English as a lingua franca in international business

The book "English as a Lingua Franca in International Business" addresses one of the most significant communicative developments of the 21st century: the increasing use of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in international business communication. It adopts an interactional approach that analyzes the use of ELF in international business meetings. The focus is on how misunderstandings among ELF speakers are interactively managed and resolved in these contexts. The theoretical sections provide a critical examination of various linguistic approaches to miscommunication and propose an ELF perspective that emphasizes the importance of mutual understanding and the distinction between not understanding and misunderstanding. Additionally, the structure and level of formality of the business meetings examined are presented, followed by a qualitative analysis of the different types of miscommunication. The analysis demonstrates how ELF speakers collaboratively work to clarify misunderstandings and achieve a shared understanding.