A few words about globalization

Of course, I am not going to explain what globalization is and what it involves in every aspect of human life, but because this extraordinary process has been gaining momentum as the energy source of communication all over the planet, some general remarks are useful for an understanding of Englishization as opposed to multilingualism in business contexts.

From a sociological perspective, globalization has to do with ‘all the processes by which the people of the world are incorporated in a single world society’ (Albrow, Reference Albrow, Albrow and King1990: 9). Another definition of the term describes it as ‘the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole’ (Robertson, Reference Robertson1992: 8). As Agbedo and Eze state,

Linguistically speaking globalization is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as follows:

The word seems to have a negative connotation, since it is ‘…widely considered to be at the expense of national identity’; the OED cites the first use of the word in the 1930 book by W. Boyd and M.M. Mackenzie called Towards a New Education, in the following context:

The phenomenon of globalization is usually connected with modern times, though many scholars maintain that the process is much older, as throughout history there have been some examples of global processes. Nonetheless, I am interested in describing the sociolinguistic aspect of the fact, since it has often been said that the ‘global village’ has a ‘global language’ and this language would be English. I will see its present role in a chief sector of international business (Italian wine exports) and whether the emerging tendencies towards multilingualism in business are already an alternative source of business vehicle worldwide.

Englishization versus multilingualism

I have already observed that the need for an international language has always been felt around the world. In fact, international auxiliary languages have always existed throughout history in order to facilitate trade and communication among peoples. Natural languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and French have been used as lingua francas for international communication, while artificial languages – Esperanto and Volapuk to name just two – have been suggested as a way of bypassing the problems aroused by the adoption of a natural language rather than another. But since artificial languages do not express any culture their diffusion has always been hindered or neglected, though their apparently neutral feature should have been their strong point. Consider that the data related to the number of Esperanto users in the world are not clear and are rather old. They could vary between 2 and 3.5 million (Janton, Reference Janton1977: 112), so it is of little significance to this issue.

Conversely, the data about the use of English as an international language prove the fact that its role as the leading tongue of international communication is undisputed and give it a position of supremacy. Even though they cannot be precise and accurate, recent estimates report that circa 1.5 billion people in the world can use English (Crystal, Reference Crystal2012)Footnote ⁴.

The evidence of the internationalization of English is also given by both the changes it has created/undergone in the last few decades; on the one hand, it has become familiar and used all over the world, but on the other hand, it has lost connections with the culture of which it is a natural expression. This is already evident in the standard varieties, but especially in new varieties or ‘distorted’ forms of the language arising from the use by non-native speakers. As McMaster (Reference McMaster2007) suggests, ‘there is currently no clearly defined model of international English. Instead, the term is used to cover a number of very different concepts’.

Setting aside the issue of which form of English is used internationally, I will now move on to analyze multilingualism in business, described as an alternative to the use of English and which seems to become more and more important for those businesses who want to enter foreign markets. Dor's idea is that

If this is so, the result could be ‘neither Englishization nor negotiated multilingualism but a specific pattern of imposed multilingualism’ (ibid.). Even though the expansion of English still correlates to the process of economic globalization, the Internet has become a showcase for companies and a multilingual arena; the non-English based Internet community is now larger than it used to be in the early 2000s and it now exceeds the English speaking counterpart (Agbedo & Eze, Reference Agbedo and Eze2012: 10). In this view, competition in local markets is going to be based on a multilingual approach. Global businesses are abandoning the utopian view of an international lingua franca and are finding new ways to penetrate local markets in the indigenous language since “global capital needs local languages and cultural codes to penetrate local markets” (ibid.). As Davis (Reference Davis2003) reports ‘English […] only accounts for around 30% of the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and is likely to account for less in the future. Neglecting other languages means ignoring quite significant potential markets‘Footnote ⁵.

