Business English is World English

　　　　I teach courses in the Department of Business Administration, but my background and teaching focus is in English language education rather than in Business. However, English is recognized as an important business skill in our globalized economy. It is true that advances in digital technology are providing us with more tools to help us communicate across languages and cultures, even without learning additional languages ourselves. However, being able to exchange greetings, engage in casual conversations, and discuss basics of business relationships without the aid of any technology is helpful in building and solidifying important business relationships, and World English is the key to that in much of today's world.

　　　　I was born into a family who spoke only English and in a country where the most common language of media and education is English. Therefore, many people would call me a native speaker of English, and they would be correct. However, many people also consider that only people born in these conditions are native speakers. They think that people born into English speaking families in places like Australia, most of Canada, and England would be native speakers, but in their minds someone raised as an English speaker in the Philippines or India would not be a native speaker. However, many language researchers and educators have challenged this idea, and recognize that there are many different kinds of native speakers. This also means that there are a variety of different types of English that have developed in different parts of the world, all of which are native, and these varieties are called World Englishes (with the plural -es, to show there are many kinds).

　　　　Another issue with using English internationally is that most interactions are likely to take place where some, if not all, people involved are not native speakers of English. This means that when you are doing business internationally, you are more likely to use English with someone who learned it as an additional language rather than as their first language. People use English as a shared common language, regardless of whether anyone is a native speaker or not, and this is known as English as a lingua franca. Another term for this is World English (without the -es!), meaning English as it is used internationally rather than one specific variety of English.

　　　　For teachers and researchers involved with Business English education, this creates a challenge of students wanting to learn "correct" English when what is considered correct can vary widely by where and in what situation the English being used is found. Also, it may not matter if the English they use is some particular version or not as long as all the interlocutors can communicate with each other. So, when we think about Business English in the 21st Century, we should be thinking about World English. We need to teach and learn the skills for communicating information and feelings accurately rather than aiming to mimic some particular form of English.

Thomas E Bieri
Department of Business Administration