Feb 10

Business English as a Lingua Franca or Globish?

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training 2 Comments »

For many professionals using Business English, this language is purely an efficient means of communication in order to get the job done. This new lingua franca might consequently become known under a different name to ‘English’. Both BELF (Business English Lingua Franca) and ‘Globish’ are terms currently used.

Globes Mike Bentley i Business English as a Lingua Franca or Globish?

© istockphoto.com/ Mike Bentley

The French former IBM executive Jean-Paul Nerrière coined this version of English ‘Globish’. He observed in the Far East how non-native speakers of English were more able to communicate and hence do business with their Korean or Japanese counterparts than their native English speaking rivals from America and Britain by using this dialect. Globish has a basic ‘utilitarian’ vocabulary of about 1500 words and is devoid of all the complications of English. In the author Robert McCrum’s view, Globish benefits from having broken free from the cultural associations with Britain and the United States. This would obviously make it more attractive to potential speakers in countries where Western life is not always looked upon positively.

Globish therefore evolves in its own way, both grammatically and lexically. Will Globish become the new lingua franca? In the opinion of New Yorker writer, Isaac Chotiner, Globish may just be a worldwide pidgin which does not satisfy everybody’s linguistic needs – what people really want to learn is English. In the same vein, Nicholas Ostler writes that Globish in his opinion will not survive long as it ‘it is not being picked up as a mother tongue’, something which is essential for the long-term survival of a language.

So, what of the future of English as a lingua franca for business? Nicholas Ostler believes that even though English is the lingua franca of business at the current time, the situation will definitely change and English will go into inevitable decline. Why inevitable? In his view, English will follow the same trend as other great lingua franca of the past. Persian dominated Western Asia for centuries but finally lost this position following foreign invasions of peoples speaking other languages and went into permanent decline. The same was true of Latin, which became the lingua franca under the Romans.

Even if these predictions are backed by solid arguments, we clearly do not know what will happen and when – after all, the reign of Latin lasted for more than a thousand years. In the meantime, while we wait for a new dominant culture to appear, there is no denying the requirement for non-native speakers of English to acquire the language of Shakespeare and Dickens. English courses such as Business English or Legal English will allow you to work effectively in an international context.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Feb 04

English as the Lingua Franca for Business

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training 1 Comment »

First of all let us consider what a lingua franca is. In the words of the linguist Nicholas Ostler, a lingua franca is ‘a language that you learn because you need, because you want to.’ In contrast, Ostler defines a mother tongue as ‘… a language that you learn because you can’t help it’.

Globe Kasia i English as the Lingua Franca for Business

© istockphoto.com/ Kasia

How did English become today’s lingua franca for business? The spread of English can be traced back to the settlement of North America when the British took over areas of land from native populations and established English as the language that subsequent immigrants would speak. English was also taken to India and other countries around the globe as part of 19th Century imperialism. After the Second World War, English became increasingly popular as it was associated with the new world order. The cultural and economic clout of the countries where English was spoken encouraged and obliged many political elites and companies to adopt this language.

What is the current situation? The Financial Times published an article in 2007 entitled ‘Whose English?’ This article estimated that the number of native speakers of English was 400 million whereas one quarter of the world’s population can communicate in this language. About 80% of all interactions in English take place between non-native speakers. The globalisation of business operations and communication technology has helped bring about this situation.

Currently business English’s position as a lingua franca is upheld by the economic might of the United States and Britain. However, the influence of the two economic powers has recently been shaken by the banking crisis and the consequent economic downturn. This situation shows how things can change. Maybe in the future Chinese companies will be in a position to oblige ‘foreign’ companies to use Chinese to do business with them? It is also worth considering that the number of Americans who have Spanish as their mother tongue is increasing rapidly.

But before this situation occurs, international businessmen or entrepreneurs will still need to use English during their international meetings or business negotiations. Consequently, professionals working internationally can benefit immensely from business English training courses which will allow them to communicate effectively with their foreign counterparts.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Jul 14

What is Financial English?

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Financial English Training Courses 1 Comment »

English is the international language of business and used increasingly around the world, especially within the finance sector. So how did English become the language of international finance?

