Europe: Oral Business Communication

Charles, Mirjaliisa

doi:10.1177/108056999806100312

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…She explains that in multinational settings, communication often takes place between speakers whose fluency in English varies and who may also use one or more other languages alongside English (Barner‐Rasmussen, 2003; Marschan‐Piekkari et al , 1999b; Nickerson, 2000; Poncini, 2003; Sørensen, 2005). Charles (1998) introduces the term “multilingual reality” to describe a typical European business context. Internal communication processes in MNCs are typified by linguistic diversity, and English is perhaps not as widely shared throughout the organization as assumed by top management in the first place (Marschan‐Piekkari et al , 1999b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The multinational corporation as a multilingual organization

Fredriksson

Barner‐Rasmussen²,

Piekkari³

2006

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

224

176

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PurposeThis paper seeks to explore the use of common corporate language(s) in multinational corporations (MNCs). These organizations are usually multilingual and characterized by high language diversity. Parallel streams of literature in international management and international business communications are built upon to problematize the notion of a common corporate language.Design/methodology/approachInformation gathered from 36 personal interviews of the German‐based multinational Siemens is the primary source of data for this case study. The interviews were conducted in three different languages in three different organizational units of Siemens AG in Finland and Germany.FindingsIt was possible to identify powerful interplay between two languages – German and English – and to uncover discrepancies between company policy and employee practices with regard to language use. On the basis of these findings, the challenges of managing language in multinationals are discussed.Originality/valueArgues that a common corporate language may not be as widely shared within the firm as the term suggests, given the multilingual nature of most multinationals, variation in the language proficiency of their employees, and the level of analysis used in previous research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The multinational corporation as a multilingual organization

Fredriksson

Barner‐Rasmussen²,

Piekkari³

2006

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

224

176

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“…For centuries, Europeans have traded with their neighbors of different language backgrounds, and this interaction has called for adequate language knowledge and ability for the multilingual communication to succeed (for more, see [6]). …”

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confidence: 99%

Professional Communication in a Global Business Context: The Notion of Global Communicative Competence

Louhiala‐Salminen

Kankaanranta

2011

IEEE Trans. Profess. Commun.

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Abstract- . English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), has largely been ignored. Our findings indicate that global communicative competence consists of three layers: multicultural competence, competence in BELF (English as a Business Lingua Franca) and the communicator's business know-how. Based on our findings, we present a model for Global Communicative Competence (GCC), which includes language as a key component. Implications for theory, practice and education include the need for a multidisciplinary approach and the acknowledgement of ELF/BELF as the language of global interaction. ELF/BELF assumes a shared "core" of the English language, but focuses on interactional skills, rapport building and the ability to ask for and provide clarifications. Index Terms-English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF), English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), global communicative competence, global professional communication, international business communication.Leena Louhiala-Salminen, PhD, Lic. In recent years, professional communication has experienced dramatic changes due to a combination of societal megatrends, e.g. globalization, gigantic leaps in communication technologies, and the emergence of new types of business structures. In today's complex business 3 environment, the significance of communication has been acknowledged, and although it is important in business activities in general, the role of communication is fundamental to international encounters, because the complexity of interactions increases. Therefore, global professional communication requires a new type of communicative competence, which has recently been addressed from different perspectives. Melton focuses on rapport in global encounters, presenting an interesting case study on localization; he concludes by highlighting the role of relationship building in present day, often virtual, intercultural relationships [1]. More specifically, Ulijn, Lincke and Karakaya investigate the impact of non-face-to-face media on intercultural negotiations. They claim that empathy, or involvement building, in email negotiation is possible; however, it requires specific effort from the communicators, such as particular explicitness through metacommunicative acts [2].At the same time globalization has brought about management research where the context and requirements for global communication are investigated, for instance, as perceived by American and Russian managers (e.g. [3]). An educational perspective is offered by Yu, who performed an ethnographic study to explore the need for technical communication in Chinese education [4]. Yu takes the US concept of technical communication -implying American English as the language used -as the starting point, and suggests that technical communication education is highly relevant for Chinese professionals. Interestingly, however, the language requirements seemed to vary by situation, for example, some "companies did not expect perfect writing from the Chinese employees" [4, p. 108].Although rapid changes in work environments have highlighted ...

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“…Given the additional function of English as national language in US/UK-based firms, we expect the preference for English and Englishonly advertising to be even stronger in these "Inner Circle" companies (cf. Charles, 1998;Kelly-Holmes, 2006).…”

Section: From English In the Workplace To English-only Advertising 1mentioning

confidence: 97%

English-only job advertising in the Low Countries

Zenner

Speelman²,

Geeraerts³

2015

DuJAL

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This paper presents a multifactorial quantitative corpus-based analysis of the distribution of English-only ads in the Low Countries. The dataset consists of approximately one thousand job ads, published in Vacature (a Belgian Dutch job ad magazine) and Intermediair (a Netherlandic Dutch job ad magazine) in 2007 and 2008. About one in seven ads are written entirely in English. Using logistic regression analysis, we find that the occurrence of English-only advertising is mainly linked to occupational contexts where English plays a practical role: the phenomenon is typical for companies with headquarters located outside of the Low Countries (specifically US/UK-based companies), for companies with English-oriented corporate communication and for companies that are recruiting for IT and technical staff. Finally, more English-only ads are published in Flanders than in The Netherlands. Keywords: job advertising; Dutch; English as a lingua franca; English as a foreign language; corporate language use; English-only advertising 1. From English in the workplace to English-only advertising 1.1 Background Resulting from the interplay between (economic) globalization and advances in communication technology, the linguistic ecosystem of current workplaces has become increasingly complex (Angouri, 2014). More often than not people from different nationalities and from different cultural backgrounds have to work together and communicate, at least occasionally. Over the past decades, English

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Europe: Oral Business Communication

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

The multinational corporation as a multilingual organization

The multinational corporation as a multilingual organization

Professional Communication in a Global Business Context: The Notion of Global Communicative Competence

English-only job advertising in the Low Countries

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