What is it about?
Casoni’s book explores how Italian, a minority language in Switzerland, remains active in business and work. It shows how multilingualism links culture and economy, and why preserving linguistic diversity matters in a globalized world.
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Why is it important?
This review highlights a work that uniquely combines sociolinguistics and economics to examine language vitality, a rare interdisciplinary perspective. Casoni’s book is timely because it explores how globalization and digitalization reshape linguistic practices in the workplace, revealing the growing tension between economic efficiency and cultural diversity. By focusing on Italian, a minority but official language, it illuminates broader challenges faced by multilingual societies in balancing inclusiveness with competitiveness. The review also underlines the need for updated policy measures to sustain linguistic diversity in Switzerland’s evolving economy.
Perspectives
Writing this review was a stimulating opportunity to reflect on how linguistic and economic factors intersect in multilingual countries like Switzerland. As someone who studies the economics of multilingualism, I found Casoni’s work particularly valuable for showing how language policy and market forces interact in everyday professional life. I hope this review encourages readers to see language not only as a cultural asset but also as an essential component of economic participation and social cohesion. More broadly, I see it as a reminder that linguistic diversity, when supported through good policy, strengthens rather than weakens national unity.
Marco Civico
Universite de Geneve
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Review of Casoni (2024): Posizione e vitalità dell’italiano nel contesto aziendale e lavorativo svizzero, Language Problems & Language Planning, April 2025, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/lplp.00126.civ.
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