British colonialism led to the spread of the English language throughout Asia and Africa where it became the language of education and governance. As the British colonies became independent, English remained the language of trade between the 54 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. English continued to become more widespread as the United States’ economic influence increased during the Second World War. English remained the most commonly spoken language and quickly became the de facto lingua franca of business as American companies such as IBM and GM grew and became truly multinational.

Business and financial services such as banking and accountancy around the world use English as the primary language of communication. International standards for finance such as the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting (IFRS) are all recorded in English while many terms and expressions related to banking and accounting have been coined in English.

Business Meeting 13 track5 i1 What is Financial English?

© istockphoto.com/ Track 5

In addition to the many international standards in English, important international bodies have also been set up and use English as the language for communication. One of these is ACCA(The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), one of the largest and fastest-growing global professional accountancy bodies with 296,000 students and 115,000 members in 170 countries. Its aim is to enable people to become highly qualified so that they can pursue their international careers in accountancy, finance and management.

Anyone who wants to understand the financial standards and regulations or participate in these important international bodies must ‘possess first-rate English language skills and the ability to converse with other accounting and finance professionals’ (University of Cambridge). Being able to communicate with finance professionals in today’s international business environment requires not only excellent skills in business English but the ability to use Financial English.

Someone with excellent Financial English skills will understand the many terms and abbreviations used in the financial sector. Some examples include: ROI (return on investment), EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles).

There are also a number of themes which professionals working in finance need to understand such as financial reporting, insurance, investment banking, ethics and professionalism, accounting software, assets and company valuations, and acquisitions and mergers. All of these areas contain lexical fields that need to be mastered by any professional in a finance role.

In addition to these lexical fields, Financial English also encompasses the language required to perform everyday financial tasks. Financial professionals need to possess the linguistic skills to:

  • Prepare and deliver presentations
  • Take part in discussions
  • Participate in and conduct meetings
  • Give their opinions and suggest alternatives
  • Present an argument and handle questions
  • Write financial reports and formal letters

The ability to speak Financial English is no longer a nice to have but it’s a must have for any finance professional working in today’s global world. Whether it’s understanding the specific terminology or international standards, taking part in important financial discussions or writing vital financial reports, finance professionals must have an excellent level of Financial English to succeed in a domain where precision is fundamental. Click here to find out what the content of a Financial English course contains.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jun 22

What is Business English?

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training No Comments »

English became the predominant language of business during the second half of the Twentieth Century for various reasons. The USA became the world’s most important economic power and was also one of the ‘victors’, alongside Britain, of the Second World War. The increasingly international nature of business made moving towards a ‘common’ language a necessity. English was a perfect candidate as it was already spoken as a first or second language by many people around the globe (partially as a result of British colonialism). It is now spoken by over 500 million people in a vast number of territories, including Britain, Canada, the United States of America, Australia, India and Southern Africa and has truly become a ‘global’ language. Business English is therefore considered as being essential for all people who wish to work in any area of business, aviation, computing, etc. As the economy becomes increasingly global, the importance of Business English continues to grow.

Definition Business samdiesel i What is Business English?

© istockphoto.com/ Samdiesel

‘Business English’ is the wide-embracing term that is used to describe the type of English that is used by people to do business. ‘English for Business focuses on the English language skills necessary to communicate in an increasingly global business environment.’ The range of different subject areas included under the umbrella term ‘Business English’ is wide. The Oxford Business English Dictionary includes the following areas : accounting, commerce, e-commerce, economics, finance, HR, insurance, IT, law, manufacturing, marketing, production, property, the stock exchange, (international) trade, transport. Does this mean that everything which is not considered to be General English is in fact Business English? The answer is no. There is a wider term for English which is not considered to be general: ESP (English for Specific Purposes). This acronym includes all the different areas of ‘Business English’ and more (English for hotels and catering, English for Science, English for Academic Purposes (EAP), etc).

What is generally associated with a ‘Business English’ course are the skills that most people need to be able to do their jobs well: writing e-mails and reports, making presentations, doing negotiations, using the telephone, attending and participating actively in meetings or telephone conferences, receiving visitors, etc The big difference, therefore, is that Business English focuses on the delegate’s job whereas the aim of General English is to improve all the four skills, regardless of the language content.

