ABSTRACT

The variable use of language has been described as central to English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) communication, for example by Seidlhofer, who writes that the use of ELF is characterised by "hybridity and dynamism, fluidity, and flexibility heightened variability and a premium on mutual accommodation". In essence, variable use in ELF communication means the use of language forms and functions that are not in accordance with standard language or conventionalised NS use of English. The variability in ELF use concerns language forms and functions, and various linguistic levels, e.g. phonology, lexis, morphosyntax or pragmatics. The display of variability with the dual tagging system developed for VOICE will be illustrated below by three particularly frequent examples of variability found in the tagging process. A 'dual tagging system', which was especially developed for VOICE was a way to achieve exactly this visibility, the detailed accompanying corpus documentation provided information about the tagging system and the underlying decision processes.