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Language Alternation, Language Choice and Language Encounter in International Tertiary Education pp 53–84Cite as

Plurilingual Resources in Lingua Franca Talk: An Interactionist Perspective

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Part of the book series: Multilingual Education ((MULT,volume 5))

Abstract

This chapter deals with data from classroom and service interactions involving local and international actors at two Catalan universities. An interactionist perspective is adopted, drawing above all on work in plurilingual talk-in-interaction. The analysis explores how speakers agree to use a lingua franca and how other plurilingual resources, such as code-switching, emerge in such interaction. The results suggest: (1) That the lingua franca is not an a priori choice, but one that emerges locally and fluidly in talk, related to the communicative possibilities of speakers’ shared plurilingual repertoires and to the local organisation of the interaction; (2) That other forms of plurilingual talk (e.g. code-switching) support communication, the accomplishment of socio-institutional goals and the situated construction of knowledge in lingua franca interactions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We distinguish between multilingualism, understood as a state or area where two or more languages are official, and plurilingualism, understood as effective practices in two or more languages. This distinction is particularly relevant to Catalonia, a region in which code-switching is common, even in highly ritualized situations (Moore 2011).

  2. 2.

    In the remainder of this chapter, the terms ‘English’ and ‘ELF’ will be employed interchangeably.

  3. 3.

    Project reference: CIT4-CT-2006-028702. For more information, see: www.dylan-project.org. The following researchers are acknowledged for their participation in the collection and treatment of the data presented in this chapter: Vicky Antoniadou, Laia Canals, Eva Codó, Víctor Corona, Adriana Patiño-Santos and Claudia Vallejo.

  4. 4.

    Project reference: EDU2010-15783. For more information, see: http://grupsderecerca.uab.cat/clilsi/content/dale-apecs.

  5. 5.

    Transcription conventions:

    1. 1.

      Speaker: ABC:

    2. 2.

      Intonation:

      1. a.

        Falling: \

      2. b.

        Rising: /

      3. c.

        Maintained: _

    3. 3.

      Pauses:

      1. a.

        Timed: (n° seconds)

      2. b.

        Micro (less than 1 tenth of a second): (.)

    4. 4.

      Overlapping: [text]

    5. 5.

      Latching: =

    6. 6.

      Interruption: text-

    7. 7.

      Lengthening of a sound: te:xt

    8. 8.

      EMPHATIC

    9. 9.

      ºsoftº

    10. 10.

      Incomprehensible fragment: xxxx

    11. 11.

      Approximate phonetic transcription: +text+

    12. 12.

      Dubious transcription: (text?)

    13. 13.

      Language:

      1. a.

        Catalan

      2. b.

        English

      3. c.

        Spanish

      4. d.

        Catalan or Spanish

      5. e.

        Greek

      6. f.

        Turkish

    14. 14.

      Continuation of a previous turn: speaker>

    15. 15.

      Transcriber’s comments: ((comment) text)

    16. 16.

      Symbolic and photographic transcription of multimodality:

      1. a.

        Participant: abc:

      2. b.

        Approximate instant when action starts or finishes: *

      3. c.

        Action described continues across subsequent lines: *-->

      4. d.

        Action described continues beyond end of fragment: *-->>

      5. e.

        Description of action: abc: *-description->

      6. f.

        Approximate instant when screen shot was taken: fig 1

  6. 6.

    The employees’ work at the computer is a significant feature of the interactions at the registration office at University A. It structures the questions that are asked, is a major focus of the employees’ gaze and body alignment, and gives rise to long, unrepaired silences (Moore 2011).

  7. 7.

    No image is available for this fragment, as the video camera was not focused on the interaction at this point. The transcription is based on the audio recording only.

  8. 8.

    Elka’s insertions (Auer 1984) in English (“una address”, line 7; “el telephone”, line 22) during turns in Spanish are linked to her using that language to fill out the computer registration form. Like at the registration office at University A, the computer is thus a key participant in the service encounters at University B.

  9. 9.

    This point has been confirmed in informal interviews carried out with the employees in the registration offices.

  10. 10.

    Translation: “Generally, contextualisation cues are practices through which participants reveal, reproduce, transform or delete elements of the context that are relevant for the interpretation of the utterance being produced. CS is one of the resources that perform this interpretive guidance work, creating a contrast between an utterance in one language and the following utterance in another: in this way, CS highlights a change in the details to be interpreted.”

  11. 11.

    Consell de Cent is the name of the street where the students live.

  12. 12.

    See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWeU-QPFjiY.

  13. 13.

    Wendy Patton and Peter Creed. 2007. The relationship between career variables and occupational aspirations and expectations for Australian high school adolescents. Journal of Career Development 34(2):127–148.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Emilee Moore & Luci Nussbaum

  2. Language Department, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Emilee Moore

  3. Igualada School of Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Eulàlia Borràs

Authors
  1. Emilee Moore
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  2. Eulàlia Borràs
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  3. Luci Nussbaum
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Correspondence to Emilee Moore .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Hartmut Haberland

  2. Dept. of Int'l Business Communication, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Dorte Lønsmann

  3. Dept. for Culture and Identity, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Bent Preisler

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Moore, E., Borràs, E., Nussbaum, L. (2013). Plurilingual Resources in Lingua Franca Talk: An Interactionist Perspective. In: Haberland, H., Lønsmann, D., Preisler, B. (eds) Language Alternation, Language Choice and Language Encounter in International Tertiary Education. Multilingual Education, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6476-7_3

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