West African Englishes on the Move: New Forms of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in Germany (Extension)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Mair
• Subject Area: Individual Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 415700983

This application is for a one-year extension of an ongoing project after the current funding period ends on 30 September 2022. Work on the current project is moving ahead successfully and, in all crucial respects, according to plan. An extension is requested for three reasons:(1) The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated modifications to the original timetable for fieldwork and data collection and caused various types of non-critical delays that would be compensated for by the extra time.(2) The original focus of the project was on the use of English and German in lingua-franca interaction among West African immigrant communities in Germany and between them and the wider population. In view of their widespread use in West Africa, English-lexifier pidgins/creoles were expected to play an additional, if limited role in the German diasporic setting. However, the presence of Pidgin in our recorded interview data far exceeds expectations, and the language’s functions in the new environment are changing to an extent that merits thorough sociolinguistic attention.(3) Two post-doc researchers employed in the project (first-generation immigrants from Cameroon and Nigeria, respectively) are finding the data extremely interesting for future research on topics not covered in the present project, namely (i) an investigation of sociocultural predictors of success and failure in acquiring German as a second language among “Anglophone” West African immigrants, and (ii) the community’s discursive representation of discrimination and racism and their coping strategies. A 12-month extension would enable them to prepare their own follow-up applications with more chances of success. Successful applications would help promote research in the community by members of the community, which is widely held to be a desideratum in sociolinguistics and research on World Englishes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants