Introducing Language in the Workplace Cambridge Introductions to Applied Linguistics Series

Assuming no prior linguistics background, this introductory textbook summarises key topics and issues from workplace discourse research in a clear and accessible manner. The topics covered include how people issue directives, use humour and social talk, and how they manage conflict and disagreement. The role of language in the enactment of identity is also explored, in particular leadership, gender, and cultural identity, along with the implications and applications of workplace research for training and communications skills development. Over 160 international examples are provided as illustration, which come from a wide range of workplace settings, countries and languages. The examples focus on authentic spoken discourse, to demonstrate how theory captures the patterns found in everyday interaction. Introducing Language in the Workplace provides an excellent up-to-date resource for linguistics courses as well as other courses that cover workplace discourse, such as business communication or management studies.

Part I. Introducing Language in the Workplace: 1. Introducing language in the workplace; 2. Approaches to exploring language in the workplace with contributions by Jonathan Clifton, Janet Holmes, Veronika Koller and Helen Spencer-Oatey; Part II. What Are Some Key Topics in Workplace Research?: 3. Directives and requests at work; 4. Social talk, humour and narrative at work; 5. Complaints, disagreement and conflict talk at work; Part III. What About Identity and the Way This Is Enacted in the Workplace?: 6. The language of leadership; 7. Gender and language at work; 8. Culture and language at work; Part IV. So What?: 9. Implications and applications of workplace research.

Bernadette Vine is a Researcher on the Wellington Language in the Workplace Project, based at the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Bernadette has been part of the core project team since it began in 1996. Bernadette's research interests include workplace communication, leadership and New Zealand English. She is the author of Getting Things Done at Work: The Discourse of Power in Workplace Interaction (2004) and is co-author of Leadership, Discourse and Ethnicity (with Janet Holmes and Meredith Marra, 2012). She is editor of The Routledge Handbook of Language in the Workplace (2017).