We should highlight the fact that English is not used only by native speakers. As we said, this language is used by people from different mother tongues as a way of communicating to others their ideas, objectives and purposes. We can say that “English is therefore used most commonly not by native speakers but as a contact language between interlocutors with different linguacultures (linguistic and cultural backgrounds)” (BAKER, 2012, p. 63).
Some important definitions for ELF are:
- English as it is used as a contact languange among speakers from different first languages.
(Jenkins 2009:143)
- Any use of English among speakers of different first languages for whom English is the communicative medium of choice, and often the only option.
(Seidlhofer 2011: 7)
- Apart from the inclusion-exclusion of native speakers, conceptualisations of ELF also have revolved around key notions such as variety, community and language. Most scholars today would argue that ELF is not a variety, and not a uniform and fixed mode of communication.
(Cogo 2015: 2)