Page 224 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

202 Christiane Meierkord

serving for business communication. As Knapp and Meierkord (2002) point out,
the different languages used as lingua francas fulfill a range of different func-
tions. Some lingua francas serve highly specialized purposes and function only
in very restricted contexts such as airtraffic control. However, others are em-
ployed for government purposes, as medium of instruction in schools and terti-
ary education (Smit 2003) and at universities, and they also play an important
role in intimate, personal interactions and as a medium for creative writing.

2.1. Lingua francas for restricted purposes

Specific, restricted forms of a number of natural languages have been designed
to codify and facilitate communication for specific purposes. Basic English
(Ogden 1930) is a simplified form of English, engineered for easy international
use. Based on a vocabulary of only 850 items and a few straightforward gram-
matical rules, it a presents an attempt to provide people with an international
second language which will take as little of their time as possible to learn. It is
used by some aircraft manufacturers and other international businesses to write
manuals and to communicate. A Basic English version of the Bible was pub-
lished in 1965 by Cambridge University Press, and today an online-version in
Basic English is available at www.biblekeeper.com/bible-in-english/index.html.
The relevance of Ogden’s ideas for modern English language teaching is dis-
cussed in Seidlhofer (2002).
Ogden’s endeavor to simplify English has been adapted by a number of
companies and organizations. Airspeak is a form of English used for communi-
cation between pilots and the airports, and Seaspeak enables ship-to-shore com-
munication. Seaspeak has recently been used as a basis for a European project
aiming at facilitating police interaction (Johnson et al. 1993 and www.prolin-
gua.co.uk). In 1971, the Caterpillar Tractor Company developed Fundamental
English, a 900-words, form of English used to compile product documentation
for its international customers. And in 1979, the Douglas Aircraft Company de-
vised a 2000-word dictionary it uses for its technical manuals. Similar to Basic
English, these forms do not contain synonyms or idioms. Sentences are short
and simple. As Heuler (1989) points out, many companies have since followed
suit and developed their own simplified form of English.
In addition to international companies, some of the broadcast stations aim-
ing at an international listenership have also designed reduced forms of English.
For example, Special English is a simplified version of English used by the
Voice of America. Started as an experiment on October 19, 1959, Special Eng-
lish today is a program broadcast daily, which addresses “people who are not
fluent in English”. It uses a core vocabulary of 1500 words. Sentences are short
and simple, and they contain only one idea which is generally expressed in the
active voice. As The Voice of America itself points out: “The goal was to com-