Feature
FROM STUDENTS TO STAFF
There are as many as two billion speakers of English as a lingua franca – a common language between speakers whose native languages are different – worldwide.
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The Centre for Global Englishes (CGE) is a hub for the study of the lingua franca phenomenon and is headed by an international team – many of whom are themselves University of Southampton alumni. Dr Will Baker, Associate Professor and Director of CGE, explained: “At CGE our main research focus is on English as a lingua franca, which is where it is used as a contact language among speakers from different first languages. The use of English in this way forces us to reconsider the links between languages, cultures, communities, nations, and identities. In our research, we explore these issues and the implications for how we think about communication and teaching languages.”
