The Multilingual Workplace Realities of Polish Truckers: A Case Study in the Netherlands

Autor/inn/en	Dijkstra, Bianca E.; Coler, Matt; Redeker, Gisela
Titel	The Multilingual Workplace Realities of Polish Truckers: A Case Study in the Netherlands
Quelle	In: Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 40 (2021) 5, S.589-616 (28 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0167-8507
DOI	10.1515/multi-2020-0038
Schlagwörter	Multilingualism; Work Environment; Indo European Languages; Polish; English (Second Language); German; Ethnography; Case Studies; Motor Vehicles; Employees; Intercultural Communication; Second Languages; Language Skills; Language Attitudes; Foreign Countries; Language Proficiency; Communication Skills; Professional Personnel; Barriers; Profiles; Sociolinguistics; Netherlands + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mehrsprachigkeit; Multilingualismus; Arbeitsmilieu; Indoeuropäisch; Polnisch; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Deutscher; Ethnografie; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Motor vehicle; Kraftwagen; Employee; Arbeitnehmer; Beschäftigter; Interkulturelle Kommunikation; Second language; Zweitsprache; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Sprachverhalten; Ausland; Language skills; Kommunikationsstil; Personalbestand; Charakterisierung; Profilanalyse; Soziolinguistik; Niederlande
Abstract	Although international truckers are essential to the European supply chain, we know little about how they deal with their frequent multilingual workplace interactions. This paper examines the effects of participants' Individual Multilingual Repertoires (Pitzl, Marie-Luise. 2016. World Englishes and creative idioms in English as a lingua franca. "World Englishes" 35(2). 293-309. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12196) on their behavior and attitude toward multilingual interactions. Five Polish truckers and six Dutch logistics professionals were observed and interviewed. An ethnographic case study approach allowed us to consider interactions from multiple perspectives. Findings from the study reveal that some, but not all, Polish truckers struggle to interact in the most common lingua francas in the Netherlands: English and German. We show that some of the Dutch logistics professionals have a low opinion of foreign drivers' linguistic abilities, which impairs the potential to find shared multilingual resources, and ultimately to improve communication skills. Results of the study contribute to an understanding of the dynamics of multilingual interactions in the workplace. Practical suggestions for logistics professionals and future research are identified. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01