French and language ideologies in a multilingual European Union institution: Re-constructing the meaning of language choice at work

LOVRITS, Veronika; Hélène Langinier; EHRHART, Sabine

doi:10.1177/14705958241237951

Article (Scientific journals)

French and language ideologies in a multilingual European Union institution: Re-constructing the meaning of language choice at work

LOVRITS, Veronika; Hélène Langinier; EHRHART, Sabine

2024 • In International Journal of Cross Cultural Management

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

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https://hdl.handle.net/10993/60560

DOI
10.1177/14705958241237951

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Keywords :

English; European Union; French; language choice; language ideologies; multilingualism; stance

Abstract :

[en] This qualitative study investigates stances in reflective interviews to identify cultural patterns that shape the meaning of language choice within an international unit of an EU institution in Luxembourg. We employ the analytical concept of "language cringe" and propose a complementary concept, "language push," to showcase the effects and reproduction of language ideologies in dayto-day talk about languages at work. Our analysis reveals that, within a workplace culture that encourages flexible and convivial use of multiple languages, French speakers have to deal with the effects of the "logic of honour," which is culturally associated with the use of French in France. Based on our findings, we suggest that language choice should be considered a cross cultural dimension in multilingual environments, and that language-sensitive management scholarship should broaden its considerations beyond the traditional issues of language proficiency, namely by inspecting relational and affective factors that shape language use in multilingual workplaces.

Disciplines :

Arts & humanities: Multidisciplinary, general & others

Author, co-author :

LOVRITS, Veronika ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) > Department of Humanities (DHUM) > Multilingualism

Hélène Langinier; Ecole de Management de Strasbourg, France

EHRHART, Sabine ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) > Department of Humanities (DHUM) > Multilingualism

External co-authors :

yes

Language :

English

Title :

French and language ideologies in a multilingual European Union institution: Re-constructing the meaning of language choice at work

Publication date :

26 February 2024

Journal title :

International Journal of Cross Cultural Management

ISSN :

1470-5958

eISSN :

1741-2838

Publisher :

SAGE, London, United Kingdom

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Focus Area :

Migration and Inclusive Societies

Development Goals :

10. Reduced inequalities

Available on ORBilu :

since 13 March 2024

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