'Localizing' International English for International Communication: Insights into English as a Lingua Franca

The growth of the use of English as the world’s primary language for inter-national communication has been long debated. Even if native speakers are still regarded in some contexts as the custodians who are granted rights of control over the development of the English language, it cannot be denied that a language in contact with a notable proportion of the world’s languages cannot maintain its peculiar features, with new varieties constantly emerging, through which individuality or nationality can be expressed. This paper aims to investigate how crucial it is to start local to go global and aims to highlight, as Facchinetti et al. (2010) argue, that «being aware of every culture specificities avoids cultural mistakes and misunderstandings which give rise to miscommunication» (2010: 8). With this regard, we wish to stress that English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is to date definitely part of a more general process called “glocalization” and as such, we are witnessing a reshaping of the English language, as it naturally adapts to the new values and relations in global communication.