Rethinking the macro–micro relationship: some insights from the marketing domain

Abstract

A common concern, and indeed a major driver, of new, multilayered approaches to studying linguistic diversity seems to be a desire to problematize and reframe the notion of a macro–micro hierarchy. In this article, I argue that examining interactions in nontraditional domains, in this case the domain of marketing, can offer valuable insights into the nature of macro–micro relationships. The article begins by describing a number of such relationships and interactions that occur in the marketing domain before going on to focus in detail on one advertising campaign by a global brand (Carlsberg) and its interaction with national and global macro–micro relationships in terms of linguistic diversity in the Irish context.