Lingua Franca -- The problem English presents in business

COLOGNE -- I am eating sausages at Cologne / Bonn International Airport. Konrad Adenauer International Airport.

10 points to those of you below aged 65 who know who Konrad Adenauer was...

No, Germans can't answer.

Well the Lufthansa lounge here is not so hot. Like a high school rec room. Without the charm.

I was editing a document for Melcrum last night. Someone called me up and asked me a lot of questions and then I was sent an article. And it was on the subject of offshoring. I think. But one of the questions they asked in follow up was about the implications of English being a lingua franca.

I said -- and think I believe -- that with more people speaking English as a second language than a first language, communicators were going to have to adjust.

So, let me say that in a more coherent way.

More than half of the world's English-speakers speak English as a second language. So, I maintained that people who are professional communicators will need to adjust for that.

Melcrum (Sue Dewhurst actually) asked "how?"

And that is a perfectly good question.

Three ways:

1) Use of jargon
We will have to start using the base language for most of our global communications. Example, today I told a group of international business that Social Media is currently and anarchic business and disintermediation is a key cause of the drive to social media.

Huh?

I was able to explain both, but had to draw attention to both as jargon. I could have said it differently.

2) Local dialects
I find fewer and fewer people in the UK are saying "lorry" and more are saying "truck". Too bad, lorry is a nicer word. But some words don't last.

On the other hand, in the English of France and Quebec it is perfectly normal to talk about someone being an "animator" of a workshop. Lots of these local usages persist. They add character and also meaning for local audiences.

3) Assumptions of understanding
There are many people who speak well but understand little (like my lovely mother-in-law) or who don't speak well but understand everything (like my father-in-law). So long as they travel together, they're fine. But you can't assume that of your audiences. And any assumptions about language skills can be insulting.

Not least in places like Germany and Spain where a lot of pride is at stake.

Hasta la proxima.

/df

Published 27 June 2007 10:49 by David Ferrabee

Filed under: Culture, People management, Europe

Comments

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  Fiona Blamey said:

  All professional communicators should indeed learn to write and speak clearly, and to avoid jargon wherever possible.

  That said, words like 'disintermediation' are more likely to be understood by an international audience than words like 'middleman', because of their root in the old <i>lingua franca</i> of Latin.  

  Some of the words we think of as 'plain English' are the least likely to be understood by speakers of other languages.

  I'm ashamed to say I don't remember who Konrad Adenauer was.

  June 27, 2007 11:57
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  Bruno Soares said:

  Fiona's right. Curiously enough, some of the more complex words of English language come from Latin and are easier understood by us latin-descendents. Although there are some false friends («puxe», in portuguese, sounds like «push», but means «pull»).

  Some languages and cultures are more flexible towards foreign language: Portuguese has about 13 different sounds for the letter «A» and Spanish has about 6. So it probably means it's easier for us, Portuguese, to speak other languages with different sounds.

  KA was the assassinated Chancellor, right? 10 for me?

  June 28, 2007 18:14
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  Sue Dewhurst said:

  Good answer David! Thanks!

  June 28, 2007 21:33
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  » ??Qu??? said:

  PingBack from http://www.theblueballroom.com/blog/?p=33

  June 29, 2007 15:15
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  Mike Klein said:

  Hi David...

  First--having read an excellent biography of Adenauer, his example is one both organizational leaders and internal communicators could well find worth referencing.  Adenauer, mainly by force of will but also through adroit coalition-building and control of the nation's communication agenda, rebuilt the West German economy and kept West Germany in the Western camp despite clamor for Germany to reunify as a neutral country.  Arguably, Adenauer could be called the greatest turnaround manager of all time, and his accomplishments bring new meaning to the term "culture change".

  As for World English--it is interesting to be working at a large Netherlands-based energy concern, as I deal with these issues on a moment-by-moment basis.  One thing I'm finding is that authenticity of voice often trumps native-speaker-grammatical correctness.  Also, while the Dutch speak English well, the constructions that make them sound verbally eloquent often make for awkward written copy...

  As for jargon--some time we even get the reverse situation--when the jargon is better understood than more neutral language...

  For what it's worth,

  Mike Klein

  The Hague, NL

  July 4, 2007 16:46
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  David Ferrabee said:

  Mike,

  You get the points for Adenauer.  All the points, because I don't think he met his end the way Bruno suggested.

  Interesting points on language too.  Business people now understand "leveraging synergies", better than they would something like "making common cause".

  I think you are right.

  We're planning a day in Den Hagg shortly, drop me a note if you've got time for coffee.

  /df

  July 5, 2007 09:13
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  Mike Klein said:

  Would gladly make time for coffee--I'm reachable through my blog if you don't already have my email.

  :)

  Mike

  July 6, 2007 13:59
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  Liam FitzPatrick said:

  Check out what the real Liam Fitzpatrick has to say on this issue.... http://luyi12.blogspot.com/2007/07/english-spoken-here-sort-of.html

  Liam

  July 20, 2007 18:16