This study analyzes the use of English as a lingua franca in virtual YouTubers' interaction. Virtual YouTubers, a form of media entertainment that has been popularized in Japan, have started to become a global phenomenon and the increased English usage in them. The writer identifies the usage of English in communication between virtual YouTubers that are not native to English. The virtual YouTubers of Japan and Indonesia have been chosen as their level of understanding of English differs from each other. Archived YouTube streams are observed for further research regarding each virtual YouTuber and their conversations using English with fellow virtual YouTubers. The observed data are later analyzed using data reduction, data display, and concluding verification. The writer found that the use of English as lingua franca is usable to a certain degree when used on shorter sentences and can be replaced by common objects and terms that are familiar to both parties.
Marsha et al. (Wed,) studied this question.