How one global organization's lingua franca mandate shaped the lives
of its employees around the world
For nearly three decades, English has been the lingua franca of
cross-border business, yet studies on global language strategies have
been scarce. Providing a rare behind-the-scenes look at the high-tech
giant Rakuten in the five years following its English mandate, The
Language of Global Success explores how language shapes the ways in
which employees in global organizations communicate and negotiate
linguistic and cultural differences. Drawing on 650 interviews conducted
across Rakuten's locations around the world, Tsedal Neeley argues that
an organization's lingua franca is the catalyst by which all employees
become some kind of "expat"-detached from their native tongue or
culture. Demonstrating that language can serve as the conduit for an
unfamiliar culture, often in unexpected ways, Neeley uncovers how all
organizations might integrate language effectively to tap into the
promise of globalization.