Mehrsprachigkeit in der unternehmensinternen und -externen Kommunikation in Unternehmen in Pohjanmaa: Ergebnisse einer Befragung

Authors

• Margit Breckle Universität Vaasa

DOI: https://doi.org/10.70484/vakki.149204

Keywords:

Mehrsprachigkeit, unternehmensinterne Kommunikation, unternehmensexterne Kommunikation, Pohjanmaa, deutschsprachige Länder

Abstract

This paper addresses multilingualism in companies’ internal and external communication. It presents the selected results of a survey, which was carried out within the project Corporate communications between Ostrobothnia and the German-speaking countries. The questionnaire was sent to 145 companies in the Finnish regions Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia and Central-Ostrobothnia, which have business contacts with the German-speaking countries. The paper focuses on the language skills of respondents, on the use of multiple languages in the work context – within the company as well as externally – and on the role of languages in an organizational context. The study shows that the respondents not only have diverse language skills in four or more languages, but they usually interact in several working languages. Usually, several languages are used in the companies’ internal communication. In the companies’ external communication with German business partners, English and German play an important role. According to the respondents, these two languages – as well as Russian – are regarded as important in the work context, and expected to remain so in the future.