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This paper is devoted to several ways in which the language of instruction in Czech universities is managed. One of the key issues in this context is the fact that programs accredited in the Czech language are tuition-free, while those in foreign languages are paid. On the one hand, it is deemed desirable by certain actors to integrate greater numbers of students from abroad, conform to the discourse of internationalization, and even earn money through courses in English. On the other hand, it is also viewed as necessary by other actors to cultivate the Czech language and provide a solid education for local students. These multiple and often opposing interests, as well as a number of language ideologies, guide individual management acts. Utilizing the language management framework (Jernudd/Neustupný 1987; Fairbrother/Nekvapil/Sloboda 2018), I explore three selected examples of the management of the language of instruction. In the first, I show how many Czech university programs are accredited in the Czech language, but offer many classes in English. In the second, I examine one case of financial motivation for foreign-language courses through university teaching development projects. In the third, I point to the differences between the language of accreditation of some Ph.D. programs and the languages actually used in their realization. Finally, I consider the fact that all of these cases of management involve some sort of compromise between the interests of certain groups, which means that the only way forward is an increased awareness of all aspects of the management processes.

This article analyses media texts written in Czech by young Vietnamese from 2008 to 2017. It aims to: a) describe how the authors categorise themselves and determine whether they construct their identity as hybrid; and b) consider whether these texts contribute to the superdiversification of the Czech space. Three identity versions appear in the material: banana children, young ‘uninfected’ Vietnamese, and the younger generation of banana children (BC, YUV, and YG). BC emphasise the hybrid character of their identity, i.e. the necessity of using two languages and behaving in accordance with the norms of two ethnic societies in their everyday lives. YUV declare that competence in Czech and knowledge of the social norms of the majority cannot change the fact that they are Vietnamese. YG assign basically the same features to their own category as to BC. But unlike them, YG usually consider the hybrid character of their identity to be self-evident. That the analysed texts problematise the role of language as a defining feature of ethnic identity can be considered an expression of the superdiversification of the Czech media and new media space. BC defend their right to not belong to a single ethnic society, YUV declare their identity to be exclusively Vietnamese, and MG express amazement that the existence of young Czech-speaking Vietnamese is still surprising to a part of the majority population.

For immigrants, linguistic competence in the national or minority language is frequently viewed as a tool for emancipation, protection, and integration. However, in contexts where immigrants primarily work in ethnic-economy blue-collar professions, language acquisition is less likely to function as a solution to adaptation-related problems. This paper addresses one such case: the Vietnamese in the Czech Republic. Attention is devoted to the questions of whether and how 1st-generation Vietnamese acquire Czech, and whether and how their language acquisition and use is influenced by state policy, represented by the CEFR A1 examination requirement for permanent residence. Using the language management approach (Fairbrother et al. in The language management approach: a focus on research methodology, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2018), which reflects connections between the management of language issues and the management of socioeconomic ones, we consider the activities of the relevant actors, state institutions and individual immigrants, in relation to the problem of ‘insufficient Czech’ on the part of 1st-generation Vietnamese. Based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews, it is revealed that the A1-level exam does not fulfill its intended aims. It neither enables easier communication with state offices nor supports integration. Individuals only acquire minimal job-related vocabulary, for other needs they use language brokers, upon whom they become dependent. Post-exam, they stop learning and use Czech only minimally. Overall, the time-consuming jobs done by the Vietnamese, the minimal language requirements for these jobs, and the network of available language brokers mean that these individuals design different adjustments to the problem of ‘insufficient Czech’ than the other relevant actors.

In contemporary online culture, Grammar Nazi (GN) is a derogatory term used to label individuals who practice excessive language policing but has also been ironically appropriated by groups of users who engage in evaluation of other people’s grammar for entertainment purposes. In this article, we combine approaches from media studies and sociolinguistics to analyze the adoption of the phenomenon by two GN Facebook pages in two languages: English and Czech. Our mixed-method analysis shows that while both pages can be read as examples of media participation, they also exemplify their users’ “literacy privilege” associated with standard language ideology. However, there are differences in the practices associated with the label, reflecting the specific sociolinguistic contexts. While Czech GNs act as “guardians” of the public space, collecting and displaying localized orthographic errors for collective dissection, the English page is more dedicated to sharing jokes and puns typical of international online culture.

Language brokering (LB) practices are a widespread phenomenon in transnational communities. This paper aims to add to the description and analysis of these practices within a community which has not been extensively studied – the Vietnamese in the Czech Republic, as well as show how LB is embedded in other sociolinguistic aspects of community life. Based on language biographies of 13 Vietnamese female brokers, we explore LB by focusing on the respondents’ descriptions and summaries of their beginnings with it, the difficulties that occurred, and how they were overcome. The findings suggest that, among others, the brokers gradually perceive brokering as a normal practice and as one of their family responsibilities. A methodological innovation is the use of Language Management Theory (Nekvapil, Jiří & Tamah Sherman. 2015. An introduction: Language Management Theory in Language Policy and Planning.

