Language Migration And In Exclusion In The Workplace

In today’s globalised world, large-scale migration is the norm. A contributing factor to the successful settlement of migrants is the ability to access work and economic security. This book focuses on the lived experiences of migrants who (try to) access the workplace, and explores the barriers and support they encounter. The editors bring together studies which look at the ways in which inclusion and exclusion from the workplace are done linguistically from historical, discourse analytical, narrative and language assessment perspectives. The chapters represent an innovative, holistic, intersectional and multidisciplinary approach to the subject, and illustrate a wide range of analytical methods and theoretical tools for the study of multilingualism and professional identity. The rich empirical data contained in the book cover a variety of professional contexts and countries, and the book will appeal to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Migration and the mobility of citizens around the globe pose important challenges to the linguistic and cultural homogeneity that nation-states rely on for defining their physical boundaries and identity, as well as the rights and obligations of their citizens. A new social order resulting from neoliberal economic practices, globalisation and outsourcing also challenges traditional ways the nation-state has organized its control over the people who have typically travelled to a new country looking for work or better life chances. This collection provides an account of the ways language addresses core questions concerning power and the place of migrants in various institutional and workplace settings. It brings together contributions from a range of geographical settings to understand better how linguistic inequality is (re)produced in this new economic order.

This collection provides an overview of some of the most relevant concepts in the study of the language of inclusion and exclusion, specifically with a view to the functioning of nation-state categories. Categorizations, words, and phrases are constantly renewed with the intention to exclude (mostly) or to include (rarely), promulgating problematizations that highlight discursive distinctions between in-groups and out-groups. Such discursive constructions and the practices through which they are effectuated are sites of symbolic power, and their study reveals the workings of power. Historical analysis of the language of inclusion and exclusion can help elucidate contemporary transformations of discursive power. The chapters in this volume discuss forms of discursive problematization such as defining, claiming, legitimizing, expanding, sensationalization and suggestion, and it connects these to the discursive drawing of boundaries, focusing on discursive constructions of ‘illegality’, race, class, gender, immigrant integration and transnationalism. As state categorizations continuously differ, both the historical analysis of their genesis, functioning and transformation, and the contemporary analysis of their practical effectuation are crucial to an understanding of inclusion and exclusion. This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

This book extends lines of inquiry at the nexus of migration, adult language learning, and multilingualism, illuminating the lived experiences of migrants in the Faroe Islands and critical new insights into sociolinguistics from the periphery. Building on recent epistemological shifts in research on minoritized languages, this volume integrates threads from scholarship on migration studies, new speakers, and critical sociolinguistics in examining blue-collar workplaces in the Faroe Islands. In bringing greater attention to these contexts, Holm showcases how these sites, when analyzed via an ethnographic lens, reflect both the changing sociolinguistic landscape at the periphery in light of globalization and adult language learners’ commitment to language learning as a form of personal and social investment. In shedding light on the specific case of Faroese, the volume critically reflects on the specific challenges involved in acquiring a small language in a bilingual context and on those impacting the sustainability of minoritized languages, including the increasing use of English, and the opportunities for stakeholders in language policy and planning to promote greater social inclusion for adult migrants. This volume will be of particular interest to students and scholars in critical sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, language education, migration studies, and applied linguistics.

This publication describes the situation for vocational workplace language development in several eastern and western European countries.It notes the differences in political climate, industrial development and economic resources, and highlights the issues for second language provision in each country. Most importantly for practioners, it provides up-to-date guidelines for development of vocational and workplace language, based on international theory and practice.

The Routledge Handbook of Migration and Language is the first comprehensive survey of this area, exploring language and human mobility in today’s globalised world. This key reference brings together a range of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives, drawing on subjects such as migration studies, geography, philosophy, sociology and anthropology. Featuring over 30 chapters written by leading experts from around the world, this book: Examines how basic constructs such as community, place, language, diversity, identity, nation-state, and social stratification are being retheorized in the context of human mobility; Analyses the impact of the ‘mobility turn’ on language use, including the parallel ‘multilingual turn’ and translanguaging; Discusses the migration of skilled and unskilled workers, different forms of displacement, and new superdiverse and diaspora communities; Explores new research orientations and methodologies, such as mobile and participatory research, multi-sited ethnography, and the mixing of research methods; Investigates the place of language in citizenship, educational policies, employment and social services. The Routledge Handbook of Migration and Language is essential reading for those with an interest in migration studies, language policy, sociolinguistic research and development studies.

This book contextualizes migration in the larger transformations of the local, national and transnational labour markets.

The Routledge Handbook of Language in the Workplace provides a comprehensive survey of linguistic research on language in the workplace written by top scholars in the field from around the world. The Handbook covers theoretical and methodological approaches, explores research in different types of workplace settings, and examines some key areas of workplace talk that have been investigated by workplace researchers. Issues of identity have become a major focus in recent workplace research and the Handbook highlights some core issues of relevance in this area, such as gender, leadership, and intercultural communication. As the field has developed, applications of workplace research for both native and non-native speakers have emerged. Insights can inform and improve input from practitioners training workers in a range of fields and across a variety of contexts, and the Handbook foregrounds some of the ways workplace research can do this. This is an invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students interested in learning more about workplace discourse.