Shedding light on the darker side of language

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the "darker" side of language in cross-cultural communication and explore ways that it can be addressed, using a dialogical approach. Bakhtin's dialogical perspective conceptualizes sensemaking as the co-construction of meaning through interconnected utterances ("addressivity" and "responsivity"), multivoicedness ("polyphony"), and multiple speaking styles ("heteroglossia"). We use these concepts to analyze the social processes underlying linguistic hegemony and language-based in-group behavior in a case study of the performance of six multicultural teams at an American subsidiary in France. We found that although dialogical practices proved to be effective in deterring the emergence of the dark side of language, the lack of a dialogical mindset prevailed in four of the six teams. These findings point to the need for cross-cultural management policies which reward addressivity, polyphony, and heteroglossia while penalizing team members who use their superior language skills to dominate others.

Is Global Management Knowledge on the Way to Impoverishment?

“…However, any language reflectsthrough its syntax, lexis, pragmatics, and semanticscultural values and culturedetermined epistemologies (Imai et al 2016). The notion that English is an unbiased medium of information exchange has been challenged, and recent research suggests that English as an international language is not a neutral communication code (Boussebaa et al 2014) but is rather linked to dominant behaviour (Beeler and Lecomte 2017). Being a powerful control tool (Marschan-Piekkari et al 1999) English colonises the minds of culturally and linguistically different populations (Phillipson 1992).…”

Language as a source of otherness

“…We argue that an explicit interrogation of the role of language in Othering is overdue, given our agreement with Sacks (1989: 8), who forcefully argues that "to be defective in language, for a human being, is one of the most desperate of calamities, for it is only through language that we enter fully into our human estate and culture". Beeler and Lecomte (2017) have previously pointed out the 'dark side of language' in which hegemonic linguistic practices in organisations can lead to the marginalisation of employees. They emphasise dialogical processes within cross-cultural teamwork, and specifically highlight "in-group behaviour based on language" (2017: 56) which can have negative consequences for both team cohesion and individual experience.…”

“…Beeler and Lecomte (2017) have previously pointed out the ‘dark side of language’ in which hegemonic linguistic practices in organisations can lead to the marginalisation of employees. They emphasise dialogical processes within cross-cultural teamwork, and specifically highlight “in-group behaviour based on language” (2017: 56) which can have negative consequences for both team cohesion and individual experience.…”

“…Beeler and Lecomte (2017) have previously pointed out the ‘dark side of language’ in which hegemonic linguistic practices in organisations can lead to the marginalisation of employees. They emphasise dialogical processes within cross-cultural teamwork, and specifically highlight “in-group behaviour based on language” (2017: 56) which can have negative consequences for both team cohesion and individual experience. However, as they do not take an explicitly identity-based perspective, in this article we build on the points raised to investigate language as a source of difference which may lead to Othering within organisational contexts.…”

Limits of a Second Language: Native and Second Languages in Management Team Communication

“…As will be argued below, different native languages may predispose people to different communicational habits with consequences for how verbal interaction shapes interaction among organizational participants. The ability to understand these differences and have meta-cognitive perceptions of them may not develop until the speakers acquire almost native levels of mastery in the foreign language, and thus still cause misunderstandings among people who have business-level understanding of each other's language (Wang et al, 2014;Beeler and Lecomte, 2017). This field of study is an important borderline between native and corporate cultures because most cultural obstacles need to be sorted out in verbal interaction for organizations to overcome them (Wilkinson et al, 2005;Pavlenko, 2016).…”