Norwegian Business Professionals´ Need for and Use of English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) in Multinational Corporations

Abstract

English is now the corporate language of many multinational corporations (MNCs) worldwide. However, when English is used as a shared language resource, a lingua franca, its use may be both fluid and local, and the characteristics of its local use should then be explored. This article therefore investigates English used as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) in MNCs in Norway through task-based interviews with Norwegian business professionals about their need for and use of BELF. The findings indicate that business professionals need to use it frequently, and for both routine and more complex tasks, like demanding business meetings. While getting the job done was paramount to all, several associated NS-like ‘correct’ usage with ‘professionalism.’ Their BELF use was characterized by local, ‘company speak’, translingual practices and the accommodation of both non-native (NNS) and native (NS) speakers of English, and the ways in which the latter were accommodated displayed a more positive attitude to these interlocutors than has been found in similar studies. This article argues that English used as a corporate language is a complex phenomenon requiring business professionals to have a wide set of communication resources and the ability to use the language flexibly.

Communicative Effectiveness in BELF (English as a Business Lingua Franca) Meetings: ‘Explaining’ as a Pragmatic Strategy

“…The availability of a common language allows for a transborder business to be conducted, and in this regard, the role of English as a business lingua franca (BELF) is prominent (Ku & Zussman, 2010; Nielsen, 2019). Evolving and emerging business alliances, increasing numbers of multinational corporations (MNCs), as well as a growing multicultural workforce in many business organizations are made possible and promoted through the use of BELF.…”

“…She attributed this in part to the difficulty in gaining access to MNCs and the like, due to confidentiality issues. The question of confidentiality may also explain why a fair number of BELF studies tend to be perception‐based, where surveys and interviews—rather than audio or video recordings of actual BELF communication—are utilized to investigate the use of BELF in international business (e.g., Ehrenreich, 2010; Kankaanranta & Planken, 2010; Nielsen, 2019; Rogerson–Revell, 2007). While perception‐based studies are useful in gathering baseline data about BELF, it is only through microanalyses of BELF‐in‐action that insights about how BELF actually works may be obtained.…”