Native speakers a hindrance

A survey by David Graddiol, commissioned by the British Council, on Global English:

Global English is often compared to Latin, a rare historical parallel to English in the way that it fl ourished as an international language after the decline of the empire which introduced it. The use of Latin was helped by the demise of its native speakers when it became a shared international resource. In organisations where English has become the corporate language, meetings sometimes go more smoothly when no native speakers are present. Globally, the same kind of thing may be happening, on a larger scale.

This is not just because non-native speakers are intimidated by the presence of a native speaker. Increasingly, the problem may be that few native speakers belong to the community of practice which is developing amongst lingua franca users. Their presence hinders communication.

(Via the increasingly enigmatic and occasional Enigmatic Mermaid)