Globalisation processes and technological developments in the field of mass communication have provided a fertile ground for international communication and the creation of communities unbound by geographical constraints. In these cases, English is often used as the working language among people coming from a number of different linguacultural backgrounds, especially non–native speakers of the language. These uses of English may be analysed in the framework of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) studies, which focus on interactions where English acts as the shared language of communication. ELF studies put emphasis on mutual intelligibility over linguistic accuracy in such communicative events, analysing the strategies adopted by speakers to negotiate meaning and achieve their communicative and practical goals. So far, ELF research has focused mainly on spoken interactions, carrying out empirical research on multiple language levels and in different fields. However, research has recently widened its scope to include written texts and digital communication. As digital communication is not a homogeneous medium of communication, research spans across different modes, such as blogging platforms (Vettorel 2014) and websites (Poppi 2012; Carey 2013). Non–native speakers of English engage in diverse activities online in international environments, including participatory practices such as fanfiction, that is, creative writing based preeminently on existing media texts. This paper aims at exploring how multi–word text organising elements with varying degrees of semantic opacity, relating to time reference, are used in ELF creative writing. A quantitative and qualitative corpus–based analysis will be carried out by looking at written uses of ELF in a monologically–oriented genre found preeminently online, that is, fanfiction.
Bringing the Story Together: Text Organisation in ELF Creative Writing
Valeria Franceschi
2017-01-01
Abstract
Globalisation processes and technological developments in the field of mass communication have provided a fertile ground for international communication and the creation of communities unbound by geographical constraints. In these cases, English is often used as the working language among people coming from a number of different linguacultural backgrounds, especially non–native speakers of the language. These uses of English may be analysed in the framework of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) studies, which focus on interactions where English acts as the shared language of communication. ELF studies put emphasis on mutual intelligibility over linguistic accuracy in such communicative events, analysing the strategies adopted by speakers to negotiate meaning and achieve their communicative and practical goals. So far, ELF research has focused mainly on spoken interactions, carrying out empirical research on multiple language levels and in different fields. However, research has recently widened its scope to include written texts and digital communication. As digital communication is not a homogeneous medium of communication, research spans across different modes, such as blogging platforms (Vettorel 2014) and websites (Poppi 2012; Carey 2013). Non–native speakers of English engage in diverse activities online in international environments, including participatory practices such as fanfiction, that is, creative writing based preeminently on existing media texts. This paper aims at exploring how multi–word text organising elements with varying degrees of semantic opacity, relating to time reference, are used in ELF creative writing. A quantitative and qualitative corpus–based analysis will be carried out by looking at written uses of ELF in a monologically–oriented genre found preeminently online, that is, fanfiction.
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