‘And then we summarise in English for the others’: The lived experience of the multilingual workplace

Angouri, Jo; Miglbauer, Marlene

doi:10.1515/multi-2014-0007

Cited by 44 publications

(36 citation statements)

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“…There is a little French and German, with which they cannot fully adapt to the language demands of their foreign clients. These results are in agreement with findings of Angouri and Miglbauer (2014). In general employees tend to prioritize English, even if they admit that other languages also play an important role.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…These more vague or ambiguous policies are in line with a call for a ''flexible'' policy and language practices based on a ''what works'' approach. In another study, Angouri and Miglbauer (2014) interviewed 40 employees in twelve European companies that have English as the corporate language. Their aim was to analyze employees' perceptions of the role of languages in their daily work life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From bilingualism to multilingualism in the workplace: the case of the Basque Autonomous Community

2016

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In this article we discuss the outcomes of a study into the languages of the workplace of internationally operating companies. Our aim is to contribute to studies of multilingualism in the workplace by adopting a holistic approach that focuses on several languages and relates the competences and attitudes of multilingual professionals to the repertoires used and learned in the workplace and the wider social context. The study is situated in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain, where the regional government has already developed a strong bilingual language policy to promote the minority language Basque and recently also supports a policy of internationalization of companies, implying the use of other languages. The tensions arising from the confrontation between these two policies are discussed. Based on interviews with 25 informants in managerial positions, we found that the default language of workplace communication is Spanish, there is limited use of Basque and for foreign trade English is dominant, although Spanish is used with Latin America. The language and cultural competence of professionals is lagging behind and should be further developed, although the younger generation has a better command of English. The wider social context has an important influence on the language practices inside the company. Multilingualism plays an important role in Basque companies that operate internationally, but the companies still have to overcome important language barriers. Our study confirms that language practices and language learning experiences are complex and highlights the need for a holistic approach that includes the repertoire of languages used in the workplace.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From bilingualism to multilingualism in the workplace: the case of the Basque Autonomous Community

2016

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“…Not in the least because a policy of multilingualism alone would be too expensive and goes against the wish to control and to coordinate information flows within the company. Other studies have found that in many MNCs multilingualism exists in combination with ELF as the official corporate language in that for the international workforce negotiating language practices is a daily routine (Angouri and Miglbauer 2014).…”

Section: Limitations and Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Your language or mine? or English as a lingua franca? Comparing effectiveness in English as a lingua franca and L1–L2 interactions: implications for corporate language policies

Mulken

Hendriks

2014

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

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For multinational corporations, the need for efficiency and control has motivated the choice for a corporate language. However, increasing internationalisation has forced corporations to rethink their language policies to cater to the changing demands of the multicultural and multilingual workplace. This paper explores two related issues. First, it addresses the influence of mode of communication (English as a Lingua Franca [ELF] vs. L1-L2 interactions) on task efficiency. Second, it investigates the use of communication strategies in the different types of interactions (ELF vs. L1-L2). In a within-subject experimental design, the present study explores the effectiveness of language use in dyadic, computer-mediated communication between non-native speakers of English (ELF) and native and non-native speakers of German and Dutch (L1-L2). In three consecutive chat sessions, 60 participants performed a problemsolving task in English, German or Dutch. Findings indicate that in L1-L2 interactions, the participants were more effective in realising communicative goals than in ELF interactions, and that participants made use of different communication strategies in L1-L2 interactions than in ELF interactions. Consequently, international organisations which implement a corporate language may benefit from condoning multilingual practices on the work floor.computer-mediated communication (CMC) activities for (inter)national interactions (e.g. Tworoger et al. 2013) on a daily basis (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, MSN), the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of language choice in CMC interactions.Business communication research has demonstrated that despite a corporate (monolingual) language policy, communication in companies is often multilingual, with several languages coexisting alongside the corporate language in the workplace (Angouri 2013;Kingsley 2013;Lüdi, Höchle, and Yanaprasart 2010;MacKenzie 2012).Although the use of a corporate lingua franca may facilitate global communication in multilingual settings, it may also present linguistic, cultural and organisational challenges for those who are non-native speakers of the corporate language. For instance, Welch, Welch, and Piekkari (2005) showed that, although knowledge transfer and information processes are considered of paramount importance to internationally operating companies, language often remains a 'forgotten factor' in many multinational organisations in that organisations often overlook the (immaterial) costs and consequences of the implementation of a single corporate language. The use of a corporate language may exclude non-native staff lacking adequate proficiency from communication processes, and, conversely, put considerable power into the hands of those individuals or units that do possess the required language skills (Welch et al. 2005). In her analysis of international business meetings, Rogerson-Revell (2008) showed that the use of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) may lead to feelings of frustration in meetings and that a considerable...

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“…While local cultures gain value as a source of profit, local languages have little currency. What dominates is English, as the lingua franca of globalised tourism -and the globalised workplace (Angouri and Miglbauer 2014). If Workaway envisions multilingualism as part of a cosmopolitan subjectivity, as a key to promoting cultural understanding throughout the world, in the tourist resort languages are valued as one of the skills among others that are needed for running a business.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping subjects of globalisation: at the intersection of voluntourism and the new economy

Dlaske¹

2015

Multilingua

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Volunteer tourism is one of the latest branches of the ever expanding globalised tourism. The initiative Workaway, an expression of this trend, was established in the late 90s with the aim of promoting "cultural understanding between different peoples and lands throughout the world". The figure of the workawayer as a new cosmopolitan subjectivity started to take shape. With the growth of the tourism industry, the Workaway scheme has started to be of interest also to tourism entrepreneurs, especially in the global peripheries such as northern Lapland, home to the indigenous minority language community of the Sámi. By signing up as a volunteer in a heritage tourism resort, the workawayer, the cultural adventurer, becomes linked up to the network of the globalised new economy. Drawing on aspects of governmentality studies, discourse studies and ethnographic approaches, this study traces the translocal formation of the figure of the workawayer through two crucial technologies of subjectification: the Internet portal workaway.info and the actuality of everyday work in a Sámi heritage tourist resort in northernmost Finnish Lapland. Although the Workaway initiative positions itself as non-capitalist if not anti-capitalist, the study shows how the workawayer is gradually shaped to meet the requirements of the contemporary neoliberal world of work. If Workaway offers new languages and cultures with a flavour of romanticised multiculturalism, in the tourist resort actual encounters are governed by straightforward market rationality. Here, languages are valued as skills among others, but not above others, since ultimately "you don't necessarily need any language for money transactions".

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‘And then we summarise in English for the others’: The lived experience of the multilingual workplace

Cited by 44 publications

References 0 publications

From bilingualism to multilingualism in the workplace: the case of the Basque Autonomous Community

From bilingualism to multilingualism in the workplace: the case of the Basque Autonomous Community

Your language or mine? or English as a lingua franca? Comparing effectiveness in English as a lingua franca and L1–L2 interactions: implications for corporate language policies

Shaping subjects of globalisation: at the intersection of voluntourism and the new economy

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