English in Business and Commerce by Tamah Sherman Jiří Nekvapil

Author:Tamah Sherman, Jiří Nekvapil
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 2018-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

2.2Inter-Scandinavian

Three researchers stand out from the others in test style and perspective. Ulla Börestam Uhlmann (1994), Ludger Zeevaert (2004), and Karin Ridell (2008) used more or less naturally occurring interactions to examine inter-Scandinavian communication, and conclude that English is not normally used between Scandinavians: “Vi har sett att modersmål är den fasta grunden för samtalen och att alla andra tendenser, antingen i ’skandinavisk’ riktning eller i riktning mot engelska, utgör tillfälliga och sporadiska utvikningar. Stora språkliga likheter mellan de tre språken har varit en viktig förutsättning, dock inte för spontan mellanförståelighet utan för en mellanförståelighet uppnådd genom hårt interaktionellt arbete och ingående förhandlingar. [We have seen that the mother tongue is the firm foundation for conversations, and that all other tendencies, either in the “Scandinavian” direction or in the direction of English, are temporary and occasional deviations. Large-scale linguistic similarities between the three languages have been important preconditions, however, not for spontaneous intercomprehension but for intercomprehension achieved through interactional hard work and intensive negotiations]” (Börestam Uhlmann 1994: 197).

Zeevaert’s data were collected at six conferences for people from the Nordic Association of University Administrators (NUAS). From the NUAS website it is evident that despite Zeevaert’s assertion to the contrary (2004: 5), NUAS is not representative of inter-Scandinavian communicators, but is made up of trained speakers in inter-Scandinavian with a positive attitude towards the inter-Scandinavian language project: “NUAS arbetsspråk såväl vid möten som seminarier är de skandinaviska språken. Stor vikt läggs vid främjandet av språkförståelsen (…) [NUAS’ working languages, at meetings and at seminars, are the Scandinavian languages. Emphasis is placed on the promotion of language comprehension (…)]”.18

Also, Börestam Uhlmann’s data are biased because her informants are more open to Scandinavian interaction than average. They were contacted through Nordjobb, which is a cooperative network where The Nordic Association (Föreningen Norden) in conjunction with representatives from industry and labor market authorities provide Nordic young people with summer jobs in another Nordic country (Börestam Uhlmann 1994: 59). The young people also know that Börestam Uhlmann’s project is to investigate inter-Scandinavian communication and they possibly try to live up to some language ideological expectations (i.e. to communicate in the Scandinavian languages), which Börestam Uhlmann herself also remarks on (Börestam Uhlmann 1994: 131).

Ridell’s data are from nursing home settings in Denmark in the Øresund Region. She follows three Swedish carers who work with elderly Danes using inter-Scandinavian on a daily basis. English does not appear in her data and inter-Scandinavian communication is not a problem in these settings.

Despite these biases (primarily the participants’ extensive experience of, and positive attitude to inter-Scandinavian communication), it is interesting that researchers working with real-life interaction among Scandinavians conclude that inter-Scandinavian is being used.

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