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Chapter 1. Multilingual practices in professional settings

Keeping the delicate balance between progressivity and intersubjectivity
  • Vassiliki Markaki , Sara Merlino , Lorenza Mondada , Florence Oloff and Véronique Traverso
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Exploring the Dynamics of Multilingualism
This chapter is in the book Exploring the Dynamics of Multilingualism

Abstract

Drawing on naturalistic video and audio recordings of international meetings, and within the framework of conversation analysis, ethnomethodology and interactional linguistics, this chapter studies how multilingual resources are mobilized in social interactions among professionals, how available linguistic and embodied resources are identified and used by the participants, which solutions are locally elaborated by them when they are confronted with various languages spoken but not shared among them, and which definition of multilingualism they adopt for all practical purposes.Focusing on the multilingual solutions emically elaborated in international professional meetings, we show that the participants orient to a double principle: on the one hand, they orient to the progressivity of the interaction, adopting all the possible resources that enable them to go on within the current activity; on the other hand, they orient to the intersubjectivity of the interaction, treating, preventing and repairing possible troubles and problems of understanding. Specific multilingual solutions can be adopted to keep this difficult balance between progressivity and intersubjectivity; they vary according to the settings, the competences at hand, the linguistic and embodied resources locally defined by the participants as publicly available, the multilingual resources treated as totally or partially shared, as transparent or opaque, and as needing repair or not.The paper begins by sketching the analytical framework, including the methodology and the data collected; it then presents some general findings, before offering an analysis of various ways in which participants keep the balance between progressivity and intersubjectivity in different multilingual interactional contexts.

Abstract

Drawing on naturalistic video and audio recordings of international meetings, and within the framework of conversation analysis, ethnomethodology and interactional linguistics, this chapter studies how multilingual resources are mobilized in social interactions among professionals, how available linguistic and embodied resources are identified and used by the participants, which solutions are locally elaborated by them when they are confronted with various languages spoken but not shared among them, and which definition of multilingualism they adopt for all practical purposes.Focusing on the multilingual solutions emically elaborated in international professional meetings, we show that the participants orient to a double principle: on the one hand, they orient to the progressivity of the interaction, adopting all the possible resources that enable them to go on within the current activity; on the other hand, they orient to the intersubjectivity of the interaction, treating, preventing and repairing possible troubles and problems of understanding. Specific multilingual solutions can be adopted to keep this difficult balance between progressivity and intersubjectivity; they vary according to the settings, the competences at hand, the linguistic and embodied resources locally defined by the participants as publicly available, the multilingual resources treated as totally or partially shared, as transparent or opaque, and as needing repair or not.The paper begins by sketching the analytical framework, including the methodology and the data collected; it then presents some general findings, before offering an analysis of various ways in which participants keep the balance between progressivity and intersubjectivity in different multilingual interactional contexts.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I. Companies
  5. Chapter 1. Multilingual practices in professional settings 3
  6. Chapter 2. The practical processing of plurilingualism as a resource in professional activities 33
  7. Chapter 3. Multilingualism and diversity management in companies in the Upper Rhine Region 59
  8. Chapter 4. Representations of multilingualism and management of linguistic diversity in companies 83
  9. Chapter 5. A social representational perspective on languages and their management in the Danish corporate sector 101
  10. Chapter 6. What can Gaelic teach us about effective policy through planning? 121
  11. Chapter 7. Language diversity management on corporate websites 137
  12. Part II. European institutions
  13. Chapter 8. Language competence and language choice within EU institutions and their effects on national legislative authorities 157
  14. Chapter 9. EU and lesser-used languages 179
  15. Chapter 10. Dynamics of multilingualism in post-Enlargement EU institutions 205
  16. Part III. Higher education
  17. Chapter 11. Accomplishing multilingualism through plurilingual activities 229
  18. Chapter 12. Multilingual higher education between policies and practices 253
  19. Chapter 13. Plurilingualisms and knowledge construction in higher education 279
  20. Chapter 14. Language policies in universities and their outcomes 299
  21. Chapter 15. Policies and practices of multilingualism at Babeş-Bolyai University (Cluj, Romania) 323
  22. How policies influence multilingual education and the impact of multilingual education on practices 353
  23. Part IV. Transversal issues
  24. Chapter 17. Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication 365
  25. Chapter 18. English as a lingua franca in European multilingualism 387
  26. Chapter 19. Europe’s multilingualism in the context of a European culture of standard languages 407
  27. Conclusion 429
  28. Index 437
https://doi.org/10.1075/mdm.2.01mar

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I. Companies
  5. Chapter 1. Multilingual practices in professional settings 3
  6. Chapter 2. The practical processing of plurilingualism as a resource in professional activities 33
  7. Chapter 3. Multilingualism and diversity management in companies in the Upper Rhine Region 59
  8. Chapter 4. Representations of multilingualism and management of linguistic diversity in companies 83
  9. Chapter 5. A social representational perspective on languages and their management in the Danish corporate sector 101
  10. Chapter 6. What can Gaelic teach us about effective policy through planning? 121
  11. Chapter 7. Language diversity management on corporate websites 137
  12. Part II. European institutions
  13. Chapter 8. Language competence and language choice within EU institutions and their effects on national legislative authorities 157
  14. Chapter 9. EU and lesser-used languages 179
  15. Chapter 10. Dynamics of multilingualism in post-Enlargement EU institutions 205
  16. Part III. Higher education
  17. Chapter 11. Accomplishing multilingualism through plurilingual activities 229
  18. Chapter 12. Multilingual higher education between policies and practices 253
  19. Chapter 13. Plurilingualisms and knowledge construction in higher education 279
  20. Chapter 14. Language policies in universities and their outcomes 299
  21. Chapter 15. Policies and practices of multilingualism at Babeş-Bolyai University (Cluj, Romania) 323
  22. How policies influence multilingual education and the impact of multilingual education on practices 353
  23. Part IV. Transversal issues
  24. Chapter 17. Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication 365
  25. Chapter 18. English as a lingua franca in European multilingualism 387
  26. Chapter 19. Europe’s multilingualism in the context of a European culture of standard languages 407
  27. Conclusion 429
  28. Index 437
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