Heller, M.

The commodification of
Language
pp. 101-114

Heller, M., (2010) "The commodification of Language", Annual review of anthropology, 39, pp.101-114

Staff and students of University of the West of Scotland are reminded that copyright
subsists in this extract and the work from which it was taken. This Digital Copy has been
made under the terms of a CLA licence which allows you to:
• access and download a copy;
• print out a copy;

Please note that this material is for use ONLY by students registered on the course of
study as stated in the section below. All other staff and students are only entitled to
browse the material and should not download and/or print out a copy.

This Digital Copy and any digital or printed copy supplied to or made by you under the
terms of this Licence are for use in connection with this Course of Study. You may retain
such copies after the end of the course, but strictly for your own personal use.

All copies (including electronic copies) shall include this Copyright Notice and shall be
destroyed and/or deleted if and when required by University of the West of Scotland.
Except as provided for by copyright law, no further copying, storage or distribution
(including by e-mail) is permitted without the consent of the copyright holder.

The author (which term includes artists and other visual creators) has moral rights in
the work and neither staff nor students may cause, or permit, the distortion, mutilation
or other modification of the work, or any other derogatory treatment of it, which would
be prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author.

Course of Study: LING11002 - English as a Global Language

Title: Annual review of anthropology: "The commodification of Language"

Name of Author: Heller, M.

Name of Publisher: Annual Reviews

 On Demand
The British Library's document supply service

Terms and Conditions

Unless out of copyright, the contents of the document(s) attached to or
accompanying this page are protected by copyright. They are supplied to you
under the Enhanced Higher Education Supply Service Agreement.

You are therefore agreeing to the terms of supply for the Enhanced Higher
Education Supply Service available on the CLA website at:
https://assets.cla.co.uk/media/2024/01/ehess-agreement.pdf
 The Commodification
of Language
Monica Heller
CREFO, OISE, Uuivcrsirv of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario ,\15S I \16, Canada;
cm.u]: monic:[email protected]

\nnu. Rev, Anrhropol. 2010. 39:101-14 Key Words

The Annual Reriet: ofAuthropolofJ' is on line at new economy, globalization, neoliberalism, market, multilingualism
anthro.:lnnualn.:,·icws.org
Abstract
This article's dui:
IO. I 146/:i.nnun:Llllthro.OL~09. ICH951 Although language can always be analyzed as a commodity, its salience
Cop} right f.) 20 IO by nnual Reviews. a a resource with exchange value has increased with the growing im-
All rights reserved portance oflanguage in the globalized new economy under the political
0084-65i0/IO/IU21-0I0I 20.00 economic conditions of late capitalism. This review summarizes how
and in which ways tho e conditions have a commodifying effect on lan-
guage and focuses on contemporary tensions between ideologies and
practices of language in the shift from rnodernity to late modernity. It
describes some of these tensions in key sites: tourism, marketing, lan-
guage teaching, translation, communications (especially call centers),
and performance art.

/(//
 WHAT IS MEANT BY or rational thought art: now trc.ucd ,1s clircct lv
COMMODIFICKI ION OF cxchangc.ihlc for material goods, .ind. t:spc·-
LANGUAGE? WHY WORRY ci.illy, for 111011 -y. The other concerns the extent
ABOUT IT NOW? to which the circulation of goods rh.u used to
depend (mainly or exclusively) 011 the deploy-
Publications on the subject of the couunodifi-
ment of other kinds of resources now depends
cation of language have recently increased, in-
on the deployment of linguistic resources (for
cluding <111 edited volume devoted entirely to
example, in some areas getting ;1 job used to de-
the subject (Tan c' Rubdy 2008). This review
pend on physical strength, but no« 111.rnr jobs
article is, of course, also a product of this up-
require communicative skills instead).
surge. One could argue that we could always
Both of these levels arc gcner;illy under-
have analyzed language in many w,1ys usi~g
stood to be ;1 feature of lute capitalism. Put
those terms.\ Vhy then, has attention increased
more gcner,1lly, wh.u wt: arc witnessing is not
now?
;1 rupture with the ideology of l.inguagc ;1s :1
Indeed, Bourdieu ( 1977, l 982) pointed to
whole, bounded system, consistent with the rcr-
the many ways in which langu~1ge forms part of
ritori.il boundaries of the n.uion-stnrc ,111d the
the symbolic capital that can be mobilized in
historical continuity of a purativcly cuhur.illv
markets a interchangeable with forms of 111,1-
(and, often, genctic1llr) uni lied pop~1latio11. ;rn~I
rerial capital. How one speaks and writes is one
repository of its distinct worldvicw, but rather
basis for deciding one's worth as ,1 scholar, ,111
,111 appropriation ,111<.l extension of th.u ideol-
employee, or ,1 potential marriage partner. Cal
ogy under new condition· that re ·t the limits of
(1989) and Irvine (l 989) also argued that the
its capacity to explain and orient social nctivirv
study oflanguage needs to be framed in term of
(f lellcr 2003, PujoL1r 2007). \\'e sec this ·hif~,
not only the making of meaning of ocial cute-
for example, in the war trugglcs o,-cr social dif-
gories (or identitie ), and of social relations, but
ference and social inequ,1lity on the terr;1in of
also the political economic conditions that con-
language move away from politic.11 fr;1mc · ;111<.l
strain the po ibilities for making meaning and
toward economic ones, changing the n;1turc of
social relations. They further argue that these
discourses th,1t legitimize power ;rnd the n:1turc
condition underlie ideologies of language ,111d
of criteria used in ocial selection. ;rnd there-
therefore help explain why certain lingui tic
fore ,11 o having an impact on the con ·rr;1inrs
form and practices play the role they do in the
on access to symbolic and matcri,il resource·
production and reproduction of the. ocial or-
for ,1ctors occupying different social position·
der and of the moral order that legitimate it.
(F,1irclough _002, _QQ6· Crciuoli 200 ). But
Language, in thi view, is not a reflection of the
bcc:1Use this shift cm ·rges our of the exp:1n-
ocial order but i part of what nukes it happen;
sion of existing political economics rather rh.111
in that ense, we cannot abstract away from the
from the crc:nion of rndicalk nc\\ one:, co111-
value attached to linguistic forms and practices
modific1tion rem,1ins in tens.ion with f mnerh
or from their links to all kinds of ocial activities
and to the circulation of resources of all kinds dominant lih1.:r:1l tropes of lan1.ruage.
., ·ultur~,
citizenship, ,rnd nation (Baum,111~ '· 13rigg: _00.,
that ocial order mediates.
Budach ct ,11. 2003, t\lsagoff _()08. \\::c _()() ,
However the recent interest in bngi.1,1ge as
'ilv,1 x l Iclkr _009).
commodity point to a pecific and emergent
Fin:11ly, current shifts commodify. l:rn<Tu,wc-;
form of thi exchange value and requires expla- t, :"I

in two often compt:ting wa~·s: ;i-; ,1 tcchnic1I

nation on two levels. One level relates to the
skill, 111,rn,1gc,1hlc through tarlori-;r technique.;
extent to which forms of exchange (standart]-
inventt:d for industrialization (Cunernn _()()I,
ized languuge for jobs, for example) that used
to be treated di cursively as matters of breeding,
2005), and ,1s a sign of ,1uthenricitr (Couphnd
_()()3,1), useful ,1s :Hided \'aluc for ni ·he nurkets
ta .te, intellectual competence, good schoolinrrt-,•
,rnd for distinguishing among '-1:111d:1rdi,cd

