Linguistic Ethnography of a Multilingual Call Center

Download or read book Linguistic Ethnography of a Multilingual Call Center written by Johanna Woydack and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-09-24 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents an innovative institutional transpositional ethnography that examines the textual trajectory of “the life of a calling script” from production by corporate management and clients to recontextualization by middle management and finally to application by agents in phone interactions. Drawing on an extensive original research it provides a behind-the-scenes view of a multilingual call center in London and critiques the archetypal modern workplace practices including extensive use of monitoring and standardization and use of low-skilled precariat labor. In doing so, it offers fresh perspectives on contemporary debates about resistance, agency, and compliance in globalized workplaces. This study will provide a valuable resource to students and scholars of management studies, communication, sociolinguistics, and linguistic anthropology.