INVESTIGATING THE INDISPENSABILITY OF ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN THE EXPLANATION OF SELECTED APOSTLE PAUL’S EPISTLES

Abstract

The English language is indispensable in explaining the Apostle Paul’s epistles because it serves as a lingua franca. However, some readers and listeners whose mother tongue is not English face challenges in understanding the intended message from the epistles. English language is relevant for disseminating the gospel to listeners and readers worldwide.  Grounded in Canale and Swain’s communicative competence framework, the current study investigated the indispensability of using English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in explaining selected epistles of the Apostle Paul. The population consisted of two hundred and sixty-seven (267) members of different denominations in the Thohoyandou area, Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative study approach was adopted to obtain an in-depth understanding of the indispensability of English to convey the Apostle Paul’s epistles to people. Eighteen (16) church members participated in the study based on their availability and willingness to provide data to the researchers. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted in their respective churches. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected from the participants because it packages codes and organises the patterns from the transcripts. The findings from both the Philippians and the Ephesians indicate that English can easily refer to the specific theological vocabulary, rhetorical terms, and key metaphors required to accurately convey their distinct themes, as in Grace, Gift, and Workmanship from Ephesians 2:8–10 and Philippians 2:10. This study implies that English can promote the understanding of the message. The limitations of this study are time and sample size, as it was conducted only on church days and only 16 participants were interviewed. The study argues that English is suitable for preaching the Apostle Paul’s epistles due to its simplicity in understanding the language structures.