Adaptation and Assimilation: US Business Responses to Linguistic Diversity in the Workplace

Abstract

The United States has always been a nation of immigrants who have added their many languages to the common language of communication, English. In recent years, the use of these languages in the workplace has become a concern for US business. As a result of changes in immigration laws, which now no longer favour Europeans, and the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, making national-origin discrimination illegal, people of different cultures and languages are more visible than ever in public life. This article will begin with an overview of the history of attitudes towards immigrants and their languages in the United States. The present status of attitudes towards immigrants will be discussed with an update on the official-English movement, a discussion of three recent reports on the effect of immigration, and an analysis of a set of articles on immigration in recent business-related journals. Discussion will then focus on how businesses have adapted to the multilingual workforce. A set of articles on language issues in the workplace found in business-related journals will be classified and analysed according to the tactics described or being advised for dealing with multilingual diversity. Finally, the connection between the official-English movement and business practices will be explored, with a focus on the prospects for adult instruction in the English language.