Managing Plurilingual and Intercultural Practices in the Workplace: The case of multilingual Switzerland(4 Multilingualism and Diversity Management)

The contributions in this volume stem from different lines of research and represent both a continuation and an advancement of the European DYLAN project. The book addresses the meanings and implications of multilingualism and plurilingual repertoires as well as the ways in which cultural diversity is managed in companies and institutions in Switzerland. Characterised by official quadrilingualism, but also by new dimensions of multilingualism resulting from massive immigration, important workforce mobility and increasing globalisation, Switzerland offers an ideal laboratory for studying phenomena linked to multilingualism and cultural diversity. On the one hand, a special focus is put on the best practices of diversity management and language regimes with particular attention paid to the interplay between official languages and English, and to ways of leveraging diversity awareness, fostering cultural inclusiveness and enhancing intercultural learning in vocational education and training. On the other hand, the chapters examine at close range the way actors' plurilingual repertoires are developed and how their use is adapted to particular objectives and specific conditions. Being observed in several types of multilingual professional settings, the plurilingual strategies, including English as lingua franca, are particularly examined in terms of power relations and processes of inclusion or exclusion.

Review :
Overall this volume is very useful for researchers looking for empirical evidence of the actual (and complex) use of language in the multilingual workplace. Because of its focus on contexts where little previous sociolinguistic research has been conducted, such as the military, and because of its multimethod approach, this volume definitely adds to the growing body of work in the field. This volume undoubtedly represents a major contribution to the understanding of plurilingual practices in the workplace. The book's preface clearly outlines and underscores the rationale for a volume of this nature, and the authors have successfully achieved the goals set for the publication of this book as it opens the way to new ways of acting, in terms not only of research but also of disseminating knowledge among institutional and political actors. [...] This edited volume is an asset to the field of professional communication to a wide range of subjects dealing with institutional multilingualism and intercultural practices.