English as a Multilingua Franca and ‘Trans-’ Theories

The research field of English as a lingua franca (ELF) is concerned with global communication among English users, in which English is most often a part, not the whole, of their communicative repertoires. The notion of English as a multilingua franca (EMF) repositions English within multilingualism to foreground multilingual situations, influences, and practices inherent in global encounters (Jenkins, 2015). This paper attempts to further the theoretical development of EMF in light of the theories du jour in applied linguistics, namely the ‘trans-’ theories of translanguaging and transmodal, transcultural communication. A review and integration of literature on these areas makes clear more similarities than differences between EMF and ‘trans-’ theories, which together highlight the limited role of any named language, mode, or culture in both online and offline interactions at a global scale. It is hoped that beyond any ideologically fixed construct, future research in the ELF field explores how English users collaboratively (or uncollaboratively) take advantage of wider multilingual, multimodal, and multicultural resources while engaging in translingual, transmodal, and transcultural practices.