10~ 1/dla·
 products ih.u have s.uur.n cd markets (Bishop discursive regimes :rnd c111crgcnt tlcst:1hili1.a-
ct :1I. _005, juworsk: & Pritchard 2005, tions of those regimes. The liter,11urc cert:1i11ly
C:0111:1rnff & Comnroll 2009, Alcl.aughiin prm·ides e,·idence of 11e\\' w.1~·s of producing
ct :d. 20 I 0). This le:1ds to competition 0\'Cr Lne capit:1list subjccti,·ities fornsed on pcrfor-
who defines wh.u counts as lcgirim:llc and 111:111ces (notably com111unic1ti\'e ones) :1s skills
couunotlilialilc Linguagc, over what counts :1s th.it arc m:1rker:1ble commodities r:11hcr th:rn ,ls
such, and over who controls the production expressions oft rue selves or ofrchti,·elr good or
:111d distribution of linguistic resources (I loller poor ,1ccomplish111ents of soci.illy located per-
L', Boutet 2006). son:1e (wh<.:thcr within bro.id categories such ,1s
The followiru; section of this review dis- gender, class, or r:1c<.: or \\'ithin kinship, institu-
.usscs the nature of the ch:inges in Lire capital- tional, political, religious, or other structures,
ism (or high or Lite modcrnitv) ih.u led to these such :is femininity, or f:1therhood, or adoles-
forms of commodilicauon of L111gu:1gc. Specif- cence, etc.). It a !so prc)\'iclcs evidence of tensions
icnllv, I review the ,1rg11ment that lure capital- around this shift, not:1bly in the zone .1round
ism consists of the expansion of markets and :mempts to use the t:1ylorisr techniques of in-
their progressive saturation resulting in :111 in- dustrial m,111agcment to regulate :111d me:1su1-c
creased importance for language in (a) m.inag- the ,·,1lue of lingllistic skills at the same time
ing the flo\\' of resources over extended spatial th.it older regimes of authenticity ;1rc brought
relations .md compressed space-time relations, in to pla~· in the same endeavor (think, for exam-
(/,) providing symbolic added value to industri- ple, of the native speaker as the gold stancLircl
:1lly produced resources, (c) fncilitaring the con- of language le,1rning) or, altcrn,1tively, in the
struction of and access to niche markets, and development of niche markets and the.ir servic-
(d) developing linguistically mediated knowl- ing. These tensions arc visible in strategies used
edge and sen-ice industries. to manage them, from the concatenation of
The third section discusses the ways in forms from formerly distinct spheres in a blur-
which these proccs ·e arc tied ro struggles to ring of boundaries variously labeled hybridity,
preserve ncocoloniul relation on new grounds, multiplicity, complexity, polynomia, metrolin-
thur is, how relations of power established ear- gualism, or transnationalism, jllst to give
lier in the political, social, and cultural terms ·ome example ; compartmentalization; irony
characteristic of colonialism and the immedi- and other distancing stance mechanisms; and
ate posrcoloniul period arc being recast in eco- transgre sion.
nomic terms to re legitimize and preserve them. The fifth section examines ho\\' these
The national and imperial markers set up in processe play out in key language-centered
previous centuries still operate, but they are re- economic spaces char.icteristic of the globalized
framed ;JS collaborative rather than hierarchi- ne\,. economy (tourism; marketing; language
cal and ,1 aimed at economic development and teaching; translation; communications, call
competition rather than at servicing the nation center in particular; and performance art).
or the imperial center. This act requires the era- The case studies cited in this section provide
sure of the problem of w ho defines the value much of the empirical material th.it serves as a
of liruruistic commodities or, more broudly, of basis for nuking or testing some of the claims
who regubtes the marker. made in the fourth section; these studies are
The fourth section focuses on the rensions also windows into the processes discussed in
bet\\'een standardization and ,·:1ri,1biliry in the the <;econd ;me! third sections.
~pace between l:rngu:1ge-:1s-skill ,111d langu,1ge- The hnal section uses this o,·erview to raise
a:-idemity, both of which arc commoclifiahlc questions about \\'hat it me:rns for linguistic an-
in the gloh:1li1.ed new economy. This ten- thropology to confront these new forms and
'>ion n.:prC"tCIHS ,l g:1p, or troubled sp:1ce or practices in terms of both its theoretic1I frame-
contradiction, bet\\CCll established n.1tionalisl \\'Ork ,md its 111cthodological cools. 1t focuses in

7::."7: . .1111111,,lrc, 1n..unp, • Co111111od1fic,1flo11 o/ I .1111g11llgc 1 o3

 particular on how it has become necess,1ry to en- and vernacular Lingu:1gcs (or dialects, patois,
gage with the ways in which the processes ollurc ctc.) created by the discursive formation of the
capitalism c1II into question some fountlnriouul nation-stare 11m,· therefore find th .msclvcs in
ideas about linguistic systems and cultural com- gre:Her conjunction as the "time-space com-
munitie · :1s relatively fixed and bounded, pro- pression," :1s l l arvcy terms it, of intensified :rnd
ducing some alternative approaches centered expanded exchange produces breaches in for-
on practices, speakers, resources, processes, :111d merly less permeable bourul.nic», :111cl ;b the
mobility. networks described by C1stells or the flows .md
sc1pcs proposed hy App.ulurui :1!10\\' for the
penetration of those breaches or the e,·:1sio11 of
LANGUAGE IN LATE those boundaries (Coupland 2003b). In .uldi-
CAPITALISM tion, Castells .irgucs, m:1king these Hows hap-
The literature on Lite capitalism and high pen requires more couununicativc work ch:111
modernity points to specific features of the the inrlustrial-era economy required, invok-
globalized new economy that, commentators ing :1 grc:ner proportion aucl number of work-
have argued, lead to an increasingly central eco- ers. This development is linked, in p;1rt, to the
nomic role for language, both ,1s the 11H..::1ns outsourcing :111d off-shoring of the two ccn-
through which work is accomplished (the work trul fc:nures of modern economics: the extrac-
process) and as :1 product of labor (the work tion of pri111:1ry resources :rnd their industri:1!
product). The interlocked features in question tr.1nsform:1tion.
include (a) capitalist expansion or globalization, Gee ct :1I. (1996) have :irgued that one of
requiring the management of communication the w:1ys in which global expansion wa · facili-
(involving producers, consumers, and national tated w:1s through the ,1pplic1tion of computer-
or supranational regulating bodies) across lin- ized technologies; others (l lorst '- - ,\lillcr ~006)
guistic difference; (b) computerization of the have argued that communic1ti\'c technologies,
work process, requiring new kinds of language such as the cell phone, h:we :ilso played :111 im-
and literacy skills among workers; (c) the growth port:rnt role. ln both c1scs, work itself, :ind the
of the service sector, in largelr communication- wide v,iriety of :1ctivities inrnh-cd in sust,1ining
based form; and (d) responses to the satura- the rel:itionships on which the circuLnion of
tion of markets in the form of the development resources depends, now rt:quires degrees and
of niche markets (which require localized ,1p- forms of liter.icy new to our cr:1.
preaches often including :1 focus on linguistic Off-shoring h:1s also opened up :pace in the
specificity) and of the use of symbolic, often lin- First\ \'orld for work :limed not just :H m:111:1g-
guistic, resources tO add value to standardized i11g the globalized production and circubrion of
product . i11dustri,1lizcd goods, but :1lsu :lt producing re-
Theorists of the globalized new econ- sources aimed :lt ,ln incrc:1singl~· saturated m,1r-
omy, such as Giddens ( 1990), I farvcy ( 1989), ket. I ntcnsificition t:1kcs the form of pressures
Appadur.ii (1996), and Castells (2000), have ;ir- to\v,ird adding ,·:1lue to goods; this :1ddcd ,·,1lue
gued that the contemporary era is not in rup- c:111 be symbolic ;1s well :1s 111;1tcri:il. Sometimes a
ture with industrial-era modernity, hut rather comb rn:1dc lw h:md in .-\mazoni;1 is worth mon:
represents its logical continuation. If the cen- th:111 ;1 comb inbid ,,·ith gold, :rnd -;onH.:timc-;
tral trope of capitalism is growth, then cxp:111- consuming experiences is more ,·:1lu:1ble tl1:111
sion and intensification arc unsurprising effects. consuming goods. lntcnsilic11ion is also 111:111-
One particular issue, however, is concerned ifc ·red in the dcn:lopmcnt of niche markets,
with the regulation of expanded and intensi- in which it m:1kes sense ro sell urgetcd prod-
fied economic conditions, given that industrial- ucts :H higher ,,1lucs. In both o;.;c-; (;.;vmliolir
era modernity was predicated on markets rcg- added v:1lue ;rnd nicht'. m;1rkcts), :1s di-;cu-,;.;cd be-
uluted by the nation-state, The standardized low, older 11:1tion-sL1tc ideolog:ies of bng-u:1gc.
idcnt itv, culture ;1tT nppropriarccl ;111d 1110-
;111d Among the earliest critiques of glob,1li1.ation
hilizcd in the commodification of authentic- arc those about the use of English by British
ity, notnblv in tourism. T-shirts with linguistic and American corporations to open up mar-
Forms indexing English arc .ilso popular items kets and create consumers, indeed, to elim-
in m:111y parts of the world, :1s arc Chinese- inate competition and impose the tastes :111cl
Lingu;1gc tattoos or multilingual yogurt labels. habits of the English-speaking world on the rest
(The mocking rhcv engender is svmprornaric of the planer in w~1ys that, not coincidentally,
of the tension between old :111d new discursive leave control of products and their circulation
rt.:gi mcs.) squarely in the hands of British and American
One important result of the 11rnny ways in English-speaking citizens; this process is often
which communication in general, ;rnd language referred to as "McDon,1ldiz:1tion." Phillipson
:111d multilingualism in particular, has become (1992) undertook n detailed critique of the work
central to the globalized new economy is the of the British Council in particular in facilitat-
emergence of lunguage work, and therefore of ing such expansion, showing how ,1gencies of
the L111gu,1gc worker (Boutet 200 I, 2008, l Ieller the state initially invented as agents of postinde-
& Boutet 2006, Duchene 2009). Communica- pendence neocolonialism could be mobilized to
tion is more involved in moving people and good effect in this new form of nee-colonialism
goods around, that is, as part of the work pro- (neo-neo-colonialism?) based on market share
cess, but information in linguistic form (think rather than on the mission ciuilisatrice or devel-
cull centers, translations localization) and lan- opment work. Texts such as Pennycook (1994,
guage as :1 form of comrnodified authenticity 1998), Canagarajah (1999), Makoni & Meinhof
are also equally products of work. (2003), Lin & Martin (2005), and Tupas (2008)
In the next section, we look at some of the have pursued this line of inquiry, asking diffi-
dilemmas the globalized new economy poses cult questions about what the possibilicies may
for the nation-state with :1 focus on some strate- be for appropriation and resistance and what the
gies neo-libcral stares have developed to mobi- consequences are for the formation of postcolo-
lize linguistic capital in the preservation of neo- nial subjectivicies. This inquiry has led to heated
colonial relations. debate, particularly in applied linguistics, where
the issue of what it means to teach a language,
or to be a speaker of that language, is framed
NEV\ FORMS OF EMPIRE? increasingly in these political economic terms
OR THE OLD EMPIRE (Singh 1998, Block & Cameron 2002, Kubota
IN NEW CLOTHES? 2002, Pomerantz 2002, Shin 2006, Liddicoat
Linguistic .mrhropological literature on post- 2007, i\lartin-Jones et al. 2009, Park 2009; see
coloninlism often focuses on problems con- Language Teaching, below).
nected ro the 111.111,1gement >f multilingualism Similar work has been clone for the Spanish-
by posrcoloniul elites or on the w:1ys in which speaking world (Mar-Molinero & Stewart
former colonial powers have used cultural as- 2006), notably on the lnstituto Cervantes,
pects of bnguagc to lt.:gitimize continued influ- Spain's corollary agency to the British Council
vncc. I Iowevcr, the issues raised above point to (,1longside, of course, the Alliance frarn;aise, the
a new set of concerns specificilly some newer Goethe Institut, the Japan Foundation, and,
\\·a~·s in which former colonial powers explic- most recentl~·, China's Confucius Institute).
itly attempt to reconstitute their former em- [See Delamotte ( 1999) on the economic role of
pirt..'.s a~ economic markers and to recast the the Alliance franc;aise in Brazil; on postnation-
former Linguage of empire ,1s :1 neutral and eq- ;1lism, language, and the fr,mcophone world,
uitable means for gaining access ro the global sec Dubois et :11. (2006), 1\t1o1·se (2006), Heller
cconom~·. (2010).]