This paper uses Language Management Theory (Nekvapil and Sherman, Language management in contact situations. Perspectives from three continents. Peter Lang, Frankfurt/Main, 2009) to investigate Facebook pages as a site and instrument of behavior-toward-language, focusing specifically on the use of humor. The language in question is Czech, which is not the subject of extensive formal language policy. We show how standard written Czech is promoted on the micro level of everyday humorous interactions on Facebook, specifically those which correspond to the superiority theory of humor (Billig, Laughter and ridicule: towards a social critique of humour. Sage, London, 2005). We examine two pages which declare their affiliation with the idea of “Grammar Nazis”. These pages were created in order to support the noting and evaluation of deviations from standard written Czech for humorous purposes, primarily through collections of individual mistakes found in both online and offline communication. A qualitative analysis of 550 posts from these two pages investigated (a) the linguistic phenomena which were managed, (b) the actors, settings and genres which were the sources of the noted deviations, (c) the humorous character of the management and (d) the depiction of the actors in organized management in regard to the “Nazi” metaphor and perceived norm authorities in the Czech context. The analysis revealed that the practices of individuals organizing under the title Grammar Nazis on Czech Facebook represent a necessarily incomplete language management process cycle, performed by non-experts, driven by standard language ideology, and associating “grammar” primarily with orthography. Given that the knowledge of orthography is related to one’s education and cultural capital, it thus serves as an instrument of social differentiation.

This paper uses Language Management Theory (LMT) to explore situations in which non-native speakers of a language explicitly reveal that they have noted a potential linguistic deviation. This can be paraphrased as the concept of “checking”, identifiable through the use of question intonation for the trouble source item, phrases such as “is that right?”, or the offering of alternative words or forms. This process is explored in Czech conversations between native speakers and American missionaries. In the analysis, two major points are made: 1) There is a limit to the types of deviations which are noted in this way, as checking is mainly done in cases of potential lexical and morphological deviations, and 2) In order for this strategy to be realized, there must be an appropriate categorial context for its execution, particularly in regard to the categories that speakers assign (or do not assign) to one another situationally, such as “non-native speaker” or “language expert”. In this way, simple management can be directly connected to organized management in that missionaries learning a foreign language are instructed to utilize their interlocutors as “language experts”. The paper also considers methodological tools for LMT analysts to uncover the fact that noting has occurred.

This article is devoted to the linguistic, communicative and sociocultural situation in branches of multinational companies located in the Czech Republic and Hungary. There are typically several languages used in these branches. In addition to the local languages, there are the languages of the parent companies – most commonly English or German, and also French. The core of the article is the description of the strategies on various levels of the company used to manage problems anticipated in future interactions. We demonstrate that these strategies originate as the result of communication problems the employees have already experienced and are created and reproduced in anticipation of similar problems in the future. We place emphasis on the close relationship between the way in which individuals systematically solve language and communication problems and how multinational companies do so, and we thus contribute to the further investigation of the interplay between micro- and macro-language planning. The...

This article applies Language Management Theory/Framework to the behavior toward language observed in the missionary program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) in the Czech Republic. It analyzes data directly from the mission site, focusing on specifically the combination of the highly specific character of the missionaries' acquisition of Czech and their role as native speakers of English. It explores not only the acquisition, but also the use of the mission language, highlighting the relationship between macro structures of the church's language policy, the character of the missionaries' work in general, and language use in individual interactions. The article concludes by arguing that not only the knowledge of the local language, but also the acquired orientation to the local sociolinguistic situation and communicative practices are what enable the missionaries to do their work.

Large multinational companies/corporations (multinationals) operate in several countries and are characteristic of the exchange of know-how, people and products which takes place between parent and daughter companies (subsidiaries). An important common feature of such businesses is that several operational languages are involved. This chapter examines the changing roles of three languages, Czech, German and English, in the everyday functioning of Czech-located subsidiaries/branches of companies based in Germany. It identifies some of the past and present language problems in the multinationals and how these problems are managed, particularly in relation to the local conditions and practices and the socio-economic structure, with respect to the relationship between the old and new EU member states. The chapter is based on long-term research of such companies operating in the Czech Republic (see Nekula et al. 2005;Nekvapil and Nekula 2006a, 2006b), but it extends this research, drawing on more recent fieldwork and new conceptualizations.1 We focus on the situation in one multinational, but view this multinational against the background of other companies.

This chapter addresses the issue of language standardization from two perspectives, bringing together a theoretical perspective offered by the discipline of sociolinguistics with a practical example from international business. We introduce the broad concept of standardization and embed the study of language standardization in the wider discussion of standards as a means of control across society. We analyze the language policy and practice of the Danish multinational, Grundfos, and use it as a “sociolinguistic laboratory” to “test” the theory of language standardization initially elaborated by Einar Haugen to explain the history of modern Norwegian. The table is then turned and a model from international business by Piekkari, Welch and Welch is used to illuminate recent Norwegian language planning. It is found that the Grundfos case works well with the Haugen model, and the international business model provides a valuable practical lesson for national language planners, both showing that a “comparative standardology” is a valuable undertaking. More voices “at the table” will allow both theory and practice to be further refined and for the role of standards across society to be better understood.