The use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) is an especially contemporary, at times controversial global-linguistic phenomenon. In recent years ELF has emerged as a dynamic area of research, leading to considerable empirical and conceptual developents.

There exists a substantial volume of empirical evidence demonstrating that ELF requires us to rethink conventional ideas about language and communication, with conceptual discussions arguing that many established precepts of linguistics and sociolinguistics are no longer entirely tenable. Many of the more influential of these...