An Ethnography of Language Encounters: Language and Interaction in the Globalized Corporation

The LINGCORP research project analyzes the challenges many corporations experience today as a consequence of the linguistic and cultural diversity present in their staff structures. Research has shown that this kind of diversity poses several challenges to the individual employee as well as to companies on an overall level, and that these challenges may encumber social integration between co-workers. The aim of LINGCORP is to identify these challenges, while working from the notion that linguistic diversity is a resource. The researchers will determine language ideologies (i.e. attitudes to languages, multilingualism and integration) and linguistic practices in order to find out what happens when people with different linguistic backgrounds meet and interact in a work-situation. The project provides a unique insight into the potentials and barriers facilitated by linguistic and cultural diversity in Danish international corporations.