Hans J. Ladegaard - Böcker

From language classrooms to outdoor markets, the workplace is fundamental to socialisation. It is not only a site of employment where money is made and institutional roles are enacted through various forms of discourse; it is also a location where people engage in social actions and practices. The workplace is an interesting research site because of advances in communication technology, cheaper and greater options for travel, and global migration and immigration. Work now requires people to travel over great geographical distances, communicate with cultural ‘others’ located in different time zones, relocate to different regions or countries, and conduct business in online settings. The workplace is thus changing and evolving, creating new and emerging communicative contexts. This volume provides a greater understanding of workplace cultures, particularly the ways in which working in highly interconnected and multicultural societies shape language and intercultural communication. The chapters focus on critical approaches to theory and practice, in particular how practice is used to shape theory. They also question the validity and universality of existing models. Some of the predominant models in intercultural communication have been criticised for being Eurocentric or Anglocentric, and this volume proposes alternative frameworks for analysing intercultural communication in the workplace. This book was originally published as a special issue of Language and Intercultural Communication.

Drawing on a large corpus of narratives recorded at a church shelter for abused domestic helpers in Hong Kong, this monograph explores how the women discursively construct themselves in sharing sessions with other helpers. They see themselves as ‘helpers’ who have come to Hong Kong to help their families, to help the people in the city, and to serve God. A wide variety of competing identities are constructed in the narratives: submissive helper, sacrificial mother, daughter and wife, and powerless traumatised victim, but also resourceful indignant migrant women who, through sharing and peer support, become empowered to fight against abusive employers. This book provides a detailed discourse analysis of the women’s narratives, but it also explores larger issues such as global migration, exploitation, language and power, abuse and the psychology of evil, intergroup communication, and peer support and empowerment.

Drawing on a corpus of 113 narratives told by migrant workers who have returned to their home country, Ladegaard details Indonesian and Filipina (domestic) migrant workers’ experiences of homecoming after years of work abroad, separated from their loved ones.The narratives deal with two major themes: 1) Migrant workers’ experiences in the diaspora, which for many, particularly Indonesian workers, were associated with abuse and exploitation leading to trauma; and 2) migrant workers’ experiences of coming home, which include both the happy reunion with the family but also concerns about not ‘fitting in’ and the need to reinvent themselves because they are not who they were when they left. This is particularly true for workers whose migratory journeys have failed and who have come back to their hometowns without any financial award. Chapters also explore the major difference between Filipina and Indonesian migrant workers’ overseas experiences. The Filipina returnees share mostly positive stories while the Indonesian returnees uncover mostly negative stories, further illuminating what may explain these diverse migratory experiences. Finally, the book discusses how research on disenfranchised groups like (domestic) migrant workers can be used for social and political action. An excellent text that will appeal to academics, teachers and postgraduate students in the humanities and social sciences, particularly in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, intercultural communication, anthropology, and migration studies.

Drawing on a corpus of 113 narratives told by migrant workers who have returned to their home country, Ladegaard details Indonesian and Filipina (domestic) migrant workers’ experiences of homecoming after years of work abroad, separated from their loved ones.The narratives deal with two major themes: 1) Migrant workers’ experiences in the diaspora, which for many, particularly Indonesian workers, were associated with abuse and exploitation leading to trauma; and 2) migrant workers’ experiences of coming home, which include both the happy reunion with the family but also concerns about not ‘fitting in’ and the need to reinvent themselves because they are not who they were when they left. This is particularly true for workers whose migratory journeys have failed and who have come back to their hometowns without any financial award. Chapters also explore the major difference between Filipina and Indonesian migrant workers’ overseas experiences. The Filipina returnees share mostly positive stories while the Indonesian returnees uncover mostly negative stories, further illuminating what may explain these diverse migratory experiences. Finally, the book discusses how research on disenfranchised groups like (domestic) migrant workers can be used for social and political action. An excellent text that will appeal to academics, teachers and postgraduate students in the humanities and social sciences, particularly in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, intercultural communication, anthropology, and migration studies.

From language classrooms to outdoor markets, the workplace is fundamental to socialisation. It is not only a site of employment where money is made and institutional roles are enacted through various forms of discourse; it is also a location where people engage in social actions and practices. The workplace is an interesting research site because of advances in communication technology, cheaper and greater options for travel, and global migration and immigration. Work now requires people to travel over great geographical distances, communicate with cultural ‘others’ located in different time zones, relocate to different regions or countries, and conduct business in online settings. The workplace is thus changing and evolving, creating new and emerging communicative contexts. This volume provides a greater understanding of workplace cultures, particularly the ways in which working in highly interconnected and multicultural societies shape language and intercultural communication. The chapters focus on critical approaches to theory and practice, in particular how practice is used to shape theory. They also question the validity and universality of existing models. Some of the predominant models in intercultural communication have been criticised for being Eurocentric or Anglocentric, and this volume proposes alternative frameworks for analysing intercultural communication in the workplace. This book was originally published as a special issue of Language and Intercultural Communication.