::'::•:; ,1111111,iln':·w:::s.orl!, • Co111111od,ji,-,111011 o{l.1111g1111ge 105

 Dd \',1lle (2005. 2006; dd \':tile & \'ill:1 inllucncc :111d ;11-c obliged :is much :1-; ;111~·011e
2006) h;1s turned his attention to the mobi- to cope with the 111;rn:1gcmc111 of 111ultiling11:1I
lizntion not of such par.1govcrnmcnt;1l cultural networks nf production ,111d niche markets.
:1gencies but of recently privatized corporations
in such sectors as the media or transporr.uion.
These also, of course, played ,111 imporr.uu role STANDARDIZATION,
in state unification and centralization, and now VARIAB ILITY, AND
seek to establish new markets in areas of the AUTHENTICITY
former empire on the basis of shared langu:1gc. The previous sections have outlined some of
Thus, the shared language imposed by colonial- the w;1ys in which the gloh:1li1cd new ccouomv
ism becomes available for the maintenance of provokes tensions b .twccn smndurdi/ntion :111d
privileged marker control ,111d access under new variuhilitv :111d triggers debates ovcr w hich kinds
conditions. Under these conditions, however, of L111gu:1gc, anrl which kinds of speakers, have
legitimacy cm no longer be framed in terms k:gitim;1cy or nut horitv, or ,·:1l uc :1s commodi-
of the greater value of the L111gu;1ge of the em- ties, under these new conditions . .-\I though for-
pire, or its greater suitubiliry for the activities of mer Lrng11:1gcs of empire rctuin v aluc :is ;1 means
civilization or modernity, but rather in terms of controlling for-llung :111d complC\ net\\ orks,
of democratic access to ,1 shared marker that niche 1mrkcts and s~'mbolic1II~· ,Hided \',1lue in-
can respond better to the specific needs :111d in- troduce linguistic v:iri,1bilit>', both for m:m:1ging
terests of Spanish-speaking producers and con- workers and for selling products. \:co-liberal
sumers than can its Engli h-speaking glob.ii c111ph;1ses on tlmened hicr:1rchics :rnd tkxibil-
competitors. However, the English-langu,1ge ity open up the possibilities for st:1king cbim,
market is ometimes approached from the po- for the v,1luc not on!~· of :1 wide r;111ge oflinguis-
sition of the added value (usuall y exotic in some tic resources but nlso for the ,·c1-v possibilit~· of
way) of producer and products from the non- being abk to 11,1vig.1tc them cxpcnlr (Gee ct :11.
English-speaking world, drawing on old stereo- I 996; i\ lcFwan-Fujit:1 2005, 200 >).
type about Cerrnan efficiency, Italian design n incre:1singly strong litcr.Hurc on world
expertise, or French romance (Kelly-I lolmes Englishes (Bhatt 200 I,,\ lclchers c'· Sh.1,, 2003,
2005; see A larketing and dvertising, below). Rubdy & S:1r.1ccni 2006) :rnd the found:1tion of
The work that needs to be done in the neo- a journal of th:n title arrest to the h~· no\\ ,, cll-
neo-colonial project is thus focused less on the org:1nizcd claims ro redistributing the locus
language teaching and tran lution that was the of lcgitim:1cr of the langu:1ge formerly known
hallmark of earlier forms of empire (although :1s English. These efforts can be rc:1d :is :lt-
those remain) than on relegitimizing those .1c- tempts ,lt st:1king :1 cbim ro lcgitim·uc p:1nic-
tiviries and constructing new subjectivities (C.11 ip.nion in :1 global market on mulripk term-;.
cy Woolard 2001, rciuoli 2008). Equally im- The long-sunding deb:nes bcn\"ecn France and
portant and difficult is the work of man:1ging Quebec o,·er who n,, ns French (Dc.. ,!uie.. , "•.
the debar s about what counts ,1, legitimate Ouellon I <)()8, .\lcfrse 2006, I lclk:r 20 I 0) ,1bo
English (or Spanish, or French, or Portuguese) opened the door to sirnibr dcccmr;1li1,11inn in
and who defines it-debates opened up by re- the French-spe,1king world. It ~ccms incre;1s-
framing colonial relations on a supposedly more ingly possible to appropriate.\ l:ircelle-;i·, ideas
equitable basis and b~, extending the construc- :1bout "pulynomi:1" :illcl\\ ing for multiple co-
tion of consumers beyond the former colonial existing -;ourccs of :nuhoriry rcg:inling lin!.!ui.. ,-
elite necessitated by the expansion of capital, Fi- tic lcgitim:ic~•; ,\Lirccllt::-;i 19 '9). I [j..., idc.1 \\:lS
nally. as former colonial powers argue for mul- orig'i1rnllr de,-clopcd to rc-;oh-c the contr:Hlic-
tilingualism as ,1 way to re sist the domination tion between constructing .1 Cor-,ic.rn l.111!!u.1µc
of English, thev open themselves up to similar that could rcsi-;t the impo-..ition of French on its
claims from within their own putative zone-; of own term-; (th:1t i-;. sen c :1..., :111 .1ltcrn:1tc ha-.i-.. for

