Language policy in Denmark: The approach to English as a lingua franca

There is no denying that English has become a global language, the so-called lingua franca (McArthur 2002; Crystal 2003; Mair 2003). It is now extensively used not only in the English-speaking countries but also in the countries where it has a status of a foreign language. The presence of a universal language may facilitate communication among the speakers of different language background. Nevertheless, many researchers are apprehensive of the fact that the existence of English as a lingua franca may lead to the impoverishment of the local languages. The question of the interplay between the use of Danish and English in Denmark has been widely discussed by a great many Scandinavian linguists (Davidsen-Nielsen and Herslund 1999; Preisler 1999; Andersen 2002; Thøgersen 2007). The main purpose of the study was to take a closer look at the approach of Danish people to English as a world language. A group of twenty six Danes aged 20-27 took part in the study. They were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of questions related to linguistic globalisation, international communication, foreign language education, the status of English in the Scandinavian countries and the advantages/disadvantages of the existence of a universal language. This was followed by short individual interviews which provided further input on the matters in question. The results of the study manifest general acceptance of English as the language extensively used in the domains of science, media and education. Such intriguing results may be treated as a point of reference to further discuss the existence of a global language from the sociolinguistic and didactic point of view