Language ideologies in a Multilingual Corporate Setting

Abstract

This case study explored the English and Urdu language related ideologies of different management groups at a multinational organisation of Karachi, Pakistan. The current study tried to bring an insider’s perspective to the causes of certain language ideologies prevalent in the structure of work environment, and what power relations existed between the social actors. A sample of two research participants was selected from each of the four management cadres to get an in-depth understanding of the context. The findings suggest that trajectories of language related beliefs and ideologies are formed from macro to the micro levels of management, stratified according to organizational hierarchies, ethnicity, linguistically, and joint orientations of participants in different speech communities. These ideologies are marked by indexical framing, entextualization, stylistic shifts and speech acts. The study recommends that in such multilingual contexts cultural pluralism rather than assimilation should be aimed, at as it strengthens cultural and social diversity of different linguistic groups, while creating a political and socio-economic unity among them.