Dear friends and colleagues,
Christmas is nigh … and so is the 6th edition of Language at Work – Bridging Theory and Practice.
Our Christmas present for you is an edition of LaW which features no less than four articles, three of which deal with the issue of “language and power”.
In “Management discourse: Talking the power walk in organizational communication” Birgitte Norlyk gives us new insights into the power of management talk and applies it to a sort of cultural history of ideas of management and organizational styles. Hanne Tange tells us about what may happen when – in the name of Globalization – organizations in a non-English speaking country change their corporate language to English. The article is (tellingly, we might add) called “The quiet organization - why a common language does not always create a linguistic community”. In their article “Translators and (lack of) power - a study of Danish company translators’ occupational status”, Helle V. Dam and Karen Korning Zethsen, present the first results from a major study looking into the status of professional translators.
From Foucault, we know that language and power are intrinsically linked; these articles confirm that idea. But these three articles also give us a very good impression of the complexity of the relationship between language and power.
This being the season for presents, we have added a bonus package to this edition of LaW. It is “Localization: Customizing Software for the World” by Erik Bansleben and Barbara Karsch. This article is a fitting response to LaW # 5 which dealt with localization – and in case you didn’t have the time to read the other articles in LaW # 5, well, you may read this article as an appetizer.
So if – or when! – you need a break from shopping, dining and drinking, caroling, dancing (e.g., around Christmas trees or elsewhere), well, why don’t you spend it together with LaW # 6?
From all of us to all of you: Enjoy YOUR e-magazine!
On behalf of Language at Work – Bridging Theory and Practice
Merry Christmas!
Peter Kastberg, Ph.D., Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Annelise Grinsted, Asscociate Professor, Ph.D., University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
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