u,f, llrlft>r
 sr.uc-building) :111d ret still resonate in the c.irs as Boutet (2008) points out, t:1ylorist regul:ition
of Corsican speakers who attach lcgitim:1cy to of language usually meant suppressing its
.unhcnuciry and .uuhcnti ·it~, to local tics (.l:iffc use; industrial workers were not expected to
I 999:1). I lowcvcr, his idea now 111:1kes sense to talk and were e,·en punished for doing so.
speakers for hcyond the borders of Corsica who Schoolchildren :1re taught not to interrupt and
arc caught in a similar dilemma, albeit from :1 to leave their minority Lrngu:1ge :lt home (if
somewhat different source. even that). The gloldized new economy tries,
I y the same token, countries formerly con- as ck cussed in greater det:iil in the next section,
centrated on building their own monolingual to apply ta~,lorist regulation to l:ingu:1ge, not
nntion-srutcs now explore :1 variety of w:1ys of always comfortably; :ind it docs so even :1s, in ,111
promoting mulrilingualism, whether for case echo of the generalized contr:1dictions of hte
of nuvig.uion across national hound.tries in c:1pit,1lisrn it attempts to encour:1gc workers to
supranational polities :111d markers such as the be Aexiblc, to respond to the specific needs of
European Union or simply to compete on niche markets, and to manage the movement
glob.i] markets (Extra & Corter 2008, Franch- of re ources across linguistically diverse sp.1ces.
cschini 2009). Of course, this new affection for The commodification of language confronts
multilinguali m mainly concerns access to En- monolingu.1lism with multilingualism, stan-
glish, bur it also has room to develop cornmod- dardization with variability, and prestige with
ifiuble local or regional authenticities (Alcaras :wthenticity in a market where linguistic
ct :1I. 200 I, Pujolar 2006, Le \ lcnestrcl 1999). It resources ha"e gained salience and value.
i · also a rerr.iin of ·truggle because its distribu- The next ection examines empirical ethno-
tion is usually unequal (and inequitable). Jn the gr.1phic work in some specific areas of the
European L'nion, for example, the burden of globalized ne\\' economy, work that illustrates
biling11:1li ·m i usually borne by the managers the points raised in the previous sections
of Ea .rcrn European branches of\\ es tern Eu- and constitutes much of the empirical basis
ropean comp.mic - in search of cheap materials for it. It consider some reasons why recent
and cheap labor (Nckvapi! · Nekula _006, work ha been concentrated in these areas,
~ekv:1pil & Sherman _Q09) ju t as wa the case rea ons concerning economic importance (for
in the internal colonial regimes of \\ e tern example, tourism is often cited as one of the
Europe (Hcchrer 1975, .\lcDonald 1990) and foste t-growing industries today); symbolic
the colonial regimes of Africa, Asia, and the importance regarding current shifts (for ex-
Americas (Irvine 2001, Errington _00 ). ample, call centers are highly charged symbols
Dilemmas al ·o arise in the management of of the shift from industrial, white, masculine,
lingui stic re ourcc and practice in everyday working-cla fir t-world culture to feminized
lifo e .pcciullv in the world of langu:1gc work. and racialized, off-shore production); and
tternpt · to import standardized, tuylori t discursive importance as sites of reimagining
n1odcs of munaaerncnr into the rcguhtion of legitimizing discour es of identity.
language-focu..,ed "ork proce. ses and work
producb encounter both forms of lint{uistic
SPECIFIC FIELDS
\'ariability that are simpl~- h:1rd m standardize
and conflicting ideologie-; of the new service Thi ·ection focu ·es on five areas of particular
Cconrn11r that emphasize employee flexibility salience for illustrating the w,1ys in which the
(and hence , ari:1hilit,·) :ind niche m:1rketing commodification of language is tied to late cap-
(htnce meeting e.\pec;:ition~ of custonH.:rs con- italism, as "'ell as some of the tensions and con-
tinned :b ,·:1ri:1ble consumers). l.:111gu:1ge has tradictions of commocli~'ing Lrngu:1gc. Some,
been a.., ubjcncd ro r:1\'lorist ret.times of reg-u- like touri~m, tr~m. lation, marketing, and lan-
lation ;1.., ha, e ocher fo.nm of \\:)rk, especi:illy guage teaching ha, e been :iround for :1 long
through l.111g-u:1ge ,1.rnd:mli1.:1tion. I lo\\ c,·er, time :111d h.1d particuhr forms and values ,ls

.:•:.•7.· . .1111111.ilrt-:·1t-..:.·., Ul"I( • <:01111J1od1fio1t1011 cf f .,1111!,JJllgc 1 o-;