It cannot be denied that a multilingual approach could increase a company's chances of finding new markets, at least according to some research works. For example, in Bel Habib's study on multilingualism as a key for better access to new emerging markets, the author analyses the linguistic approach of some European small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to exporting to new markets. The analysis of the surveyed companies – Swedish, Danish, German and French – show that English is no longer the dominant language in world trade and internet traffic. In fact the companies who have a multilingual approach to exports are the most successful in closing contracts and data confirm that the percentage of firms missing contracts vary from 20% in Sweden, 4% in Denmark, 8% in Germany and 13% in France. Whilst ‘Swedish SMEs only use three market languages […], German SMEs make use of most market languages, up to 12, while the French SMEs use about 8 market languages” (Bel Habib, Reference Bel Habib2011: 3). This may even seem paradoxical as Sweden is believed to be a highly multilingual country, but results show that such a low level of multilingual approaches in international business is the cause that “makes Swedish exports more vulnerable and inhibits the export performance’ (ibid.).”

In 2006 a study was conducted by ELANFootnote ⁶ about the foreign language skills in European enterprises and the effects of foreign language speaking on the European economy. The survey involved about 2,000 SMEs from 29 European countries and outlined a general awareness among companies that a lack of language skills resulted in the loss of contracts and the inability to establish relationships with new potential clients. What was mainly outlined is that 11% of the companies surveyed had lost contracts due to this, though nearly 50% of the sample was going to enter new markets in the following years. Most SMEs showed that they needed further language skills if they wished to trade with new countries.

In another survey study made by the European Commission (2011)Footnote ⁷ one of the key points stated in the document was that a ‘multilingual company has a competitive advantage when selling its products and services. Language skills and socio-cultural aptitudes must be taken into consideration at each operating level of a company’.

The Italian case: choice of the product and the market

In deciding the economic area to analyse the attitude of Italian companies towards Englishization and multilingualism in business communication my choice fell on a primary product of the Italian lifestyle which represents an important landmark of Italy in the world: wine. Thanks to the data provided by Wine Monitor, the observatory on the wine market managed by NomismaFootnote ⁸, set up and developed to support the companies and institutions operating in the wine sector, we can better understand the market trends both nationwide and internationally.

Table 1 and Figure 1 I show some information regarding the Italian biggest export markets in 2012 as well as the trend of the global wine consumption over the last 15 years.

Figure 1.

Trend of the global wine consumption over the last 15 years (volumes)

Table 1:

Main outlet markets of Italian wine exports – 2012 (% calculated on value)

Table 1 outlines that the US is the first wine importer from Italy (21%), just before Germany (20%). So, the first international market for Italy is an English speaking country. We can also notice that the UK accounts for 12% and Canada for 6%Footnote ⁹. That means that almost 39% of the Italian wine market abroad is made up of English-speaking countries. If we further assume that another 18% of foreign markets are included in the item “Other countries” we could easily reach a higher percentage of clients in the Anglosphere.

Figure 1 outlines that the consumption of wine in traditional producing countries has generally gone down, e.g. in Italy, France and Spain, but in the emerging economies, such as the BRIC countries, it has increased by 50% (Brazil) and over 100% (Russia, India and China). Moreover, in other rich areas of the world such as the US, Australia and New Zealand as well as Canada, growth rates have been very high. Table 1 and Figure 1 help clarify why English is the main working language between Italian wine producers and foreign markets and whether this habit might change in the future as a consequence of the new growing economies that have entered the consumer market.

Wine Monitor was also used to find the companies to be interviewed in order to collect the data I needed for my research. The selected companies were contacted directly in order to organize interviews with the most suitable people in each company. I drew up a concise questionnaire that was sent to the member companies of the observatory based on the main points I wanted to analyse. The questionnaire presented open-ended questions in order to leave the companies free to answer, and possibly add further details. These were the questions:

• • What foreign languages does your staff speak?

• • What languages do you use when you want to enter a new market and why?

• • How do you cope with intercultural issues when operating in foreign markets?

• • Has the role played by English in your international business changed in the last years?

With regard to the SMEs I have interviewed this is what I have obtained:

For Marchesi De Frescobaldi, a company based in Tuscany with about 150 employees, I received information from Sales Manager G. Bertolini. He divides the company policy towards foreign markets into four main actions:

1. 1 The human element: their foreign markets department is made up of people who have at least an excellent knowledge of English and in several cases of another foreign language, such as French, German, Danish or Chinese. Employees are hired based on this prerequisite for the job so they do not give them any further language training.

2. 2 Web communication: they develop their websites in several languages; at the moment the Frescobaldi website is available in English, German, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Italian.

