In the last few decades, English has become the most widely spread global lingua franca. Being used as a means of communication by non-native speakers of different linguistic and cultural background, norms for the use of lingua franca English cannot be negotiated and established as with a traditional speech community.

After explaining the characteristics of 'small talk' produced by speakers using lingua franca English, this paper offers methods of analysis and interpretation which address the specific character of lingua franca data.