Personification and relationships in English as a Medium of Instruction business discourse: Crossing paths in metaphorical constructions

Abstract

In this paper we explore the presence of personification in the speech of participants in two academic seminars that were carried out in an English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) course at a Swedish university with a multicultural group of students (17 people from 15 different countries) that focused on business and marketing topics. We analyse if the purposeful humanization of companies is present in university discourse interaction by examining these EMI participants' personification of companies and brands in the two selected seminars. Our data were analysed from a principally qualitative perspective in a small-scale case study that shows the multiple ways personification permeates EMI students’ language to treat companies as human-like entities, both for specific brands as well as for the concept of businesses in general. This was especially noteworthy in verbs of cognition in discussions on businesses and marketing. The presence of personification in the figurative uses of EMI students points to some of the pragmatic success of these EMI students in referencing well-established marketing strategies that attribute human-like characteristics and relationships to businesses and brands. It also reflects a natural tendency to employ personification and see a person behind a corporate entity. Unlike other figurative uses that have shown to be challenging for L2 speakers, these EMI students use personification in business English, a frequent device in their discourse community, naturally and appropriately, showing how they are part of that specific discourse community.