Multilingualism in companies: an introduction

This thematic collection of four papers explores a number of perspectives on companies in which multiple languages are used. The organisational perspective concerns the question of how the presence of or demand for multiple languages in the company is managed - how companies are guided by national and other policies in regard to the use of multiple languages and at the same time, how they create their own internal policies. The individual perspective examines the ways in which the presence of multiple languages in the workplace is managed by employees. Finally, the methodological perspective addresses questions of how to best collect and integrate different types of data. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are utilised. Theoretical and methodological frameworks including Language Policy and Planning, Sociology of Language, Ethnography of Communication, Interactional Sociolinguistics, and Language Management Theory are considered in mapping and describing the companies' situations. The specific multilingual situations in the given companies either reflect that of the surrounding area - in a minority language region or due to recent international migration - or are a result of multinational companies as a form of capital brought from abroad into a largely monolingual space.