Artificial intelligence and machine translations as new forms of linguistic imperialism: Is there any future for variations of English as a Lingua Franca in intercultural communication?

The rise of English as a global Lingua Franca (ELF) has enabled cross-cultural communication on an unprecedented scale, acting as a “bridge language” for people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds using their own diverse ELF variations. This paper shall explore, by means of a number of case studies, whether Artificial Intelligence and Machine-Translation programs, by promoting a ‘standardized’ English (SE), are creating a new form of ‘linguistic imperialism’ that could impact the diversity of English as a Lingua Franca in intercultural communication.