A matter of reception: ELF and LaRa compared
Abstract This article addresses the conceptual differences and commonalities between two modes of intercultural communication: English as a lingua franca (ELF) and Lingua Receptiva (LaRa). While the former is more frequent and wide- spread but disputed for reasons of monolingual dominance, the latter is lesser known und contextually restricted but praised for preserving linguistic diversity. The article takes such common presumptions as a starting point for a detailed comparative investigation of the concepts ELF and LaRa. The first section is dedicated to the overall language frameworks of the two modes. It thus points to their constellational specificities and the notions of locality and context involved in them. The second part takes a closer look at the speaker/hearer perspectives assumed in ELF and LaRa as well as at the different manifestations of linguistic variability and accommodation emerging from them. The third part is then concerned with the assumedly most prominent dividing points between lingua franca and lingua receptiva, namely issues of range, linguistic diversity and eventually the relative degree of plurilinguality exhibited in the two modes. In a final comparative summary of the points raised, the article ultimately comes to the conclusion that ELF and LaRa are not at all mutually exclusive but overlapping communicative modes. It thus argues that intercultural speakers could profit from using them in a complementary fashion.
Official Language Policy as a Factor in Using Receptive Multilingualism Among Members of an Estonian and a Finnish Student Organization
This study analyzes the language policy of an Estonian student organization and its Finnish friendship organization, and the use of different languages in inter-organizational interaction. The organizations have an official language policy for the use of receptive multilingualism in written communication, originating from their agreement of friendship (est. 1933). Receptive multilingualism refers to interaction in which participants employ a language different from their interlocutors’. By combining survey and interactional data, this study investigates how this official policy, which grew out of the national romantic ideology that emphasized the linguistic and cultural similarity of Estonians and Finns, is interpreted today. It further investigates the present-day language practices among the members of the studied organizations. An analysis of different types of data revealed competing ideologies of the “ideal” and the “practical.” Despite the respondents’ stated preference for using Finnish and Estonian, to ensure mutual understanding they often considered the most effective choice to be English as a lingua franca. Even so, English was not the dominant language choice in the interactional data, and receptive multilingualism was used particularly in multiparty interaction when at least some of the participants had an active command of both languages.
MT and the Swiss language service providers: an analysis and training perspective
Switzerland is perceived as a highly multilingual country, with four national languages and a solid translation tradition in official, administrative and corporate settings, now even extended to include English. A research case study was set up to investigate the understanding and use of translation and language technologies by Swiss language service providers. This paper highlights some findings, particularly focusing upon the issue of translation automation processes in multilingual documentation production, with a view not only to spot preconceptions or knowledge gaps about MT, but also to 
suggest some training principles. We will argue that training activities ought to present MT systems as 
key aiding components of translator workbenches and, their output, as a valid linguistic resource for further human refining, if necessary. Moreover, in line with the idea that MT can be part and parcel of multilingual content production cycles, we will look at the interaction of MT with controlled language, CAT tools and terminology work. In sum, we will make explicit the usefulness of MT against the 
widespread prejudice that investing in MT does not return any benefits given the ‘low and hilarious quality of its output’, as quoted by most of the interviewees of our case study.