CMC Features in Lingua Franca E-mail Messages

English is used globally as a lingua franca, i.e. a
contact language between people who do not share a
common language. The present study attempts to look
at the European lingua franca context by examining
e-mail messages as they are written in an academic
context, i.e. in one of the environments where
English has been most widely adopted as a lingua
franca. The e-mail messages were analysed with
respect to features that are typically associated
with computer-mediated communication (CMC). The data
consisted of English language e-mail messages
collected from six Erasmus coordinators at the
University of Jyväskylä. The study aims at examining
the features ascribed to CMC and their frequency in
the data. The study also considers whether the
relationship and the role of the e-mail writers have
an influence on the language and in particular the
frequency of the CMC features used in the messages.
Further, the study examines the messages with respect
to the lingua franca use of English in them.

Autorentext
Laura Laamanen obtained her Master s degree at the University of
Jyväskylä, Finland, in 2005. She is currently working at the
University of Jyväskylä International Office, where she is in
charge of coordinating the services for incoming international
students.

Klappentext
English is used globally as a lingua franca, i.e. a contact language between people who do not share a common language. The present study attempts to look at the European lingua franca context by examining e-mail messages as they are written in an academic context, i.e. in one of the environments where English has been most widely adopted as a lingua franca. The e-mail messages were analysed with respect to features that are typically associated with computer-mediated communication (CMC). The data consisted of English language e-mail messages collected from six Erasmus coordinators at the University of Jyväskylä. The study aims at examining the features ascribed to CMC and their frequency in the data. The study also considers whether the relationship and the role of the e-mail writers have an influence on the language and in particular the frequency of the CMC features used in the messages. Further, the study examines the messages with respect to the lingua franca use of English in them.