Consequently, Business English courses need to be carefully planned. The delegate or delegates (if the course is not one-to-one) should initially have their needs and objectives, as well as their language level, analysed before the specific training programme is drawn up. A delegate usually does not want to waste valuable course time learning skills or practising language which are not relevant to his/her professional requirements. Business English training courses are normally paid for by companies and the delegates are therefore in some way accountable for what is achieved. As a result, some sort of agreement needs to be established between the training organisation and the delegate’s company before the training course begins Answers to questions such as: ‘how many hours of training will the delegate require in order to achieve his/her stated objectives?’ or ‘What can the delegate expect to be capable of doing at the end of this course of X number of hours?’ need to be taken into consideration

Company English language training budgets are spent almost entirely on Business English courses. It is therefore imperative that language training organisations fine-tune their service and put themselves in a position from which they can respond rapidly and effectively to this ever-increasing demand.

© Communicaid Group Ltd.2010

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Jun 18

Learning Business English in London

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training No Comments »

English is the accepted language for international trade and commerce and London is one of the main centres of global and European business; it therefore seems logical that attending a Business English course in London is an excellent choice. Among the many advantages that England’s capital offers somebody searching for a Business English course are: the facilities and atmosphere offered by this bubbly city, the immersion factor, the wide choice of training centres and courses on offer and the accessibility of the city itself.

London is considered ‘the place to be’ when it comes to business in Europe. The figures speak for themselves: ‘London is Europe’s financial capital, with nearly 2,000 UK headquartered companies listed on the London markets producing an aggregate market capitalisation of nearly £1.4 trillion ($2.5 trillion).

St Pauls Deejpilot i Learning Business English in London

© istockphoto.com/ Deejpilot

This atmosphere is surely what anybody working in the business would want to experience. Not only is London a great business city, it also offers a wonderful range of entertainment, all of which inevitably helps the delegate on a business English course to learn the language better. London has four world heritage sites, over 200 museums and galleries, ten national trust and ten English Heritage sites, 108 theatres and music halls, five world class symphony orchestras and two opera houses.

At the end of a day’s training in London, the delegate is able to immerse him/herself in the atmosphere of this lively city and listen to English spoken in its natural environment. It is recognised by the majority of delegates on Business English training courses that English spoken by ‘native speakers’ is more difficult to understand than the variety of English spoken by people who use English as a second or even third language. The speed of delivery, the consequent pronunciation changes in fast connected speech and the inclusion of idiomatic expressions, slang and phrasal verbs, for example, can make native speakers notoriously difficult to comprehend. A Business delegate can avoid this problem and hope that his next interlocutor is not English, or he can ‘take the bull by the horns’ and expose him/herself to everyday English, spoken naturally in London.

Deciding on which Business English course in London to choose might present the potential delegate with a lot of problems as the choice of training centres and courses is so wide. It is precisely for this reason, however, that the delegate has more chance of finding a course which mirrors exactly what he/she is looking for. The delegate needs to be careful and do his/her research thoroughly. There is, however, another way. Instead of tying to find a course that responds to his/her demands, maybe it would be better for the delegate to check out other kinds of organisation such as the Culture and Communication Skills Consultancy, Communicaid, which designs the programme of study to respond to the objectives, needs and level of the delegate.

London also offers regular opportunities to take an English business exam as there are a lot of accredited examination centres in this city. Cambridge and LCCI are two of the most popular.
London remains one of the most accessible cities in the world. It is relatively cheap and easy to travel to thanks to its four London airports and Eurostar station. For anybody in Europe, London is no more than a few hours away.

© Communicaid Group Ltd 2010

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Jun 15

Drafting Contracts in English

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses No Comments »

In this post we are going to look at why English is the predominant language for the drafting of contracts, the implications this has for companies and their lawyers and the possible solution of finding a legal English course which specialises in drafting contacts.

English is the international language of business for a variety of reasons. The US is the dominant world economy and military power and two of the world’s main financial centres are also English-speaking (London and New York). As Dr Volker Triebel stated in his essay ‘Pitfalls of English as a Contract Language‘ nearly half of the companies listed in the Fortune Global 500 are headquartered in an English-speaking country (Australia, Britain, Canada, Ireland or the USA).

