Prof Claus Gnutzmann

Claus Gnutzmann is Professor of English Language and Applied Linguistics at the University of Braunschweig. He has previously held similar posts at the University of Paderborn and the University of Hanover; he was educated at the University of Kiel, Stuttgart, University College London and the City University of New York. His main research interests include linguistic and pedagogical grammar, contrastive linguistics and error analysis, as well as the globalization of English and its classroom applications. His recent publications include The Globalisation of English and the English Language Classroom (edited with Frauke Intemann) (2005) and Teaching and Learning English as a Global Language: Native and Non-native Perspectives (as editor) (1999).

Presentation

Language and Influence: How Neutral is English as a Lingua Franca?

The increased global spread of English has certainly coincided with that of Anglo-American ideology. However, explaining this relationship purely in terms of linguistic determinism is probably oversimplistic, just as the claim that the use of English as a lingua franca should be seen as a culture-free and neutral mode of communication. Clearly, language influences one’s thinking and perception of the world, but most likely not in a unidirectional manner. Starting from a discussion of the concepts of ‘influence’ and ‘lingua franca’, the paper will focus on the use of English as a medium of communication in non-language subjects such as history, politics, economics or natural sciences, both in secondary and in tertiary education. Employing examples from the European context it can be shown that the use of English in academic communication can display a variety of functions depending on, for example, the subject of study, spoken vs. written manifestation or language competencies of the students. The different functions of English are seen to reflect the varying degrees of neutrality in which English as a lingua franca is used in academic discourse.