four key linguistic features for her analysis is also presented, which include future tense markers, relative pronouns, complementizers, and additive adverbials.
Chapters 6–9 analyze in detail the aforementioned four features based on data obtained from email exchanges of Swiss speakers of German, French, and Italian. Each chapter begins with an introduction followed by clear descriptions of the particular features in English and in the three source languages. The chapters also provide a critical review of relevant previous studies on the topics.
After a summary of the major findings of the study, Chapter 10 probes into the reasons why some linguistic features are learned whereas other features are not. Durham is also able to show how her research provides a deeper understanding of the ways ELF contributes to the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. In the final chapter, Durham claims that her study makes clear the extent to which ELF is a valid subject of sociolinguistic study, and one which can further people's understanding of linguistic processes in the study of native languages in the national context.
This book should be of interest to students, teachers, and researchers in the areas of linguistics and language education, and to anyone interested in the subjects of ELF in sociolinguistics and second language acquisition studies.
