The use of language in the corporate world

• Thierry CURRIVAND
  Manager, education and civic involvement - social responsibility department, Renault
  Director, 'International Management' MBA, Dauphine/Sorbonne/Renault
  
• Claude TRUCHOT
  Emeritus professor, University of Strasburg
  Founder, work group on European multilingualism
  

Summary

Can people afford not to speak English in these times of globalisation ? Is English merely a common and practical aid to facilitate working together ? Alternatively, does the use of English reflect power struggles which exist between various groups in companies, or is it just an ideology which challenges the real role of language and, consequently, cultural and social factors which are at work in the corporate world ? A linguist and an industrialist discuss how language is used in business.

Summary translated from French by Rachel MARLIN.

• The entire article was written by Pascal LEFEBVRE.

To obtain this article, you can :

• download it for free in French (PDF help) or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference MC220609).

The entire article appears in French in the Journal de l'École de Paris du management N° 81.