Man carying foldersTommL i Drafting Contracts in English

© istockphoto.com/ TommL

Logically, negotiations between companies on the international stage predominantly take place in English and consequently the contracts that are drafted are also in this language. As Anglo-American firms merge with European companies, English is becoming increasingly important in Europe, even though the body of law is different on mainland Europe from that which exists in Britain, and the US, for example.

In Europe, civil law is used (based on written statutes) whereas in common-law jurisdictions, such as England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the US the laws primarily come from customs, usage and earlier court decisions. Bilingual contracts are now a thing of the past and so international company lawyers no longer have the option of not being skilled in the English language needed for drafting contracts.

The situation mentioned above means that company lawyers now have to draft contracts in English and interpret contacts in this language as well. They also have to know about the implications for drafting under Common versus Civil jurisdictions. Simply knowing the English language is not sufficient to have competence in such a complex and highly-skilled area.

The only credible solution is to send their lawyers on a Drafting contracts in Englishtraining course which caters for these special needs. Training centres do offer legal English courses, but Communicaid, the Culture and Communication Skills Consultancy, actually offers a ‘Drafting Contracts in English’ training course. It is now in its eighteenth year and the specialised trainers are themselves both qualified trainers and legal professionals. The main training centre for this skills consultancy is based in London, UK. This course is aimed at lawyers whose second language is English and ‘who need to draft, explain and interpret contract clauses written in English but under their domestic jurisdiction’.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jun 15

Benefits of a Business English Course

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Financial English Training Courses, Insurance English Training Courses, Legal English Training Courses 1 Comment »

English language training is becoming increasingly specialised as companies and delegates demand that programmes are developed to respond specifically to their needs. As these needs are predominately professional, Business English courses have been developed. What are the benefits of following a Business English course?

Business English coursesfocus on the language a learner needs to be able to carry out professional tasks efficiently. They are therefore the logical choice for anybody who is looking for a job, wanting to perform better at work or changing jobs. As Business English courses have this as their focus, their content covers such essential work-related area as: understanding and writing e-mails, making presentations, negotiating, participating in or running meetings, telephoning and welcoming visitors.

Having sufficient language skills in any of these areas provides enormous benefits to companies who work with other companies located outside their country. In a recent BBC article a Business English trainer commented ’…. as a business English trainer, I constantly meet business people who have realised the immense advantages they have, being able to sell and negotiate in their potential customers’ own language ‘

The themes or topics included in a General English programme are not as important as those on a Business English course because the ‘general’ objective of the former kind of course is to develop the delegate’s ability in the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Whether this is through studying such themes as the environment or cinema is not so important. In Business English, however, ‘two elements are axiomatic – the sense of purpose and the sense of vocation’, Keith Harding, English for Specific Purposes, Oxford, 2007.

Happy meeting Neustockimages i Benefits of a Business English Course

© istockphoto.com/ Neustockimages

In order to establish what this ‘purpose’ and ‘vocation’ are, each delegate is invited to undergo a diagnostic consultancy with Communicaid in order to define a programme specifically focused on his/her needs. The themes included in this programme are only those chosen by the delegate. The language items included depends only on the themes chosen (the passive voice for describing manufacturing processes or the second conditional for negotiating, for example). As a result, it is more probable that a Business English training course enables the delegate to achieve his/her goals in a more efficient way.

In addition to choosing from some of the main business themes listed above, the delegate also has the opportunity to specialise in an area of business relevant to his/her field of work: marketing, human resources, accounting, logistics, etc. These Business themes will thus have a more specialised language content. For a delegate wishing to train in logistics and telephone skills, for example, a role-play activity might be making a phone call to a forwarder.

Business English delegates are not taught, they are trained. Training is generally considered in the EFL profession as the reserve of the more experienced teachers. This is obviously beneficial to the Business English delegate as the quality of the training courses should be high. It is often the case that the training organisation will guarantee that its Business Trainers have had previous experience in the business world. A marketing manager could therefore be trained by a trainer who has worked in marketing him/herself. This very much depends on the training organisation and should be checked by the delegate or company when looking for a course.

Marketing Director Declan Mulkeen of Culture and Communication Skills Consultancy Communicaid based in London suggests: ‘You will benefit from access to some of Europe’s most experienced and effective Business English trainers, all of whom have considerable training expertise as well as practical experience in international business, law, finance and diplomacy.’

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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