“English is the language of business”: An exploration of language ideologies in two European corporate contexts

The increased linguistic and cultural diversity of international workplaces challenges different understandings of corporate language, corporate communication and even language ideologies. The understanding, attitudes and ideologies towards language and language policies of members in culturally and linguistically mixed teams are an important aspect of business communication studies that so far has received little attention. Through an analysis of two case studies of MNCs in Switzerland and Italy in the banking sector, based on semi-structured interviews with employees in those companies, this paper aims to explore ideologies of multilingualism and English that dominate in the workplace and those that underpin the official and unofficial corporate policies adopted. The dominant discourse is that “English is the language of business” and it remains a fixed and unquestioned corporate language. However, the importance of collaborative, flexible and multilingual practices at all levels of professional communication has been highlighted in the experiences reported by business professionals interviewed. The use of BELF and other languages does not necessarily function, as companies’ policies would require, following the monolingual language separation mode, but in a mixed, fluid and flexible mode. Finally, the promotion of a translingual use of BELF in corporate communication may allow flexibility and equality in dealing with the diversity of repertoires and access to resources for plurilingual employees.