Today, English is the most widely used language in the world in the fields of economics, academia, political trades, airports, shopping centers, and so on. It is also known to be the native language of many countries. According to Crystal (2003), one out of every four users of English in the world is a native speaker of the language which is about 350 million speakers.

The most striking fact is that almost 80 percent of English speakers in the world are non-native speakers of the language. Thus, English is considered to be the world’s lingua franca. As a result, there is a growing interest in learning English which becomes a necessity.

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For many of you, the word “Lingua Franca” sounds a bit weird and you keep questioning “what is Lingua Franca?” Don’t worry, this article will provide you with a short description and definition of “Lingua Franca” is.

https://en-ingles.com.ar/blog/2019/08/21/the-unstoppable-rise-of-english-why-english-has-a-long-future-as-the-lingua-franca-of-the-world/

Source: EN Inglés

1. What is “Lingua Franca”?

In a nutshell, any language or dialect that is used for communication between two people or more who do not share the same language or dialect is called “a lingua franca”.

Historically speaking, Khodorkovsky (2013) stated the emergence of a lingua franca was related to commercial, cultural, or religious reasons. Travelers and traders needed to communicate with the locals or other merchants via a language that would be understood by all. So, they opted for a shared one.

Currently, English language has become one of the most powerful lingua franca(s). The next section will explain the main reasons why English is the present lingua franca.

2. English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)

A group of Chinese students is chatting with German students in Zoom about the importance of renewable energy; or a French businessman is having a deal with a Japanese company; another Egyptian scholar is teaching archeology to an Indian student: all these people from different first language backgrounds use English as a medium. This phenomenon is called English as a Lingua Franca or ELF.

ELF then refers to the use of English as a means of communication among speakers of different languages/dialects. It has become a necessary element in many domains, ranging from international politics and diplomacy, international law, business, media, education, and most importantly in scientific research. In other words, learning and using English as a lingua franca opens doors for better social and professional opportunities.

In general, we must pinpoint some reasons why English is a lingua franca. First, there is a common consensus that English is easier to learn and there are massive and various sources to practice it including movies, sitcoms ( ex, FRIENDS), Facebook groups and pages (ex, the language nerds), and a lot of YouTube channels. Additionally, English is the foremost medium of international that enables people to understand one another regardless of their cultural and ethnical backgrounds.

The second main reason goes for the fact that English is the language of business and academia. International companies and factories worldwide require a good level of English and to some extent has become a necessary criterion in job interviews. Moreover, MBA’s use English as the language of instruction. In addition to that, massive research articles and findings published worldwide use English or at least any published study should contain an abstract in English.

These are just a few reasons but there are others to mention like the colonial legacy and media power to name a few. But still, there is a very disturbing question that all people ask which is: “Will English be the language of the future?”

Actually, no one knows since there is a growing number of widely used languages in commerce and business-like Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. However, and for the present moment, English is still considered to be a global language.

“English is the largest of human tongues, with several times the vocabulary of the second largest language — this alone made it inevitable that English would eventually become, as it did, the lingua franca of this planet, for it is thereby the richest and most flexible — despite its barbaric accretions . . . or, I should say, because of its barbaric accretions. English swallows up anything that comes its way, makes English out of it.”