Language Diversity in International Management Teams

This paper analyzes language diversity from a sociolinguistic perspective demonstrating how it operates in interactions between members of international management teams in multinational corporations (MNCs). A major challenge for teams composed of speakers of different languages is the building of trust and relationships that are language dependent. Based on published research and illustrative empirical data, findings indicate that language diversity has a significant impact on socialization processes and team building, influencing both communication acts and mutual perceptions. Results of investigations into multilingual teams using English as their language of communication show that many obstacles are encountered by native as well as nonnative speakers. There is clear evidence that if language diversity is to be a valuable resource for international management teams, the challenges it raises need to be identified.

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