English as a lingua franca the fore. English as a lingua franca English as a lingua franca (ELF) is the use of the English language as "a common means of communication for speakers of different first languages". ELF is also "defined functionally by its use in intercultural communication rather than formally by its reference to native-speaker norms" whereas English as a foreign language aims at meeting native speaker norms and gives prominence to native speaker cultural aspects. While lingua francas have been used for centuries, what makes ELF a novel phenomenon is the extent to which it is used – both functionally and geographically. A
German youth language German youth language German youth language or youth communication is a term used to describe the linguistic patterns and characteristics used by various groups at different ages, time periods and locations. According to Helmut Glück (2005) the term is not strictly defined. Heinrich Löffler refers to Jugendsprache as a transitory non-standard language (“Lebensalter-Sprache”: “age-language”) specifically with attention to the time limitation of linguistic patterns in one’s life. In German and West European philology Jugendsprache is considered to be not only a non-standard language but a complex subform of the base language, and is specifically defined as the style of a