3. 3 Information and communication material: they are always drawn up in at least four languages: English, German, French and Italian.

4. 4 Labels: the back labels on the majority of their products are at least bilingual: Italian and English. By law, in some countries it has to be translated into the local language (China, Canada, etc.)

Cavit is a cooperative owned by 500 partners located in Trentino. Ms Conni Tenaglia informed me that the export area managers and the marketing manager speak fluent English as well as the Managing Director and the CFO. Moreover export area managers can avail themselves of the back office staff who speak good English and German.

As regards new markets, they have interests in Russia, China and South America. The way to approach the Chinese market is to turn to linguistic mediators who speak Mandarin, whereas for the other markets English is adequate. Although linguistic advice is often useful when dealing with Russian clients, English is still used to get in touch with most international markets with the only present exception of China. The company maintains that the role of English has not changed much in the last years as it remains the most used means of business interaction, followed by German. Most of their present major markets belong to the Anglo-Saxon world. They also add that emerging markets might become more important, but only in the medium/long term.

As regards the creation of an Internet website, they believe it is not enough, although they acknowledge it is essential for spreading information about the product and the brand. Of course, proficiency in other languages favours the initial approach but penetration and consolidation of a new market is the effect of the quality of the product and the ability to supply effective and continuous support (information, logistics and retail).

In Cavit they are convinced that cultural differences in the target country are overcome by the image of the product itself which is conveyed by the Italian food and way of life. It is a well-known product and it must be promoted and proposed with an eye to local customs.

Cantina Due Palme is a cooperative based in Puglia made up of 1200 partners. Ms Paola Costantino, from the Sales and Marketing Department informed me that the knowledge of English is a preliminary condition for filling the position of sales representative in their company, seeing that 80% of their turnover is destined for overseas markets and, as a result, proficiency in a second language is also necessary. Outside the sales department, the employees of administration, purchasing and logistics, if necessary, are supported by those units capable of interacting with foreign speakers. Currently, the languages spoken in the company are English, French, Spanish and German.

They maintain that before starting to operate in a new market, it is essential to carry out a study on the market in which you are going to operate. Information can be collected through web searches, contacts with people known locally or through companies in the sector who have already had the opportunity to work in that market. Partnerships and relationships with the local people are frequent. The most used language is English, while still offering the opportunity to use French, Spanish and German. The company hardly ever makes use of an of interpreter or a translator. They speak English with customers and if their customers do not speak English but only their mother tongue, these customers make use of an interpreter themselves, though this happens very rarely. Surely, English is at the basis of all their commercial relations with foreign markets, despite the fact that they recognise it would also be important to have qualified staff with diverse language skills, such as Russian or Chinese; this would make the relationship with new markets more direct.

Cultural differences are managed through adequate information collected in advance and through continuous updating. The creation of a website in the language of the target country can be overcome by the use of the English language, which is habitually known by the importer who serves as a liaison with the end consumer. The latter will often refer to the website of the importer himself, translated into the native language. As regards the use of English in international business they do not think that any change has taken place given that in their company its role has remained predominant and is well-consolidated.

Botter, an industrial and commercial company with around 80 employees is located in Veneto. Mr Michele Fornasier, Chief Financial Officer of the company, answered that the sales department is the engine of their company. There, some ten people work in the back office and share their work with the international markets based on the language they know. All of them speak English and a second language, such as French, German and Spanish. In other countries like Russia, China and Japan, they work with local agents who speak the local language. In order to enter a new market initial contacts with prospects usually take place in English, as when they attend international exhibitions or through contacts with companies of the same or other sector who are rooted in the country.

If the business opportunity seems attractive and if considered appropriate they may resort to native speakers. They have never taken into consideration a website in other foreign languages, though they affirm that communicative skills in other languages are indispensable to the opening of new markets. Cultural differences should be dealt with by trying to satisfy the country's customs and habits as much as possible, but also presenting the company's habits in a sort of mutual cultural growth that seems to be appreciated. They do not think that the role of English has changed in favour of other languages compared to a few years ago, as it remains the language of reference. Though, as business goals have been moving towards the Asian areas, they have been forced to look at Russian and Chinese with renewed interest.