BUSINESS ENGLISH

BUSINESS ENGLISH. The REGISTER of English appropriate to commerce and industry, and the name for training courses in business usage, especially if offered to foreign learners: ‘Much business English teaching concentrates on communication skills: meetings; presentation; telephoning, and social skills in a business context etc.’ (EFL Gazette, Nov. 1990). Some observers regard international business English as a neutral, pragmatic means of communication among non-native users of the language. Andrew Fenner has labelled it IBL (international business language): ‘In a European context, IBL is the sort of English a Norwegian would use when trying to communicate with an Italian in Belgium. In other words, it is a lingua franca used between those for whom English is not their native language, but the only common language in which any sort of communication is possible. Its grammar and syntax vary, being modelled on those of the language of the person speaking in each case’ (‘Lingua Anglica: The Emergence of International Business English’, Language International, 2: 1, 1990). See COMMERCIALESE, ESP.