Multilingualism at work collects studies of language practices in multilingual workplaces and their relation to local and state-level language ideologies and policies. An introduction by the editors situates the collection in the context of previous research on language ideologies and policies, code-switching, and interpreter-mediated discourse in the workplace. It is followed by ten chapters divided into three sections, corresponding to the settings listed in the book's subtitle. Across the sections, most chapters rely on a combination of ethnographic observation and interviews, qualitative analysis of audio or video recordings, and review of relevant documents. The volume has a strong focus on the European context: seven chapters report the results of research there, while the remaining chapters address workplaces in the US, Canada, and South Africa.
The first section contains three chapters analyzing very different contexts of communication in the public sector. Juliane House & Magdalène Lévy-Tödter present a study of advising sessions between German engineering professors and international graduate students, focusing on the interpersonal dynamics of educational interactions that take place in a language (English) in which students are more proficient than their professors. Volume co-editor Birgit Apfelbaum examines language choice and interpretation practices in a memorial at a Nazi camp in Germany. The final chapter in the section, by Guillaume Gentil, Josée Bigras, & Maureen O'Connor, uses Bourdieu's social theory to understand how language training can help English-dominant Canadian federal employees maintain a sufficient level of French proficiency to provide services to French-dominant citizens they interact with.
The second section addresses interpreter-mediated discourse in medical settings. Christine Anthonissen identifies reasons for mismatches between South African national language policies and language practices at an HIV/AIDS clinic, while also identifying strategies doctors and patients use to overcome communicative problems. Claudio Baraldi & Laura Gavioli describe ways interpreters can influence doctor-patient interactions, including promoting interest in the other's language. Finally, co-editor Bernd Meyer, Kristin Bührig, Ortrun Kliche, & Birte Pawlack advance a proposal for training of ad-hoc interpreters (e.g. bilingual nurses) in a medical setting. Based on analysis of informed consent briefings, the authors recommend that training be targeted to communicative events that are central in doctor-patient communication.
The final section, on the business sector, begins with a chapter by Elise DuBord that considers the interaction of rapport, co-membership, solidarity, and linguistic accommodation in employment negotiations at a day labor center in Tucson, Arizona. Georges Lüdi, Katharina Höchle, & Patchareerat Yanaprasart present an analysis of language practices and their interaction with language policies, images of linguistic diversity, and linguistic context at ten companies in Switzerland. Maria Amelina examines the contrasting roles of English, Russian, and German among young Russian professionals living and working in Germany. The section closes with a study by Kristin Bührig & Claudia Böttger of the differences in German and English written communication to stakeholders by a German bank in a time of crisis.
With the variety of contexts and theoretical approaches addressed in this book, it will be of particular interest to readers who want to familiarize themselves with how an assortment of workplaces adapt to multilingual conditions and needs.
