The Institute for Language and Culture brought two visiting scholars to the University of Southampton in 2012-13.

The French historian Michel Leymarie visited the Institute for Language and Culture on 30 October – 1 November 2012. M. Leymarie teaches Contemporary French History at l’Université de Lille III Charles-de-Gaulle. He is a member of the Institut de Recherches Historiques du Septentrion, and a research associate in History at Sciences po (Institut d’études politiques de Paris). He is well known for his work on French intellectuals, including Les intellectuels et la politique en France (PUF, Que sais-je ?, 2001) and Histoire des intellectuels aujourd’hui, edited with Jean-François Sirinelli (Presses universitaires de France, 2003). He has written and edited several books on the leading essayist and critic of the interwar period, Albert Thibaudet. Most recently he has written extensively about right wing thinkers such as Maurice Barrès and Charles Maurras, and intellectual movements, such as Action française, which were influential in the wartime Vichy regime in France. He is also a member of several editorial boards and national committees.

While at Southampton M. Leymarie met with colleagues and gave a lecture on ‘French right-wing writers who prepared the intellectual  climate of the Vichy regime’. He also recorded a podcast discussion with Professor Michael Kelly on the relationship between church and state in early twentieth century France.

Anne Kankaanranta from the Aalto University School of Business in Finland visited the University of Southampton on 12-14 March 2013. While at Southampton she met with colleagues and gave a lecture.

You can watch the lecture here.

Global communicative competence in business: the role of BELF (English as Business Lingua Franca)

Abstract: In recent years, communication in international business has experienced a multitude of dramatic changes due to the increasingly complex operating environment. In particular, the multicultural and multilingual diversity has highlighted the need for expanding our knowledge of the elements that constitute communicative competence in global encounters. Although competence has been investigated, the language perspective, particularly the language used for international communication, i.e. English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), has largely been ignored. On the basis of an extensive survey study and related qualitative interviews conducted among business professionals engaging in global communication, I will discuss the notion of communicative competence.

Our findings show that communicative competence consists of three intertwined layers: multicultural competence, competence in BELF (English as the Business Lingua Franca) and the communicator’s business know-how. In our framework of Global Communicative Competence, language – i.e. BELF – assumes a key role. In my presentation, I will discuss the role and characteristics of ‘successful’ BELF communication as perceived by internationally operating business professionals. I will also address the implications for theory, practice and education, including the need for a multidisciplinary approach and the acknowledgement of ELF/BELF as the language of global interaction.

Some related articles:

Louhiala-Salminen, L. & Kankaanranta, A. (2012). Language issues in international internal communication: English or local language? If English, what English? Public Relations Review, Special edition on Internal Communication, 38, 262-269.

Louhiala-Salminen, L. & Kankaanranta, A. (2011). Professional Communication in a Global Business Context: The Notion of Global Communicative Competence. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Special issue on Professional Communication in Global Contexts, 54(3) September, 244-262.

Kankaanranta, A. & Planken, B. (2010). BELF competence as business knowledge of internationally operating business professionals. Journal of Business Communication, Special issue of Language Matters, Part 2, 47(4), 380-407.

Kankaanranta, A. & Louhiala-Salminen, L. (2010). ”English? – Oh, it’s just work!”: A study of BELF users’ perceptions. English for Specific Purposes, 29(3), 204-209.