Prestigious language, pigeonholed speakers: Stances towards the ‘native English speaker’ in a multilingual European institution

Abstract

AbstractCritical sociolinguistics has demonstrated that the social construct of the ‘native speaker’ has a strong impact on people's lives, but research on ‘native speaker effects’ in the workplace remains rare. This article examines such effects from the perspective of four ‘native English speaker’ trainees on temporary contracts in a multilingual European Union institution in Luxembourg. Applying the framework of sociolinguistic stance to interview data and drawings, we examine how the participants position themselves towards the ‘native English speaker’ construct at work, and how they think others position them. According to our participants, ‘native English speaker’ positioning confers privilege but restricts opportunities, demonstrating that the interest of a multilingual organisation in using the ‘native English speaker’ as a resource does not automatically provide a powerful position to ‘native English speaking’ workers. Our results featuring trainees in precarious labour conditions raise broader issues regarding the precaritisation of language work in the EU.