Using English as a Lingua Franca at an International Company : A Study of the Communication Between Non-native English Speakers in a Swedish Workplace

Abstract: This essay examines the communication in English and use of English at a Swedish company with employees from all over the world. The aim is to investigate how the employees experience speaking English with their colleagues and if they believe that misunderstandings can occur owing to their language differences.  The linguistic focus of this study is towards sociolinguistics, including lingua franca, language use and communication as well as a small portion of language acquisition, considering that the majority of employees do not speak English as their native language.   The results of the study have shown that all employees at the company speak English daily, but the experiences and opinions of it vary, mostly depending on which department they work in and what kind of education they have had previous to them working at the company.