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“English is an unwritten rule here”: Non-formalised language policies in multinational corporations

Guro R. Sanden (Aalborg Universitet, Aalborg, Denmark)
Anne Kankaanranta (Aalto University School of Business, Helsinki, Finland)

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

ISSN: 1356-3289

Article publication date: 3 August 2018

Issue publication date: 9 October 2018

1122

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of corporate language policies that are implemented without formal decision-making processes.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study based on three Scandinavian multinational corporations which use English as a common corporate language without formal language policy decisions.

Findings

Non-formalised language policies are found to be clearly distinct from formalised language policies in terms of language policy format, language policy focus, language policy formation, language planning agency and management style. Non-formalised language policies can represent a type of informal control, but the absence of a policy document leaves employees without a common reference point which may cause confusion and inter-collegial conflict.

Originality/value

The study offers a nuanced perspective on the role of language policies in corporate communication by demonstrating that language policies may come in a variety of different forms, also as implicit assumptions about language use. Findings reveal benefits and drawbacks of the different language policy approaches.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Anja Forsbom for kindly sharing the data from her project (Forsbom, 2014). The authors would also like to thank Rebecca Piekkari and Leena Louhiala-Salminen for valuable feedback on earlier versions of this paper.

Citation

Sanden, G.R. and Kankaanranta, A. (2018), "“English is an unwritten rule here”: Non-formalised language policies in multinational corporations", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 544-566. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-02-2018-0026

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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