Use of language and communication in workplace learning

What is it about?

This study investigates how people socialize into their new workplaces from a sociolinguistic point of view. It is launched to account for how people become fully integrated members in the communities of their new workplaces by learning and applying the predominant language use and communication patterns which characterize their new working environments. Specifically, the thesis explores the linguistic processes and communicative events involved in newcomers' learning of jargon, code-switching, humor, social talk, and expletives. Through these five perspectives, it aims to find out what kinds of linguistic phenomena and communicative behavior can indicate newcomers' membership or identity in the workplace. The current research first discusses the importance of workplace socialization and workplace communication, followed by explaining why workplace socialization often occurs informally through the use or practice of jargon, code-switching, humor, social talk, and expletives in communities of practice. In view of the research target, Hong Kong workplaces, it provides a discussion on how the general culture of Hong Kong workplaces can influence newcomers' workplace socialization itself. Data were gathered via audio-recording of authentic workplace discourse and extensive interviews, which provided contextual information and perceptual understanding of workplace socialization. The study finds that newcomers typically socialize in daily face-to-face communication with their colleagues in the workplace. They are aware of the predominant language use and communication patterns in their new workplaces, and they consider some specific communication behaviour as an indicator of their degree of integration into the workplace. The research also finds that jargon, code-switching, humor, social talk, and expletives occur irregularly in on-the-job talk, which implies that workplace socialization in these aspects is hardly linear or straightforward. The authentic data show that newcomers behave differently at different times and in different areas in their new workplaces. With regards to code-switching, the participant socializes from looking for familiar linguistic choices to participating at any transition relevance place. With regards to humor, the participants socialize through active initiation and responses to humor, but sometimes they initiate inappropriate humor or provide inappropriate responses to colleagues' humor. With regard to social talk, the participants socialize through raising appropriate conversational topics at suitable moments, but sometimes they fail to do so. With regard to expletives, the participant socializes through openly swearing at inside colleagues, but sometimes he inappropriately swears at outsiders. Generalizing from the major findings of the interviews and authentic discoursal data, this study proposes that jargon, code-switching, humor, social talk, and expletives are versatile and multifunctional. On the one hand, they help people to informally socialize into their new workplaces; on the other hand, they emphasize newcomers' partial- or non- membership in their new workplaces. The current research on workplace socialization from a sociolinguistic perspective aims to evidence that language use, everyday communication, and social groups play important roles in workplace socialization, so as to raise scholars' interest in the relevant topics, ideas, or theories.

Featured Image

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash