OLBI Journal Thematic issue (vol. 15): call for paper

2025-04-17

2026 THEMATIC ISSUE: CALL FOR PAPERS

Languages in the workplace, languages at work

Editors:
Catherine Levasseur, Université d'Ottawa 
Valia Spiliotopoulos, Université d’Ottawa Shayna-Eve Hébert, Université de Moncton
____ 

OLBI Journal invites researchers working on the theme of languages in the workplace to submit an article for its thematic issue, to be published in Fall 2026.

Thematic issue

The issues surrounding language management and plurilingualism concern all human activities, and all age groups are likely to be affected by plurilingual practices, policies, and norms that govern their use. This is particularly true in the workplace where language issues are intimately linked to identity as well as political, economic, communicational, and social dynamics.

Language policies and practices in the workplace have been studied in a wide variety of professional contexts, notably in Europe (Dompmartin-Normand & Thamin, 2013; Harzing et al., 2011; Lønsmann, 2014), Asia (Fairbrother, 2018; Jenks & Lee, 2019; Lam & Yu, 2013), and Australia (Cho, 2022 ; Harrison, 2013), as well as in Canada (Premji et al., 2022; Roy, 2001) and around the world. Research has focused, for example, on the role of English as a lingua franca (Gunnarsson, 2013), or corporate language in the private sector (Angouri, 2013; Barakos, 2020; Brannen & Mughan, 2017; Doehler et al., 2017). This body of research studies the effects of such linguistic and ideological hegemony on power relations within workplaces (Kankaanranta et al., 2018), as well as on linguistic and cultural diversity in general, particularly in minority (Barakos, 2018; LeBlanc, 2014; Schedlitzki et al., 2017) and Indigenous linguistic contexts (Kelly-Holmes & Pietikäinen, 2014; Møller, 2016).

Other studies focus on language policies and practices in public domains such as healthcare (Brown et al., 2012), education (Lancereau-Forster, & Martinez, 2018; Ramjattan, 2019), the civil service (Commissariat aux langues officielles, 2021), and the legal system (Nasager, 2020). These studies show, amongst other issues, how policies become barriers to workplace accessibility and social justice, and how they contribute to reproducing social and linguistic inequalities (Shohamy, 2006). Finally, while the issue of language in the workplace is often linked to mobility (Itani et al., 2015; Kingsley, 2013), immigration (Béland, 2008), international relations (De Saint Robert, 2022) and globalization (Aneesh, 2012; Lavric et al., 2017), it also makes visible social, political and economic processes that take place on a local scale (Dubois et al., 2006 ; Duchêne & Heller, 2012).

Studying languages in the workplace is often motivated by a concern for the well-being of individual workers and linguistic communities. An interest in languages at work also highlights the processes of social exclusion and discrimination that often lie behind language policies and practices in the workplace (Piller, 2016).

This volume aims to bring together scholarly work on languages at work in a variety of contexts, in order to highlight recent research in this field from an interdisciplinary perspective.

For this issue, we invite submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Language policies and practices in the workplace, whether in the private or public sector, at the national, international, or supranational level
  • Bilingualism, plurilingualism, multilingualism, and translanguaging in the workplace
  • Migration trajectories, international mobility, and transnationalism
  • The role of Indigenous languages and cultures in the workplace
  • Minority language communities
  • Neoliberalism, the economy, and the commodification of languages
  • Linguistic variation, norms, standardization, and language practices
  • Teaching and learning language for specific purposes (e.g. English for Specific Purposes; français sur objectifs spécifiques)
  • Language assessment in the workplace
  • Diglossic dynamics
  • Linguistic discourses, attitudes, and ideologies
  • Glottophobia; linguistic insecurity, and social and linguistic discrimination
  • Individual and collective identities

Articles may come from applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, education, sociology, anthropology, or any other related discipline.

Submission information

Research articles related to the thematic of linguistic insecurity will be given preference. Theoretical articles, analyses of practices, book reviews, and off-theme articles will also be considered. Articles may be written and submitted in French or English. The length of your article must not exceed 9,000 words, including references.  All articles will go through a peer review process.

The timeline is as follows:

  • Final deadline for submissions: September 30th, 2025
  • Peer review, notifications, and revisions: October 2025 – March 2026
  • Issue estimated publication time in open access: Fall 2026

Please visit the OLBI Journal website for more information about the journal, the Author Guidelines, and online submission.

Questions about this issue may be addressed to cilob@uottawa.ca .

 

References:

Aneesh, A. (2012). Negotiating globalization: Men and women of India's call centers. Journal of Social Issues, 68(3), 514-533. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2012.01761.x 

Angouri, J. (2013). The multilingual reality of the multinational workplace: Language policy and language use. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(6), 564-581. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.807273

Barakos, E. (2018). Managing, interpreting and negotiating corporate bilingualism in Wales. In T. Sherman & J. Nekvapil (Eds.), English in business and commerce: Interactions and policies. (pp. 73-95). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501506833-004

Barakos, E. (2020). Language policy in business. Discourse, ideology and practice John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.89

Béland, P. (2008). Langue et immigration, langue du travail: éléments d'analyse. Conseil supérieur de la langue française.