products of modernity. Today, they a re i ncrcas- of economic development (Phillips 2000, Roy
ingly involved in the symbolic dimensions of & Cclinas 2004, Mo·ise ct :1I. 2006, 1\L1bhou.a
added value (notably in tourism :111d market- & McL:wghlin 2008, I lcllcr & Pujolur 2()()l))
ing), in the distribution of commodilicd lin-
guistic resources (,1s in languugc teaching), or
both (translation). Call centers arc canonical Marketing and Advertising
sites of the globalized new economy, produc- In much the s.uuc w,1y :1s with call centers, l.m-
ing and distributing information. The attention gu:1ge has become central to niche markcring
they attract from the media and from comedi- ,111d to the localization dimensions of glob:1liza-
ans reveals the many ways in which they func- tion (Kelly-1 lolmcs 2000, 2005). In particular,
tion as condensation symbols for the tensions it addresses the linguistic :111d cultural speci-
of globalization. Finally, performance art serves ficities often found in heritage tourism (:1s ,1
more directly for the expression of these ten- means of both adding value to products and
sions, commodifying language while critiquing reaching niche markers), ,1s well :1s the forms
the alienation that it produces, claiming the lo- of multilingualism symbolic of glol>:llizt:d cos-
cal and the authentic on ,1 global market for mopolitanism (Scnges 2003, Bishop er ,1I. 2005,
world music, and hybridizing linguistic forms Piller 2007). Finally, Lrngu:1ge emerges ,1s a cen-
beyond recognition within ,1 globally recog- tral clement in the marketing of new forms
nized performance genre. of globalized circulation, notably the murker
for female labor and intimacy (a domestic ser-
vants, caregivers, or wives; Piller & Takahashi
Tourism 2006).
Tourism is one of the canonical growth ,1c-
tivities of the globalized new economy (Rojek
and Urry 1997). As an industry, tourism has Language Teaching
gone from the standardized product (e.g., the Through the various w;1~·s in which L111gu,1ge
package tour) focusing on leisure, to niche has acquired centrality in the work process and
markets focusing on heritage, experience work products of the new cco11omy, L111gu,1ge
(e.g., extreme sports), and the environment. has become a commodity itself and, therefore,
It has become attractive to economically acts as a resource to be produced, controlle I,
peripheral regions, which are also those from distributed, valued and constrained. Langu:1gc
which linguistic minorities were produced teaching has become increasingly more about
by forms of state nationalism inherited from this kind of process, :1s it becomes involved in
the nineteenth century, and who now seek attempts to control whur counts as legitimate
to commodify politically produced identities language and who count as legitimate speak-
(Macdonald 1997, Coupland et al. 2005, ers of any given l:rngu,1ge, whether regarding
Rinaudo 2005). This process is not without its varieties of what is usually considered one lan-
own contradictions because the cornmodifica- guage (Urciuoli 2008) or in terms of access to
tion of forms of language and culture produced various multilingual repertoires (.\Linin-Jont:s
under industrial modernity must face new 2007). The tension hct\\'ccn the ideology of·
audiences, new publics, and new Others when language as :1 tt:chnic:11, uni,·ers:111>· :1,·:1ibble
mobilized ,1s sources of profit. This can be felt skill and rhc idcolog\' of bngu:1gc a<; tied w
a· a tension between authenticity and alienation identity and to indi,·idu:il ulcnt is mo~t e, i-
(Taylor 200 l), whether in individuu] subjec- dcnt in this ticld (J;1ffc 200 I. Block & C11ncron
tivity (Bunten 2008) or more broadly within _()02).
the frame of a problem of redefining collective One m.111ifcst:1tinn of this tcn~ion is the
projects of political empowerment into projects growth of the Lmgu:1gc-te,1ching industry, in
 parricul.u in the form of what Yurvmowich Call Centers
(2005) terms '·Linguage cclutourism." This
C,ill centers, those outsourced, off-shored,
notion is described :1s tourism for the pur-
centrafo.cd service :rnd inforrn:Hion distrib-
pose of ,1ppropri:lling authentic linguistic
tltors, have been :1mo11g the most he.wily
resources or of longer-term forms of l:111gu:1ge
publicized forms of ne\\' economy :1cti\·ity,
lcarning-rel.ited migrarion that stern from
gencr,ning dozens of 11ewsp:1per and television
clnss-rcl.ucd str;11egies for the building of
reports, as well :1s docume11t:1rics (Stitt 2002,
multilingual repertoires for access to g-lob:11
1\ddclm;m 2005, CoLiti 2005, Belkhodj:1 2006)
markets as well us to local ones .1ffected by
and even a feature film (Jcffco,lt 2007), not
gloh:1li;;.:1tion. :\s P:111 (2009) .md Shin (2009)
to mention more nevv rnedi:1 s,nires th.rn one
have shown in their analyses of the Korean
might imagine (one c.111 simply do :1 search on
linguisric marketplace, understanding this
http://www.youtubc.com to find such ma-
phenomenon requires examination of the co111-
tcri,il). From :1 first-World center perspective,
plcx inrcrrclntions of regional class dyn.unics
call centers condense m:rnv of the threats en-
and the glob:ilized linguistic marker. A second
tailed in off-shoring, fcmintzing, ,rnd raci,1lizing·
important mnnifcstatiou is debate over national
labor as symbols of shifts fr~m an emphasts
.mr] supranational Linguage education policy,
on production of materi,11 goods to production
especially :1s it relates to bilingu:il education
of information and communications-mediated
(Phillipson 2003, 1\ lartin-joncs 2007).
services. The disembodied voice has thus
become a kind of conclens:1tion svmbol for
anxieties about the globalized new· economy,
Translation notablr regarding the loss of economic control
Tr;111sL1tion as an activity also grew out of mod- on the part of the nation-state and of those who
ern ideas about ethnonarional boundaries and formerly were its .ideal citizens (Larner 2002,
how to manage them (Jaffe 1999b). Some coun- Sonntag 2006). From a glob;1] south periphery
tries, such a Canada, long accustomed to such perspective, they may represent opportunity
boundary maintenance, now seek to commod- and access to globalization and white-colla.r
i~· their expertise in the service of the 111,rn- jobs or at least economic opportunities that
agcmenr of the more complex boundary cross- do not require massive labor migration, but
ing required in the new economy: for example, often at the high price of the racialization ,md
h~· promoting the development of language in- feminization used in the service of exploitation
dustries as an alliance of translators, language- (Roy 2003, Mirchandani 2004, T1ylor & Bain
teaching institutions, ,111d developers of trans- 2005). In addition, as a field, call centers are
btion technologies (Gov. Canada _003, Silva 0-;1\'ersed by tensions between standardization
er al. 2007). :\s a ticld, rrunslarion is also expe- (the famous scripts that call center representa-
riencing the tension between attempts ar intro- ti\'eS are expected to follow, the personae that
ducing raylorisr 111:m,1gement practices (notably the~· arc asked to perform; see Cameron 2001,
through technolog~·, through speech recogni- Dubois et al. 2006 Cowie 2007), flexibility (in
tion. and through machine translation) ,111d performing a ,·ariety of services for a variety
co1btruning translation as :1 form of cultural of customers ,lt ,t variety of times; Poster
practice (Cronin ~O(H, Simon 2006), processes 2007, Rahm:m 2009) ,rnd v,1riability (in the
incre:isinglr of interest ro eth11ogr:1phers seek- nature of customers and products; Duchene
ing to determine he)\\ translation operates as :1 2009). These expectations raise issues for both
'>lle ofsrrug-glc u\·cr who cunt rols wh:it counts as consumers and front-line producers, who are
legiti111.m:l:~11g1uge and O\'L'r who controls \\'h,1t left to m,rnagc the resulting tensions in inter-
Cot1nr,.; :h kno\, kdge (Srnrgc 2007, LeBl:rnc action medi,ned h~· telephone and computer
2008), ~ ~ technology, \\'hether through tr,rnsgressivc

;;·.:·:•. ,1111111,drc;·1c;;.·uif;~ • Co111mc11/ific,11io11 o( /.,1111gu11gc I oy

 behavior (Chasscy & Case 2003, Mulholland CHALLENGES TO LINGUISTIC
2004) or by variety of verbal and nonverbal
,l ANTHROPOLOGY
means of compartmentalizing, distancing, or
vVh,lt docs this 111:1teri:1I mc.m for linguistic :111-
ironizing (or joking, as documented by material
thropology? It certainly poses :1 challenge for
found on http://www.youn1be.com).
traditional modes of linguistic .mrhropologi-
c:1I inquiry Focused on communities :ind cul-
tures, with its emphasis on the dcruchm .nr of
Performance Art l:111gu:1ge-:1s-skill from langu;1ge-:1s-idcntiry in
Performance art and notably art forms the commoclificarion process in :1 number of
linked to popular culture and new media fields .md those focused on the importance of
(Androutsopoulos 2007), is a final site for work- flexible comhinarions of resources within dis-
ing out the tensions surrounding langu:1gc in cursive spaces, in individual trajectories and
the globalized, posrnational new economy. So- in the tension between .mchoring ;rnd mobil-
ciolinguists and anthropologists have examined ity that emerges time and time ;1g:1in. This m:1-
in particular the appearance of multilingual- tcriul also suggests that the attention linguistic
ism and linguistic hybridiry in the hip-hop anthropology has traditionally paid to the fine-
cultural sphere, especially as concerns post- gr;1ined workings of scmiosis in specific sites
colonial and neocolonial sites :1s well :1s sites needs to be tied to .mnlyses of political eco-
of new labor migration (Gross et al. 1996, nomic conditions, and more particularly to the
Billiez 1998, Davies & Bentahila 2006, Sarkar circulation of symbolic ,111cl material resources,
& Winer 2006, Caubet 2007, Leblanc et al. to their active (albeit constrained) deployment,
2007). Performance art is understood as a and to the complex interpenctrations of the
space for reimagining old relations of power construction of subjectivities, ofcatcgorizarions
through transcending boundaries and break- (that is, of social difference), and of relations of
ing old taboos. Although much of this work power (that is, of social inequality). lt provides a
attends mainly to the ideological dimensions new purchase on the classic question of the re-
of linguistic practice in this field, these perfor- lationship between social difference and social
mances must also be seen as corn modified prod- inequality, principally by opening up the mean.
ucts with value on the world market. Their skill- by which speakers claim ownership of lingui .ric
ful juxtaposition of recognizable authentic (lo- resources or .u least the right to control their
cally anchored) linguistic and musical resources production, their circulation, an I the value at-
within a standardized globally recognized per- tributecl to them. Finally, it argue· for a more
formance frame (rap and hip-hop) facilitates central place for the study of linguistic practice:
their circulation while offering a critique of the in approaches to understanding the globalizcd
nation-state from the perspective of the local. new economy from ,1 social theory point ofview,

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
The author is not aware of ,my affili:1tions, memberships, funding, or financial holdings that might
be perceived as affecting the objectivity of this review.

LITERATURE CITED
Addelman B. 2005. Bombay Calling: Life on tbe Other Erul oft he Lint'. Thornhill, Ont.:,\ longrcl ,\ ledia. I \ .I)
Alcaras JR, Blanchet P, joubert ], eds. 200 I. Cultures r(r!,io11r1/cs ft dth. dopp1·111mt cconomiqu». .vix-cn-Provcncc:
1

Press. Univ. Aix-Marseille

Alsagoff L. 2008. The commodificarion of ivlaby: tcHling in futures. Sec 'Lm & Ruhdy 200H. pp. 4 5(1

t tV Heller
.vndroutxopoulus ]. 2007. Bilingualism in till; 111:1ss 111edi:1 and on the Internet. Sec l lcllcr 2007, pp. 207-32
.\pp:1dur:1i ,\. I <)<)(i .. \ lodcrnit» 111 I .f/lgc: C11/t1mt! Dimensions o( (,'lo/Jali:.r11io11. ,\1 innc.ipolis: Univ. J\ I inn. Press
B:ll1111:1n R, Briggs C:. 200.l. / 'oias o( ,\ loilcrnit»: l,r111gi/{/gc Ideologies atu! the Poli tics of lnequulit», C1111bridgc,
L'K: C:1111hridge Univ. Press
Hclkhodjn C:. 2006 .. ·/11 /10111 t!11Jil. C:111:Hb: Off. Natl. Film. l)\'l)
Bh.nt R. 2001 \\'orld l•'.nglishcs. ,/1111/1. !<e1 +utbropol. 30:527-50
1 ••

