Global English, World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca: Usage of Terms and their Ideological Background

Abstract

This paper aims at describing the usage of and ideological backgrounds behind three terms: Global English, World Englishes, and English as a Lingua Franca. To a layman or a beginner in the field of linguistics, these terms may seem similar; they may even be used interchangeably. For looking at the domains of their usages, and finding out the underlying ideologies, various studies were reviewed. Each term is described separately along with its ideological background.  After that, a synthesis is put forward under the heading of which similarities and differences among the three terms have been noted. The study reveals major ideological differences among GE, WE and ELF. They also stand on different levels of hegemony too.