Brannen, M. Y., & Mughan, T. (Eds.). (2017). Language in international business. Developing a field. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42745-4            

Brown, H. J., McPherson, G., Peterson, R., Newman, V., & Cranmer, B. (2012). Our Land, our language: Connecting dispossession and health equity in an indigenous context. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 44(2), 44-63. https://cjnr.archive.mcgill.ca/article/view/2349 

Cho, J. (2022). Intercultural communication in interpreting. Power and choices. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003179993  

Commissariat aux langues officielles. (2021). (In)sécurité linguistique au travail. Sondage exploratoire sur les langues officielles auprès des fonctionnaires du gouvernement fédéral du Canada. Ministre des services publiques et de l’approvisionnement. https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/fr/publications/etudes-autres-rapports/2021/insecurite-linguistique-au-travail-sondage-exploratoire

De Saint Robert, M (2022). Le multilinguisme de l’Organisation des Nations unies. Mots. Les langages du politique, 1(128), 127-147. https://doi.org/10.4000/mots.29515

Doehler, S. P., Bangerter, A., de Weck, G., Filliettaz, L., Gonzalez-Martinez, E., & Petitjean, C. (Eds.). (2017). Interactional competences in institutional settings. From school to the workplace. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46867-9 

Dompmartin-Normand, C., & Thamin, N. (2013). Pratiques plurilingues dans une entreprise internationale à Grenoble : le prévu et l’imprévu de la mobilisation des ressources linguistiques. Synergies Italie(9), 101-114.

Dubois, L., LeBlanc, M., & Beaudin, M. (2006). La langue comme ressource productive et les rapports de pouvoir entre communautés linguistiques. Langage et société, 118(4), 17-41. https://doi.org/10.3917/ls.118.0017

Duchêne, A., & Heller, M. (2012). Language policy in the workplace. In B. Spolsky (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of language policy (pp. 323-334). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511979026.020 

Fairbrother, L. (2018). The management of everyday English interactions in the Japanese branches of European multinationals. In T. Sherman & J. Nekvapil (Eds.), English in business and commerce: Interactions and policies. (pp. 149-171). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501506833-007

Gunnarsson, B.-L. (2013). Multilingualism in the workplace. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 33, 162-189. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0267190513000123 

Harrison, G. (2013). “Oh, you've got such a strong accent”: Language identity intersecting with professional identity in the human services in Australia. International Migration, 51(5), 192-204. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12005        

Harzing, A.-W., Köster, K., & Magner, U. (2011). Babel in business: The language barrier and its solutions in the HQ-subsidiary relationship. Journal of World Business, 46(3), 279-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2010.07.005

Itani, S., Järlström, M., & Piekkari, R. (2015). The meaning of language skills for career mobility in the new career landscape. Journal of World Business, 50(2), 368-378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2014.08.003    

Jenks, C. J., & Lee, J. W. (2019). Native speaker saviorism: a racialized teaching ideology. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 17(3), 186-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2019.1664904

Kankaanranta, A., Karhunen, P., & Louhiala-Salminen, L. (2018). “English as corporate language” in the multilingual reality of multinational companies. Multilingua, 37(4), 331-351. https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2017-0077

Kelly-Holmes, H., & Pietikäinen, S. (2014). Commodifying Sámi culture in an Indigenous tourism site. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 18(4), 518-538. https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12092     

Kingsley, L. (2013). Language choice in multilingual encounters in transnational workplaces. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(6), 533-548. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.807271 

Lam, M., & Yu, C. (2013). English and Cantonese in a bilingual call centre in Hong Kong. World Englishes, 32(4), 521–535. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12059

Lancereau-Forster, N., & Martinez, J. (2018). Interlinguistic insecurity in the workplace, an issue for higher education. Language Learning in Higher Education, 8(2), 375-398. https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2018-0021 

Lavric, E., Lesk, S., & Stegu, M. (2017). Multilingualism in business: Language needs. In G. Mautner & F. Rainer (Eds.), Handbook of business communication. Linguistics approaches (pp. 249-258). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614514862-012         

LeBlanc, M. (2014). Les atouts et avantages du bilinguisme à Moncton : entre discours et réalité. Minorités linguistiques et société, (4), 154-174. https://doi.org/10.7202/1024696ar  

Lønsmann, D. (2014). Linguistic diversity in the international workplace: Language ideologies and processes of exclusion. Multilingua, 33(1-2), 89-116. https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2014-0005

Møller, H. (2016). Culturally safe communication and the power of language in Arctic nursing. Études/Inuit/Studies, 40(1), 85-104. https://doi.org/10.7202/1040146ar

Nasager, A. (2020). The Supreme Court, functional bilingualism, and the Indigenous candidate: Reconciling the bench. Alberta Law Review, 57(3), 797-816. https://doi.org/10.29173/alr2595

Piller, I. (2016). Linguistic diversity and social justice: An introduction to applied sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199937240.001.0001    

Premji, S., Begum, M., & Medley, A. (2022). Language accommodations in workers' compensation: Comparing Ontario and Quebec. NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 31(4), 452-459. https://doi.org/10.1177/10482911211053020

Ramjattan, V. A. (2019). Working with an accent: The aesthetic labour of international teaching assistants in Ontario Universities [Doctoral theses, University of Toronto]. TSpace Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/97591

Roy, S. (2001). Le bilinguisme, les jeunes et le milieu du travail : maintien d’une communauté ? Francophonies d’Amérique, 12, 5159. https://doi.org/10.7202/1005144ar

Schedlitzki, D., Edwards, G., & While, G. (2017). Leadership, management and the Welsh language. European Management Review, 14(1), 19-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12087 

Shohamy, E. (2006). Language policy: Hidden agendas and new approaches. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203387962