For nearly three decades, English has been the lingua franca of
cross-border organizations, yet studies on corporate language strategies
and their importance for globalization have been scarce. In The
Language of Global Success, Tsedal Neeley provides an in-depth look at
a single organization--the high-tech giant Rakuten--in the five years
following its English lingua franca mandate. Neeley's behind-the-scenes
account explores how language shapes the ways in which employees who
work in global organizations communicate and negotiate linguistic and
cultural differences.
Drawing on 650 interviews conducted across Rakuten's locations in
Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and the
United States, Neeley argues that an organization's lingua franca is the
catalyst by which all employees become some kind of "expat"--someone
detached from their mother tongue or home culture. Through her
unfettered access to the inner workings of Rakuten, she reveals three
distinct social groups: "linguistic expats," who live in their home
country yet have to give up their native language in the workplace;
"cultural expats," or native speakers of the lingua franca, who struggle
with organizational values that are more easily transmitted after
language barriers are removed; and finally "linguistic-cultural expats,"
who, while native to neither the lingua franca nor the organization's
home culture, surprisingly have the easiest time adjusting to language
changes. Neeley demonstrates that language can serve as the conduit for
an unfamiliar culture, often in unexpected ways, and that there are
lessons to be learned for all global companies as they confront language
and culture challenges.
Examining the strategic use of language by one international
corporation, The Language of Global Success uncovers how all
organizations might integrate language effectively to tap into the
promise of globalization.
