‘Lingua franca’ negotiations: towards an interactional approach

Kachru [ World Englishes , 9 , 3–20 (1990)] observes that studies in English as a non‐native language are dominated by either ‘deficit’ or ‘deviational’ approaches. What is lacking, he notes, is an interactional approach, i.e. one which considers how language is used interactively to accomplish social goals. This paper attempts to develop the theme of an ‘interactional approach’ and discusses its theoretical underpinnings. The proposed method entails the adoption of ethnomethodological perspectives on social knowledge, combined with conversation analytic interests in detailing the locally managed character of spoken interaction. The setting of international (trading) negotiations, conducted in ‘lingua franca’ English, provides the focal point for discussion. The term ‘lingua franca’ English is introduced to describe the language used exclusively by and among non‐native speakers. A distinction is made between: (1) intranational lingua franca, and (2) international lingua franca. Finally, the notion of ‘internationalization’ of negotiating behaviour and language use is discussed.