Language Choice on a Swiss Mailing List

Bibliographic Data

ID23175341
AuthorsMercedes Durham (0000-0002-9819-0687, corresponding author)
Year2007
Pages319-339
Publication date2007-06-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Multilingual Internet (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304794.003.0014
OpenAlexW4238761993
ISBN9780195304794
LanguageEN
Citations received9

This chapter examines the linguistic choices made by multilingual Swiss medical students on an asynchronous Internet discussion list. A quantitative analysis of language choice in over 1,000 messages sent to the list over a period of four calendar years shows that English was progressively adopted as the lingua franca by the French, German, and Italian native speaking members of the association, largely superceding the use of their native languages. The analysis also reveals that although some messages were in English, French, and German, only a small minority of messages contain code switching. A qualitative analysis of participants’ linguistic choices and their own metalinguistic commentary provides clues as to why English has gained in importance on this list and in Switzerland as a whole.

Asynchronous communication · English as a lingua franca · German · Lingua franca · Linguistics · Telecommunications · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Linguistic research and analysis · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Psychology

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