Naslov
Croatian speakers’ perception of ELF

Autori
Drljača Margić, Branka ; Širola, Dorjana

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Skup
5th International Conference of English as a Lingua Franca

Mjesto i datum
Istanbul, Turska, 24.05.2012. - 26.05.2012

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
English as a lingua franca ; British English ; American English ; students

Sažetak
The paper analyses the results of a questionnaire- based study on English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) conducted among 103 Croatian university students of English. The respondents tend to describe ELF in two different ways: as (mostly American) English used in international communication or as a simplified, neutral type of English. They hold that British English (BE) differs from ELF to a larger extent than American English (AE), primarily in terms of accent, vocabulary and idioms. In addition, BE is perceived as more stylistically marked and culturally bound. Conversely, AE is seen as simpler and less tied to a particular historical, cultural and geographical context, and thus is perceived as ‘everyone’s language’. Most of the respondents, however, believe that ELF should not equal AE or/and BE. When asked which English they spoke and whether their use of English was situationally determined, the respondents largely claim to speak AE in all contexts due to high levels of exposure to it, but some opt for BE in academic communication. A number of respondents were unable to determine which variety they used, or said they spoke a neutral type of English, defined by them as a mixture of BE and AE. Some explicitly said they did not want to sound native, as they felt that it would be artificial and pretentious. The respondents’ opinion on whether the widespread use of English constitutes a threat to Croatian was also elicited. To the extent that a threat is perceived more respondents express concern for the development of Croatian than for its survival. The danger is, however, exclusively seen to lie in numerous words of English origin, although some believe that loanwords in fact enrich the recipient language. The perception of potential domain loss is virtually non-existent.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija

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