Billicz]. 199,. L'ultcrnancc des l.mgucs en ch:111t:111t. Uf)/1. 18:125-40

Bishop 11, Coupland t\J, C::1rrctt P. 2005. C:loldis:1tion, advertising and langu:ige choice: shifting values for
\\'elsh :ind \ Vclshncss in Y Drych, 1851-200 I. ,\/11/tili11y;11a 2-+(-+):3-H-78
Block I), C1111ern11 I), eds. 2002. Glo/Jr1li:..11tio1111nd l.1111.~11age Teaching. London: Routledge
Hourdicu P. I 977. The economics of linguistic exch:rnges. s« Sci. !11/ 16(6):6-+5-68
Bourdicu P. I <JH2. C.· 1/tll' pnrlcr rent dire. Paris: Farard
Houicr J 200 I. I .c travail dcvicnr-il inrcllcct.ucl? Tmrailler. Revue /111. Psychopathol. l\yd1or~)111r1111iq11c Trarai!
(i:55-70
Boutet J. 2008. l .a i-ic rerbulc ,111 trnuail, Des 11111111tfi1rt11rcs aux centres d'appels. Toulouse: Octarcs
Budach G, Roy S, I loller 1\1. 2003. Conununirv and commodiry in French Ontario Lang. Soc. 32(5):603-28
lluruen :-\. 2008. Sh:iring culture or selling out? Developing the commocli1ied persona in the heritage industry .
. /111. l:t/.110/. 35(.\)J80-95
Cameron D. _()0 I. Good to Talk? London: S:1gc
Cameron D. 2005. Communication and commodification: global economic ch:inge in sociolinguistic pcr-
specrivc. In Lr111g11r1ge. Co1111111miwtio11 and the J-.:conomy, ed. G Erreygcrs, pp. 9-23. Amsterdam: John
Bcnjamins
Canada, Covcrurnenr of. 2003. Le procbain .ute: 1111 nonce! firm pour la dualite li11g11istiq11e canadiemie. Le plan
d'action po11r lcs l,111gul's ~f]icidles 2003. Ott:m,1: Off. Pri,·y Counc.
C1J1:1g:1r:1j:1h S. 19<)9. Rt'sisting Linguistic /111pt'l'i11fow i,1 English Teatbing. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press
Castells.\\. 2000. The 1,~fim111tio11 .·lg1•: Economy. Society and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell. 3 vols.
Caubcc D. 2007. Llllgucs er musiqucs de Fr.mce depuis !es :rnnees 80. In Les langues de Fmnce 1m XXle siede:
i'irr1lit1:socioli11g11istiq11e et d)'11a111i111es mlt11relles, ed. CA Gar:1b,1to, H Boyer, pp. 51-76. Paris: L'Harmamrn
Chasser C, C1sc P. 2003. Talking shop: conr:1cr centres ,111d dimensions of "social exclusion." Telematics Inf
20:27- -96
Co1n,1roffJ. C:0111aroffj. 2009. Ethnicity, l11c. Chicago: Uni\'. Chicago Press
Coupl.111d ~. 2003.1. Sociolinguistic :iuthenticiries.]. Socioling11ist. 7(3):4- 17-31
Coupbnd :-.:, ed. 200.Hi. Sociolinguistics and glob:1lisation. Special issue.] Sociolinguist. 7(-+):-+65-623
Coupland~. Garrett P, Bishop 11. 2005. \\'ales underground: cliscursive frames and authenticities in \Velsh
mining heritage rourism events. See Jaworski & Pritchard 2005, pp. 199-22 I
Cowie C. 2007. The ,iccents of outsourcing: the meanings of "neutral" in the Indian call centre industry. f;Vorld
Fngl. 26(3)J 16-.Hl
Cronin,\ 1. 2003. Tn11sl11tion 1111d Gloh11li:.11tio11. London: Routledge
D;wies E, Benr.1hil:1 :\. 2006. Code switching :111d the globalization of popular music: the case ofNortl1 African
rai and r:1p .. \l11lti!ing11t1 25(-+):367-92
Dcbmottc I~. 1999. L· commcrff des lt111p;1u·s. P:1ris: Didier
de! \':ilk.I. 2005. L:1 kngua, p:mia comun: politica lingihstica, politic,1 esterioryel post-nacionalismo hispanico.
111 .')'1111/ii•s on //,rru-Ro111m1cc /,i11g11istirs Dedimted to Ralph Penn, ed. R \\fright, P Ricketts, 7:391-416.
:\'.cw.irk: l uan de b Cuest:1 ,\ \onog-r./Esruclios Ling.
de! \':ilk J. 2()06. L'S Latinos, Li his1;,111otoni:1, and the language ideologies of high modernity. See Mar-
.\ lolinero & Ste\\ an 2006, pp. 27-46
de! \'allc J, \'i!l:1 L. _()06. Sp:1nish in Brazil: l:inguagc policv, bmincss ,md cultural prop:1ganda. Lang. Poliiy
5:J6()-92
DL'-,h:1ie., D, ( )ucllon C. I 9<J8. f.1's li11g11istes ft ll's 11111'stions de la11g11r au Qulbcc: points de 1:11e. Quebec: Cent. Int.
Rech. -\111en:1gc111ent Ling-.
Duhoi.., I., LcBl:111-c .\ I, Ro~· S, \
\'hitc C. 2006. Li languc com me ressourcc producrive ct lcs rapports de
pom·oir cntn: co111111unautt'.·s ling-ui:..tiquc-;. /,{//tg. Sor. 118:17-42

::-.:·;:·.,1111111,1/r,,,_·,1•;:·s.01;~ • Com111odijic111io11 rf La11gw1ge Ir 1

 Duchene A. 2009. ,\larkering, 111an;1gc111ent and performance: 111ultili11g11;tlis111 ;1s ;1 co111111odi1~· in ;t tourism

