English as a Lingua Franca, Essay Example

Introduction

People with various native languages commonly communicate using a lingua franca (O’Regan, 2014), a speech, or a mix of languages.  The phenomenon of English becoming a lingua franca due to expansionism and colonization is discussed in the papers written by John P. O’Regan. These writings are published in both the United States and Britain. The British Empire’s expansion into the Americas was the initial impetus for this process (Baker, Jenkins & Baird,2015).

Flaws

One of the problems with O’Regan’s ideas is that they are oversimplified, particularly about linguistic and social aspects. This is one of the shortcomings of O’Regan’s theories. Aside from this, he provided poor explanations for the Marxian political theories, a doctrine that no ELF academic has ever believed in. Furthermore, O’Regan’s essay does not discuss the social or philosophical implications of the ELF study, which is an essential omission on his side (O’Regan,2014). This is a severe mistake on O’Regan’s behalf.

O’Regan established and enforced his theoretical frameworks without considering relevant arguments in ELF research, another problem in the article. Everything he thought was not founded on scientific evidence; instead, it was derived from his unique understanding of what he called “the ELF Theories ” (Ishikaw,2015). The primary basis for the criticism against O’Regan is that he often asserted that the argument was reasonable, even though his beliefs, which were misinterpreted, were only a regurgitation of Marxist doctrines. O’Regan never provided a prescription for any of the currently held research ideas. Still, he used his work to give unfounded and unconfirmed evidence about the ELF scientific study (Ishikaw,2015).

Critique

The first critical analysis is that O’Regan discredits the ELF movement by utilizing Marxism, modernism, and poststructuralism as theoretical frameworks. His primary contention is that the ELF movement adheres to conservative political ideals, presents arguments that contradict one another, and does not adequately theorize issues(O’Regan, J.(2014 Dec). In the second piece of analysis, John P. O’Regan explains his thoughts on English as a Lingua Franca (also known as ELF) and the function it should play in the lives of many fluent people worldwide in it.

A person who believes in positive knowledge, a reliable framework that is tied to the age of thinking postmodern understanding reality and questioning the status quo (poststructuralist), should not be utilized as an intellectual framework, according to O’Regan (2014). (Schmidtz,2017).

O’Regan’s perception of ELF is based on the theories that adhere to conservative political positions. O’Regan questions the use of distinguishing justified belief from opinion. This is an opinion or idea based on positivist theories and objectivist hypotheses.

The third critical analysis is O’Regan’s points in the article introducing provocative beliefs and interventions applied linguistics and social stratification theories believed by Karl Marx and theories of faith following social ideas of Marxism (as cited in Schmidt,2017).  As John P. O’Regan argues, the ELF proponent transforms the ELF, making it “a phenomenon” to bring the movement into existence. ELF researchers, according to O’Regan, use terms and phrases indicating ELF is representative of Marxism theories mixed with unorthodox social beliefs concerning race.

According to one reading of scathing criticism of O’Regan’s theory, ELF may be considered a kind of “false consciousness,” which is adhered to by the ELF movement. This is one interpretation of scathing criticism. The idea proposed by O’Regan is currently undergoing its fourth round of scrutiny. According to O’Regan (2014), the philosopher responsible for developing the ELF notions did not adhere to any famous research paradigms or modes of thought. He considered all of the primary points of view untrustworthy.

He thought the researcher’s opinions about the ELF movement were erroneous and disagreed with them. O’Regan’s ideas, devised for self-promotion, borrowed from Marxism’s theoretical perspectives to highlight the inconsistencies and contradictions inherent in ELF (Baker, Jenkins & Baird,2015). This was done to show that ELF is fundamentally flawed.

Conclusion  

In conclusion, O’Regan’s article on ELF research is founded on an information gap, and his criticism is not reasonable. The Marxist theories modified in the piece were done so to draw attention to his radical beliefs and attract more readers to his publications. The criticism considers that he does not give any academic dispute or scientific contribution that has not been peer-reviewed. The line of reasoning that O’Regan has offered implies that O’Regan does not have a genuine interest in presenting ELF research in a positive light. This is suggested by the fact that O’Regan presented this reasoning line. The goal of the article, which was essentially just a presentation of his personal opinions on the topic, was to raise his reputation as a literature expert in the field of ELF. The study did not contain any new information. It was a well-planned and deliberate maneuver in the realm of literature to draw more readers and academics so that the renown could be used to question his article on Marxism theories.

References

Baker, W., Jenkins, J. & Baird, R.(2015). ELF researchers take issue with ‘English as a lingua franca: an immanent critique. Applied Linguistics,36/1:pg.121-123. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1008.8640&rep=1&type=pdf

Ishikaw, T.(2015). Academic rigor in criticizing English as a Lingua Franca. Englishes in Practice, 2(2): 39-48. DOI 10.1515/eip-2015-0002

O’Regan, J.(2014 Dec). John P. O’Regan’s ‘English as a Lingua Franca: An Immanent Critique.’

Applied Linguistics, Volume 35, Issue 5, 1, Pages 533–552 at https://academic.oup.com/applij/article/35/5/533/175252 )

Schmidt J.(2017). English as a Lingua Franca: Applied Linguistics, Marxism, and Post-Marxist theory. UNICAMP. V.17,a2,p. 335-354. https://www.scielo.br/j/rbla/a/MjQqkbbZfqWbgVXCfrJtJKd/?lang=en