‘If you use the right Arabic…’: Responses to special language standardization within the BBC Arabic Service’s linguascape

Michalski, Marina; Śliwa, Martyna

doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2021.101198

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 76 publications

(179 reference statements)

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“…These vignettes convey the specific language inadequacies of the French (Boussebaa and Brown, 2017) and their overall frustrations, vulnerabilities and inequalities, as well as the detrimental and exclusionary effects (Michalski and Śliwa, 2021; Tietze et al , 2016) experienced by non-Anglophone speakers to achieve the expected accuracy, linked to the dominance and imperialism of English (Phillipson, 2006; Tietze and Dick, 2013) as the mandatory accreditation language. Moreover, translated documents do not necessarily present the local (French) HE practices in an adequate way (Wilmot and Tietze, 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To discuss our response to RQ2 on how external boundary-spanning experts mediate knowledge gaps toward facilitating the schools’ international accreditation processes and the effects on institutions, we first draw on “boundary-spanning” literature. Our data revealed that to overcome the limits to their absorptive capacity of unfamiliar international accreditation knowledge (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), including specialized language (Michalski and Śliwa, 2021; Tietze et al , 2016), French business schools may rely on international accreditation experts as contextual and linguistic mediators who influence the transfer and development of new information across language boundaries (Barner-Rasmussen et al , 2014; Marschan-Piekkari et al , 1999; Peltokorpi and Vaara, 2014). From our data, we have seen that the experts in our study apply their knowledge of French Grandes écoles de Management trends and practices (Blanchard, 2009; Harker et al , 2016), their knowledge of international accreditation requirements and expectations and their general and specialized language competence to help the schools interpret and contextualize this information within the French HE and academic traditions (Bryant and Scherer, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This is in line with previous research demonstrating the negative effects of the dominance of English as the institutionalized language of internationalization, including accreditation, in management education (Boussebaa and Brown, 2017; Boussebaa and Tienari, 2019; Tietze and Dick, 2013). This dominance of English has made institutions in non-Anglophone contexts vulnerable to the inequities in fluency, subtlety, and precision (Phillipson, 2006), in both general and specialist language (Michalski and Śliwa, 2021; Tietze et al , 2016), professional jargon (Gaibrois, 2018), as well as in matters of translation (Wilmot and Tietze, 2020). Consequently, marginalization and tension may occur, reinforcing the effects of imperialism (Boussebaa and Brown, 2017; Phillipson, 2006), neo-colonial domination (Boussebaa and Tienari, 2019; Tietze, 2022), and colonization practices (Michalski and Śliwa, 2021; Tietze and Dick, 2013) related to the use of English as a mandatory language in academic contexts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, regarding our research setting and participants, future studies could explore a similar set of RQs in other university, national, and/or language contexts involving a variety of internal stakeholders and external accreditation experts. More specifically, we recommend further research into other non-English-speaking contexts, including France, where business schools risk becoming marginalized (Michalski and Śliwa, 2021; Tietze et al , 2016) due to the exclusive use of English as the mandatory lingua franca (Phillipson, 2006; Tietze and Dick, 2013) in formal international accreditation processes. Building on the study exploring the impact of external assessments on French management education (Dameron and Manceau, 2011), further research could be extended to wider non-English-speaking management education contexts, beyond France, where schools are expected to adhere to the Anglophone HE system implicit in the international accreditation standards.…”

Section: Limitations and Areas For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our definition of language skills comprises knowledge of a national and a “specialist” professional/functional language (Barner-Rasmussen et al , 2014). The concept of “special languages” (Tietze et al , 2016), associated with the professional practices of a specific industry (Michalski and Śliwa, 2021) or occupation (Gaibrois, 2018), is different from professional corporate language, also referred to as company-speak. For individuals not familiar with the specialist terminology and profession-specific language of a professional practice, communication may be challenging (Gaibrois, 2018), creating marginalization, exclusion, and tension (Michalski and Śliwa, 2021; Tietze et al , 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contextual and linguistic challenges for French business schools to achieve international accreditation: experts as boundary-spanners

Vigier¹,

Bryant²

2022

cpoib

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the contextual and linguistic challenges that French business schools face when preparing for international accreditation and to shed light on the different ways in which experts facilitate these accreditation processes, particularly with respect to how they capitalize on their contextual and linguistic boundary-spanning competences. Design/methodology/approach The authors interviewed 12 key players at four business schools in France engaged in international accreditations and in three specific categories: senior management, tenured faculty and administrative staff. The interview-based case study design used semi-structured questions and an insider researcher approach to study an underexplored sector of analysis. Findings The findings suggest that French business schools have been particularly impacted by the colonizing effects of English as the mandatory language of the international accreditation bodies espousing a basically Anglophone higher education philosophy. Consequently, schools engage external experts for their contextual and linguistic boundary-spanning expertise to facilitate accreditation processes. Originality/value The authors contribute to language-sensitive research through a critical perspective on marginalization within French business schools due to the use of English as the mandatory lingua franca of international accreditation processes and due to the underlying higher-education philosophy from the Anglophone academic sphere within these processes. As a result, French business schools resort to external experts to mediate their knowledge and competency gaps.

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