"Everyone Speaks English, Right?"

In international business, notions of homogeneity
and standardisation are seen as synonymous with
globalisation. One world is equated with one
language and English, portrayed as the global lingua
franca, is promoted as the language of business.
Using Jean Baudrillard's theory of the cyclic
superposition of the singular, universal and global
as a framework and applying it to the case of New
Zealand-French business communications, this book
questions the beliefs underpinning Anglophone
reliance on English in the postmodern business
world. Examining historical shifts in attitudes to
language, it argues that the universal ideals of
unity and openness popularly associated with
globalisation are myths. It shows that foreign
languages receive little attention in the
international business literature and that much of
the cross-cultural advice for France is outdated and
misleading. This book also offers a diachronic and
synchronic view of the use of and attitudes to
foreign languages in New Zealand business and
provides, as a counterpoint, the views of French
customers. It will interest people in Communications,
Business, Foreign Languages and
Linguistics.

Autorentext
Karin Speedy, PhD (French), University of Auckland. Specialist in Cross-Cultural Communication, Creole Studies, French Linguistics, French History, Literary Translation and Francophone Literature. Taught at the Sorbonne, (Paris IV) and the University of Auckland. Current position: Lecturer in French at Macquarie University, Sydney.

Klappentext
In international business, notions of homogeneity and standardisation are seen as synonymous with globalisation. One world is equated with one language and English, portrayed as the global lingua franca, is promoted as the language of business. Using Jean Baudrillard's theory of the cyclic superposition of the singular, universal and global as a framework and applying it to the case of New Zealand-French business communications, this book questions the beliefs underpinning Anglophone reliance on English in the postmodern business world. Examining historical shifts in attitudes to language, it argues that the universal ideals of unity and openness popularly associated with globalisation are myths. It shows that foreign languages receive little attention in the international business literature and that much of the cross-cultural advice for France is outdated and misleading. This book also offers a diachronic and synchronic view of the use of and attitudes to foreign languages in New Zealand business and provides, as a counterpoint, the views of French customers. It will interest people in Communications, Business, Foreign Languages and Linguistics.