Language Policy and Practice in Multilingual Production Workplaces

Autor/inn/en	Lønsmann, Dorte; Kraft, Kamilla
Titel	Language Policy and Practice in Multilingual Production Workplaces
Quelle	In: Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 37 (2018) 4, S.403-427 (25 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0167-8507
DOI	10.1515/multi-2017-0088
Schlagwörter	Language Planning; Multilingualism; Work Environment; Power Structure; Business Communication; Language Usage; Occupational Mobility; English (Second Language); Policy Analysis; Correlation; Employment Opportunities; Employment Level; Social Status; Interviews; Observation; Video Technology; Foreign Countries; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Employee Attitudes; Indo European Languages; Administrator Attitudes; Corporations; International Trade; Storage; Facilities; German; Nonverbal Communication; Norwegian; Denmark; Norway + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sprachwechsel; Mehrsprachigkeit; Multilingualismus; Arbeitsmilieu; Unternehmenskommunikation; Sprachgebrauch; Berufliche Mobilität; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Politikfeldanalyse; Korrelation; Berufschance; Beschäftigungschance; Beschäftigungsgrad; Sozialer Status; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Beobachtung; Ausland; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Arbeitnehmerinteresse; Indoeuropäisch; Unternehmen; Trade; International relations; Handel; Internationale Beziehungen; Speicherung; Deutscher; Non-verbal communication; Nonverbale Kommunikation; Norwegisch; Dänemark; Norwegen
Abstract	Transnational mobility results in a diversification of languages and cultures in the workplace. A common means of managing this diversity is to introduce language policies that often privilege English or the locally dominant language(s). In contrast, managing their everyday working lives may require employees to draw on a range of multilingual and non-verbal resources. Such tensions between policy and practice in multilingual workplaces may impact structures and processes of inequality and power in the workplace. By looking at two sites within logistics and construction, this article offers a critical look at multilingual policies and practices and their consequences for speakers within the workplace. The article investigates how language is conceptualised in language policies and enacted in language practice. From this point of departure we discuss how the tensions between policies and practices impact on the daily working life and professional opportunities of the workers. Our findings suggest that even though multilingual practices are crucial for the flow of everyday work interactions on the floor, the language requirements within the workplace mirror the repertoires and practices of high-status employees, and therefore their competence is valued more highly than the more multilingual repertoires of their subordinates. A consequence of this unequal valorisation of the different linguistic repertoires is the maintenance of existing hierarchies in the workplace and the creation of new ones. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01