English as a lingua franca and European identity – parallelisms in their development

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between English as a lingua franca (henceforth ELF) and European identity. In the first place, the ELF phenomenon and its status in the European context, where multilingual policies prevail, are discussed. Secondly, this article addresses how globalization has triggered identification processes that are novel and should be treated as such and it analyses the characteristics of an alleged European identity, triggered by the pulse of globalizing processes. The role ELF may play in identification processes with Europe is examined. Finally, this article demonstrates that the flexible and hybrid nature of both ELF and European identity make them two very similar phenomena that add an extra layer to localized languages and national identities, respectively. Under this light, the hypothesis is presented that ELF and European identity are interconnected, and that ELF may be an essential condition for a sense of European identity to form.