call center. L1111g. />oliiy 8(1):27-50

Errington J. 2008. l.i11g11istics in rt Co/011i11/ It ·or/ti:.·/ Sto1y ~(/.1111.~·1//tg,·, ,\ h1111i11g ,1111/ Pouvr. Oxford: Bl:tcb1 ell
l•:xtra C, Corter D, eds. 2008 .. \ /11/tili11gt/f// /•.'11ropc: Facts tu«! Polici,». Berlin: 1\ louton de ( ;ru,·tcr
Faircloujrh X. 2002. L1nguage in new capitalism. Disconrsc Sor. 13(2): 163 M>
Fairclough :'\'. 2006. l.1111g11r1p,c 1111t! (,'/o/J11/i:..r1tio11. I .ondon: Routledge
Frnnchcschini R. 2001). The genesis .md development of research in 111ultilinguali!->111: per-;pectin·:-. for future
research. In Tbe Exploration of,\!11/tili11g1111hm1: Ocvclop111mt r!f' R,·s,·,1rd1 011 I.>,.\ /11/tili11g11/is111 t111d .\ /11/tiplr
l.r111g11r1gc -lcquisition, ed. L Aron in, B I lufciscn, pp. 27-61. Ams: ·nl,1111: John Bcnj.unins
G:d S. I 98<J. Lmgu;1ge and political economy .. /111111. Nt·v. ,·l11thropol. I 8:.H-5-(>7
Gal S, \ Voolard K, eds. 200 I. l.1111g1111ges and Publics: Tbe 1\ !11/.:i11g 1f.·l11thori()'. 1\ l.inchestcr, l' K: St. Jerome
Gee J, I full G, Lankshcar C. 1 <J96. Tt» Neu: ti 'orl: Orr/er: l'lchi/l(I the l.1111g1111p,c 1f1hc .\'r,:· Ct1pit,tlis111. Boulder.
CO: Westview
Giddens A. 1990. The Co11se11111·11n·s of.\ ltulernitv . Berkeley/Los Angele:-.: Univ. Calif. Pre-;!->
Gob ti S. 2005. Nalini by Da», Nt111ty ly .Vight: .·/ J,'i/111. cw York: \ \10111cn ,\ lake 1\ levies. l)\'I)
Gross ] , 1\ lc.vlurruy D, Swedenburg T. 1996. Arab noise ;111d Rnmadan nights: r.u, r;1p :111d Fr:111co-.\ Ltghrehi
identity. In Displacement, Diasporn mul the Ct'ogmphit's ~(ldo11ity, ed. S Levie, T Swedenburg, pp. 119-56.
Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press
Harvey D. I 989. The Condition of Posnuodcrnir», Oxford: Bhckwcll
Hechter ,\,I. I 97 5. Internal Colonialism: The Celtic Fringe i11 British National Ocrclop111mt. Bcrkclc~·: L'ni\·. Cilif.
Press
Heller ,\I. 2003. Glob,1lization, the ne\\' economy :md the comrnodific1tion of bngu:1gc :md idcntitr.] Soti-
olinguist. 7(-1-):-+7 3-92
Heller,\[, ed. 2007. Biling1111/is111: .-I Social .--Jpproad1. London: P,1lgrave ,\ Ltcmilbn
Heller ;\I. 2010. La fr,mcophonic et ses contradictions. Sorioli11g11ist. Stud. Jn press
Heller.\ I, BoutetJ 2006. \'ers de nouvelle· formcs de pouvoir hngagier? L;mguc(s) ct identite dan~ b nou,·ellc
economie. Lang. Soc. l 18:5-16
Heller M, Pujolar J. 2009. The political economy of texts: a case study in the strucrur;nion of touri~m.
Sociolinguist. Stud. 3(2): 177-201
Horst H, .\liller D. 2006. Thi' Cd/ Pho11r: .--/11 .·l11thropolo.~ of Co1111111111iu1tio11. Oxford: Berg
Irvine J. l 989. \ \'hen t:1lk isn't cheap: language and politic:11 economy .. ·/111. fa/mo/. 16(]):2-1-8-6-
Tn·ine J. 2001. Linguistics in ;1 colonial world: gender and family in nineteenth ccntur~· representation ol
t\frican languages. See Gal & \\'oolard 2001, pp. 13-29
Jaffe:-\. 199%. Ideologies in .·lction: L1111gu11gc Politics 011 Corsim. Berlin: ,vlouton de Cruvter
J,1ffe A. I 999b. Locating power: Corsican translators and their critics. In /,1111g1111ge lt!cologiol /)('/,,1trs. ed.
J Blommaert, pp. 39-66. Berlin: 1\ louton de Gruytcr
Jaffe . 2001. Authority and authenticity: Corsican discourse on bilingual educ1tion. In 1 ·o,<','.1 of .·luthori(r:
Ed11mtion am/ Linguistic Dijferenet', ed. MI feller, iVI i\lartin-Joncs, pp. 269-Wi. Crccrrnood, CT: .\hie:-.
Jaworski A, Pritchard , eds. 2005. Di.ffotu:re, Con11111111imtio11 t111d Tourism. Clncdon. L' · Bulblo/l'tminro:
Ch:111nel View
JeffcoatJ. 2007. 01ttso11rm/. cattle, \\'A: Shadowcitcher Enterrain. l)\'l)

Kelly-Holme· I I. 2000. Bier, p,1rfom, b:1s: hnguage fetish in Europe;rn ach erti:-.ing. Cult .• 't111I. 3( I ):67-,' 2
Kelly-Holmes IL 2005 .. ·ldva11si11g as ,\lultili11gu11/ Co1111111111imtio11. London: Palgra,-e .\ Ltc111ill.111
Kubota R. 2002. The imp:1ct of globalization on langu;tgc teaching in J:1pan. See Block & C:.1mcron 2002.
pp. I 3-26
Larner \ \'. 2002. Calling capit;d: ctll centre str:1tegics in ~ew Brun~wick and :'\'c,, 1/.t1;1l.rnd. (;/ob ..\'a-::·.
2: 133-52
LcBbnc .\I. 2008. Pmtiq11es la11gagi~rcs t'f bili11g11fr1111· d1111s /11ji)//cfio11 p11/,/i1111rpd,-r,ilt: Ir ·,1s ,/'1111111illt'l1 ,fr rr,1,· ,ii
bili11g11e m ,--/(lldie d11 .\'01ri.'i'r11t-Br1111.11:·id,: PhD thesis, Unil'. ,\ loncton. -1-W> pp.
LeBlanc .\l;\.", Boudreault-Foumier ,\, Djerrahi:m C. 2007. I.cs jcunes ct h 111;1rgi1uli\.1tio11 :i .\lotHrc.11: l.t
culture hip-hop francophone ct les enjeux de l'inregr:1tio11. /)i.:crs. L'd,,1i11t·. Rt','. Grnupr Rr,F f:t/111 .•'io.-.
7(1):9-.rn

l 1~ fiellr-r
I ,c ,\ kn est rel S. I <)<)CJ. l.a roir rll's Cndm», Paris: Belin
Liddicoat :\. 2007. lmcmationalising Japan: Nihonjinron and the intcrculiural in J:1p,111ese hngu.1gc-in-
education policy.]. 1\ lultirult. Discourses 2( I ):32-+6
Lin :\, ,\ Lin in P, eds. 2005. Decolonisation, G/o/,1tlist1rio11: l,t111g11flge-i11-Fd11mrio11 Policy {//1(/ Prnrticr. Clcvcdon,
UK:,\ lulriling. 1\ luucrs
,\Licdon:dd S. I <)()7. :\ people's story: herit:1ge, idcntirv :111d authenticity. Sec Rojck & Urry I 997, pp. 155-75
;\l:tkoni S, ,\ lcinhof U, eels. 200.L ,·Ui·im and :lpplied Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Bcnjamins
Mulaborza S, 1\kL111ghlin M. 2008. Les spectacles ;i grand deploierncnr ct les representations du posse ct de
l'uvcnir. Cabin» Fr.-Ct111. OUl~ST 18(2): 191-20+
1\hr-,\ lolinero C, Stcwarr M, eds. 2006. Glolmtization (I/Ir/ Lfl11g11agl' in the Spa11ish-Spt'r1/.:i11g World. London:
Palgr.ivc ,\ lucrnill.m
,\ l.irccllcsi J B. 1989. Corse ct thcoric sociolinguistique: rcflets croiscs. In L 'lie nuroir, ed. G Rnvis-Ciordani,
pp. 165-74. Ajaccio, Fr.111cc: La M.1rge
Vlartin-joncs ,\t. 2007. Bilingunlisrn, education and the regulation of access to linguistic resources. Sec Heller
2007, pp. 161-82
,\,\:Jrtin-Jones ,\\, I lughes 13, \Villi,1111s t\. 2009. Bilingual literacy in and for working lives on the Lind: case
studies of young\ \'clsh speakers in North \Vales.Int.]. Soaol. Lr111g. 195 :39-62
,\ lcD01dcl ,\I. I 990. 11 'c .-lrc· Not French. London: Routledge
,\lcEw:m-Fujita E. 2005. Neolibcralisrn and minority-language planning in the l Tighlands and islands of
Scotland. lnt], Socio]. Lang. 17 l: 15 5-71
,\lcEw:m-Fujita E. 2008. "9 to 5 Gaelic": speakers, context and ideology of ,m emerging minority language
register. In Susrr1i11i11g Linguistic Diversity: Endangered and 1Uin01-ity Lmzg11ages and Language Varieties, ed .
.K King N Schilling-Estes, L Foglc,JK Lou, B Soukup, pp. 81-93. Washington, DC: Georgetown Univ.
Press
,\1cL:rnghlin .\1, Leblanc 1\\, Heller i\1, Lamarre P, eds. 2009. Les mots du marche: l'inscription de la fr.mco-
phonie cnnadienne dnns la nouvelle econornie. Special issue. Francopb. Am. 27: I l-15 5
.\lelchers C, Shaw P. 2003. World E11g!lshes: An Introduction. London: Arnold
1\lirchandani h.. 200-+. Practices of global capital: gaps, cracks and ironies in transnational call centres in India.
Glob. Netu: +(4):355-73
,\10·1 e C. 2006. Protecting French: the view from France. In Discourses of E11dmzgen11ent: Ideology and ]merest
in tbe Defense ofLrmguages, ed. A Duchene, M Heller, pp. 216--41. London: Continuum
,\lo'ise C, 1\lcL1ughlin .\1, Roy S, \Vhite C. 2006. Le courisme patrimonial: la commercialisation de l'identite
frnnco-c:1n:1diennc et ses enjeux lang,1giers. Lang. Soc. 118:85-108
,\Iulholbnd K 2004. \ \'orkpbce resistance in an Irish call centre: slam min', scammin', smokin' and leavin'.
Work Empl~)'. Soc. 18(4):709-2-+
Neh;ipil J, ~ekula ,\,1. 2006. On language management in multilingual companies in the Czech Republic.
Curr. Issues Lr111g. P/111111. 7(2-3):307-27
Nehapil J, Sherman T. _()09. Pre-interaction management in multinational companies in Central Europe.
Curr. lsrnes Lt111g. P/111111. 19(2): l 81-98
Park J. _OOQ. Umpwbble Tongue: ldeologies ~f English i11 South Korea. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
Pennycook :\. J 994. The Cultuml Politics of English as 1111 lnternfltional Ln11guage. London: Longman
~r
Pennvcook A. I 998. English fllld rht' Discourses Colo11i11lism. j Tew York: Routledge
Phillips D. 2000. \\.e'll keep :1 welcome, The effects of tourism on the \Velsh language. In ''Let's Do Our
Bt•st for tlie .·lntimt 'tongue'': The Welsh Lr111g1111ge in the _0tb Century, ed. GH Jenkins, MA vVilliams,
pp. : 27-50. Cmliff: Uni\'. \ \'ales Press
Phillip\Oll R. l 992. l,i11guistfr /mpt'rialism. Oxford: Oxford UniY. Press
Phillipson R. 200.L h'nglish-On~y Europe? Challenging l,rmf(/111ge Policy. London/New York: Routledge
Piller I. 2007. English in Swiss rourisrn 1mrketing. In Wildern in luso-r111stro-deutschen Spmch- 1md Textgefilden:
l·~·suchriji -U~m 60. Geburtstflg 1·011 Fr,1•i11 Koller, ed. C Flores, 0 Grosscge se, pp. 57-73. Braga, PT:
CEl IC.\1- Cent. E~tudos I Tum:rnisticos
Pilla I, T1bhashi K. 2006. :\ p~is~ion for [nglish: desire :ind the language market. In Bilingual Mi7!dr: Emotiorlfll
faptT/1·11((', Erprcssio11 mcl Rt'prt·smt 1rio11, c<l. A Pavlenko, pp. 59-83. C:Ie\'eclon, UK: Multi ling. Matters

