Grégory Hamez
Fonction
Professeur
Organisation
LOTERR, Université de Lorraine, France
Frontières linguistiques et communautés de travail : un bilinguisme à l’épreuve du changement industriel
Frontières linguistiques et communautés de travail : un bilinguisme à l’épreuve du changement industriel
Border Region
France, Germany, Lorraine, Greater Region
Language(s)
Français
Introduction
This article looks at the obstacles posed by linguistic and territorial borders the organisation and life at an automotive company situated near the French-German border.
Summary
This article details a study conducted in an automotive company situated in close proximity to the French-German border in Moselle. The aim of the study was to uncover the role that borders play in the organisation and life of the company. The method adopted was intended to be multidisciplinary from the outset in view of the imbricated nature of the phenomena studied. The preliminary results focus on linguistic practices in the company and what they reveal about the company's relations with its local area and the effects of borders and the obstacles they create for the work and personal experiences of the employees.
Content
This article puts into perspective the results of a preliminary survey conducted in an automotive company (Smart) situated in Hambach in France and in direct proximity to the German border. The company employs 1500 employees, the great majority of whom are French, while the management are German. This survey aims to throw light on the effects of the nearby border on the internal organisation and life of the company.
The study has been an opportunity to apply an innovative methodology in border studies. The method aims to reconcile two approaches: the conventional approach based on law, geography and politics and more recent approaches that look at the cultural dimensions of borders. To do this, the method draws on the tools and expertise of four disciplines: geography, management science and sociology. These different viewpoints are able to come together thanks to the adoption of the concept of the "boundary object".
The main tools used for this study were interviews and mind maps. The main data produced are socio-linguistic and geographical and are organised according to three dimensions: that of company, that of the linguistic practices of the employees and that of the territory. The borders the study focuses on are present in the use of languages (French, German and English) in the work and in the company's relations with its local area.
The finalisation of the survey was hampered by certain difficulties: the installation of a new management on the human sciences side, and unfavourable labour relations. The success of this type of research therefore depends on good collaboration between members of the company, which is actually likely to benefit from such an initiative.
Conclusions
The preliminary survey has provided some results. At territorial level, it provides some insights into how the employees' lives are organised in the region, some of them being cross-border workers. On the linguistic practices side, it reveals their hybrid nature: French dominating, technical borrowings from German and the emergence of English. At company level, it helps to explain the role played by language skills in professional advancement.
In spite of the multidisciplinary ambitions of the method adopted, study focused on linguistic borders. We understand how it is the region's bi-linguistic culture that justified setting up the company in the region.
Within the company, language use is clearly something that constitutes a border: In particular it plays a role in individuals' career progression. It is a managerial issue for the German management, and it is likely to change with the emerging use of English.
Lead
Jean-Yves Trépos
Contributions
Sabine Ehrhart, Grégory Hamez, Hélène Langinier, Claudia Polzin-Haumann, Christina Reissner
Keywords
Contact Person(s)
Publié dans
Questions de communication, numéro 29