Prestigious Language, Pigeonholed Speakers: Stances towards the "Native English Speaker" in a Multilingual European Institution

Critical sociolinguistics has demonstrated that the social construct of the
“native speaker” has a strong impact on people’s lives, but research on
“native speaker effects” in the workplace remains rare. This article
examines such effects from the perspective of four “native English
speaker” trainees on temporary contracts in a multilingual European
Union institution in Luxembourg. Applying the framework of
sociolinguistic stance to interview data and drawings, we examine how
the participants position themselves towards the “native English
speaker” construct at work, and how they think others position them.
According to our participants, “native English speaker” positioning
confers privilege but restricts opportunities, demonstrating that the
interest of a multilingual organisation in using the “native English
speaker” as a resource does not automatically provide a powerful
position to “native English speaking” workers. Our results featuring
trainees in precarious labour conditions raise broader issues regarding
the precaritisation of language work in the EU.