7;-;:·;:·.,1111111,ilre,·1,-.;·s.org • Co111111odijio11iu11 ofL11ng11t1ge 113

 Pom er.m t z \. 2002. I ,:1ngu:1gc ideologies and the production or identities: Sp:1nish ;p; :l resource ror part ici-
parion in
multilingual marketplace .. \/11/1ili11g11r1 21(2,3):275-302
:1

Poster Vv. 2007. \\'ho's on the line; Indian call centre :1gcnts pose :is Americans for l1.S.-rn1tsou1-ced Iirm-;
Ind Rdat. 46(2):271-.HH
Pujolur J. 2006. l.rlll}!,llflgc, C11/r11n· mu! '/'v11ri.--111: 111'/'.ljlt't'fit•ry /11 liarcr/011,1 f/llrl Cata/011/11. lbrcelo1u: Tmi-,111e de
Barcelona
Pujolar ] . 2007. Bilingu:1lislll .md the natiou-sr.uc in the post-n.u ion.rl crn. Sec l lel!cr 2007, pp. -1 I)~
Rahman T. 2009. L1111:,111age ideology, identity .md the couuuodilic.u ion of l:111gu:1gc in the c:1II ccnur-, of
Pakistan. l.1111g Soc. 3H(2):2B-5H
Rin:1udo C. 2005. Carunvul de Nice et curnuvuls indepcnd:1t11s. Les mises en scene i'c-.1i,c-, du -.pcnxk de
l'authcnriquc. Socio/. Soc. 37(1):55-68
Rojek: C, Urry J, eds. 1997. '/'v11ri11p; C11l111n·.f: Tn111.jim1111tio11 of"li-11 ·rl 1111rl Tbror», ( hfnrd: Routledge
Roy S. 2003. Bilingualism and st:111(brdiz:1tion in a C:m:1di:111 c:111 center: ch:ilknges for :1 lingui-,tic 111inorit)'
community. In L11ng11age Socialization /11 .\/11/1ili11g11,il Societies. ed. R B:1yky, S Scheuer, pp. 2611-H-
Clevedon, UK: ,\lultiling. ,\Lmer~
Roy S, Gelinas C. 2004. Le rourisme pour lcs Fr.mco-Albcrrains: une pone ci'cntrcc :111 mondc. Fr,111copb .. /111.
l 7(1): U 1-40
Rubdy R, Suraceni .vl, eds. 2006. H11g/i.d; /11 the l I 'orld: Glob«! N.1111's, (,'/0/,11/ Noles. London: Continuum
Sarkar ,\1, Vv'iner L. 2006. 1\lultilingu:d code-switching in Quebec rap: poetry, pc1g111:1tic~ :111d pcrform.ui- it>.
Int. J. .\l11ltiling. 3(3): 173-92
Senges A. 2003. Ethnik, /11 m11r/.,:fting tit' Ir, rl{ljert'fl(I'. Paris: rditions Aurrcmcnt
Shin H. 2006. Rethinking TESOL from ,1 SOL's perspective: indigenous epistcmolog~ and dl'coloni,ing
praxis in TESOL. Crit. luq. t,111g. Stud. 3(2-3): 147-67
Shin H. 2009. ••Girogi Grtjok": trr111.mr1tio1111/i.fm ,111d lr111_e;1111ge leami11p;. Phi) thesis. L'ni,. Tor. 22- pp.
Sik1 Eda, Heller ,\l. 2009. From protector to producer: the role of the st:itc in the di~rnr:>i\l: -.hift fr-0111
minority rights to economic development. L1111g. Poliiy H:95-116
Silva Eda, .\lcL1ughlin ,\I, Richards ,\L 2007. l ilingu:ilism :rnd rhe glolialized nc,, econom~: the co111111odi-
fic,1tion of langu,1ge and identity. Seel leller 2007, pp. 183-206
Simon S. 2006. Tmnslr1ti11g .\ lontn:r1I: fpi.l'odt's in the f.ijr ~{a Oh•irled City.,\ lontrc:il, King-.wn: \ kGill-<)ueen 's
Cniv. Press
ingh R, ed. l 998. The ,Vatii-e Sperr/.:er: ,\ lnltili11g11al Per.,pcrti7't'.I'. New Dchli: S:1gc
Sonntag S. 2006. Appropriating identity or cultivating c:1pit:1P Glold English in othhoring sen ice indu~trics .
• -lnthropol. Work Rn.·. 2 6( I): I '-19
Stitt G. 2002. Dh·c11rd to Delhi. New York: Filmakers Lihr. DVD
Sturge K. 2007. Represeltfing Others: Tmw/11rio11, l:'th11ogmph_y a11rl rhc .\ /11s1•11111 ..\ l:111cl1e-,ter, l'K: St. _kro111e
Tan P, Rubdy R, eds. _008. Lrmg11age 11s Com111orli(v: C/0/,11/ Srmct11rc, /,ocril .\ l,1r/.:t'!pl11ffs. l .ondon: Co11tim111111
Taylor JP. 200 I. Authenticity and sincerity in tourism. ,·/1111. 'ft111ris111 Res. 2H( I): 7-2(>
T,1ylor P, Bain P. 200-. "India calling to the far :1w:1y towns": the call centre bbour proce:..-. :111d f!loli.di1.11in11.
Work. Employ. Soc. I 9(2):261-82
Tup:1s TRF. 2008. Anatomies of linguistic com111odilic:1tio11: rhe c:1sc of Fngli~h in thl' Philippinl'-., i-.-:i-, 1..,
other languages in the multilingual marketplace. Sec T:111 &: Rubd~· 200H, pp. )N-1 O'i
Crciuoli B. 200H. Skills :ind selves in the new workpl:icc .. /111. 1:'rh110I. 35(2):211 2H
\ \'ee L. 2008. Linguistic instru111ent:1lisrn in Sing:1porc. Sec T:111 &: Rubel~- 200H, pp. 3 1-4;
Yar:1nowich .\l. 2005. ··L111gu.1gc tourism" in C:an:1d:1: :1 111ixed discourse. In /,,1 t'c111111111111 ·.1tw11 ro1ms11,111t' .
. -lpprocht's di.1·mn-h'es tic /'irlrnrir,! rt rlt· /'11ltt'l"it1:, eel. F B:1idcr, .\ I B11r~cr, I) Cmtt-.o . pp. 2 ;;- - , . P.1ri,:
L'f Lirm:1tt:1n

11.; I fr/11:r