Globalization of English as a Corporate Language
Linguistic and cultural knowledge are very important nowadays when doing business in an international environment. Due to the rapid development of trade in Romania and in the other Member States of the European Union business English has become more and more important in the economic field. The world’s language situation is undergoing some significant changes and that is why I will try to describe the development of English as a global language. The linguistic globalisation is not an internal language phenomenon but the result of a deliberate linguistic attitude, strictly determined by economic interests.
Multilingualism in International Business
Language situations vary in different nations. In some countries, a variety of languages are spoken; in others, a single language is used. People who have the linguistic competence to speak several languages are multilingual. What role does multilingualism play in multinational corporations? Is multilingualism a problem or a solution for international business? Does English as a lingua franca play a role in international business? How business leaders react to multilingualism or Englishization? Opinions are divided. Multilingualism has been the focus of interest in recent decades due to globalization, tourism, technology advancement, international trade, and so forth. Language barriers and linguistic diversity surfaced which may impact corporate communications in international business. Specific language policies might be needed for corporate communications. The aims of this chapter are to explore the roles of multilingualism and Englishization in international business, and to seek approaches for better corporate communications. Associated issues and problems as well as solutions and recommendations will be explored and discussed.
Code switching in Ahdaf Soueif's The Map of Love
This article examines the phenomenon of code switching in The Map of Love (1999) by the Egyptian—British writer Ahdaf Soueif. Though she chooses English as a medium for her creative expression, Soueif deploys Arabic in her narrative to represent different aspects of the linguistic and cultural norms of Egyptian society. The article's methodology is informed by Kachru's framework on contact literature and his categorization of the occurrence of literary code switching or bilingual creativity into different strategies that encompass cultural and linguistic processes. The results indicate the predominance in The Map of Love of the discourse strategies of employing lexical borrowing, culture-bound references and translational transfer. Finally, the article analyzes the functional motivation of code switching in the postcolonial context of the novel and how the use of certain creative strategies might enhance or diminish the narrative's effectiveness and readability.