ERIC Number: EJ1028078
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1466-4208
EISSN: N/A
Corporate Language: The Blind Spot of Language Policy? Reflections on France's Loi Toubon
Saulière, Jérôme
Current Issues in Language Planning, v15 n2 p220-235 2014
This article looks at France's Loi Toubon, which mandates the use of French in private companies, to illustrate how macro-level language planning reaches a dead end if it fails to consider local contexts and involve micro-level agents. The motivations, limitations and contradictions of France's language policy in relation to companies are discussed in view of the language planner's self-legitimizing discourse, which hinges on three themes: customer protection, employee protection and economic performance. Companies, we conclude, should be made to take responsibility for particular language issues rather than be coerced into complying with context-blind legislation. Drawing on this, we suggest an approach based on stakeholders' involvement and acknowledgement of what we propose to call a company's sociolinguistic responsibility.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Corporations, Sociolinguistics, Language Usage, Business Communication, Public Policy, Language Planning, Language Attitudes, Economic Factors, Employees, Legislation, Discourse Analysis, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Official Languages, Work Environment, Social Responsibility
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: France
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A