The role which English maintains as a lingua franca is currently being conceptualized in differing ways. English as an international language, Euro-English, and English as a lingua franca are analyzed from two main perspectives; first, the relevance that such descriptions of English-language usage have for variety building (for mainland Europe);…

A discussion of globalization is presented that focuses on the pros and cons of English spread. The postcolonial theoretical basis for promoting the status of second-language varieties of English, and how this impacts on the foreign-language speaker of English in the European Union, is investigated. Three primary factors, linguistic…