English in Business and Commerce

Book excerpt: This volume fills an important gap in exploring English in the domains of business and commerce through the prism of sociolinguistics and the sociology of language, as opposed to analyzing business genres or taking a linguodidactic approach. It expands the regional coverage of English in Europe, with several studies based in Central Europe, and also considers contexts which interact with Europe even though they are physically outside of it (Asia, Africa). It addresses English as just one of several languages at play in the ecology of the countries. It focuses not only on the position of languages as declared in documents of various organizations, that is, language policy, but also everyday linguistic practices as observed in business contexts, that is, interactions. The studies are divided into three thematic areas: ideologies and discourses on English in the business sphere, the management of English in business and organizational contexts, and English and other languages on local and international labor markets. It will be of interest to readers concerned with multilingualism in the economic sphere and the workplace and the interplay between macro and micro levels during the management of communication in organizations.