“It’s hard for them to even understand what we are saying”(.) Language and power in the multinational workplace

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of language ideologies in negotiating organisational relationships in a Korean multinational company (MNC). By adopting an interactional sociolinguistics (IS) approach, this paper illustrates how language becomes part of a mechanism of negotiating group membership and of perpetuating or challenging power asymmetries through social and ideological processes. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on interview data from an ethnographic case study of a Korean MNC to understand language ideologies in one working team. The interview data are analysed through an IS framework to connect the situated interaction to the broader social context. Findings This paper shows that participants’ discourse of linguistic differentiation becomes an interactional resource in challenging the organisational status quo. Linguistic superiority/inferiority is constructed through particular sequencing and the systematic production of a dichotomy between two groups – expatriate managers and local employees – at various levels of their company structure. Group membership is enacted temporarily in positioning the self and the others. Originality/value This paper offers a methodological contribution to international business language-sensitive research on language and power by conducting interactional analysis of interview talk. Through the lens of IS, it provides insights into how discourse becomes a primary site of negotiating power and status and a multi-level approach to the study of organisational power dynamics and the complex linguistic landscape of any workplace.

Implementing the equality, diversity, and inclusion agenda in multinational companies: A framework for the management of (linguistic) diversity

“…Language use is heavily influenced by language ideologies which naturalise hierarchical relationships among speakers (Boussebaa et al, 2014;Kim & Angouri, 2022) and which, together with language proficiency, 'mediate social inclusion in linguistically diverse societies' (Piller & Takahashi, 2011, p. 371).…”

“…Some first language users' tendency to use idiomatic, high context, high-paced speech, and their perceived inability or unwillingness to adapt to their interlocutors (Gaibrois & Nentwich, 2020) has been termed the 'native speaker problem' (Nickerson, 2005). First language users often do not recognise the extent of this problem, or lack the competence (Nurmi & Koroma, 2020) or will to prevent it when the onus for effective communication is framed as lying exclusively with foreign language users who are expected to adjust to local language norms (Kim & Angouri, 2022).…”

“…Although language has not been systematically considered as a core dimension of diversity, work from across a range of disciplines—such as IB, linguistics, psychology, and organisation studies—has provided evidence of the profound implications of linguistic diversity. As Kim and Angouri (2022) observe, languages are markedly socially unequal, enjoying different status and influence (Ristolainen et al., 2021; Wilmot & Tietze, 2020). Language hierarchies exist between and within languages, with only a small minority of language users able to use the most valued linguistic forms (Piller, 2021).…”

“…English, which appears to be ‘all conquering in the arena of common corporate languages’ (Wilmot, 2017, p. 91), functions as a ‘hyper‐central’ language, with the standard varieties of English at the apex of the pyramid (Piller, 2021). Language use is heavily influenced by language ideologies which naturalise hierarchical relationships among speakers (Boussebaa et al., 2014; Kim & Angouri, 2022) and which, together with language proficiency, ‘mediate social inclusion in linguistically diverse societies’ (Piller & Takahashi, 2011, p. 371).…”

“…By contrast, others, especially those who speak the corporate lingua franca, the language of the headquarters or powerful subsidiaries, as their first language, tend to see their organisational status enhanced (e.g., Neeley & Dumas, 2016; Ristolainen et al., 2021). As Kim and Angouri (2022, p. 15) observe, language‐based differentiation ‘is one of the prime sites through which employees reframe the organisational relationship, negotiating zones of authorities and reifying or challenging status quo in multinational context’. In MNCs, English‐language proficiency and standard speech tend to create ‘a hierarchy of privilege’ (Gaibrois & Nentwich, 2020, p. 479).…”