ELEPONGA, PATRICIA A.

December 18, 2021

BARAL, MARILYN D.

MAE415
Introduction to Linguistics
Prof. Ramsey S. Ferrer

Linguistic Task2
Language Attitudes and Ideologies
Questionnaire

In this workshop, you will investigate the topic of language ideologies in a promotional video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=HryjJ171m9E&t=94s&ab_channel=AccentureinthePhilippines) of a business process
outsourcing company—Accenture, a multinational company based in Ireland but maintains
global presence all over the world, including the Philippines. It is Fortune Global 500 company.

In the field of language ideologies research, we are interested in finding out not just what people
say, but how they say the things they do. Doing so allows analysts to pay attention to explicit
(e.g. ideas that are directly talked about by people) and implicit (e.g. points that people may not
directly say but analysts can infer) ideologies about language.

In this data workshop, you will investigate both explicit and implicit language ideologies about
language and multilingualism in this video. You will answer the following questions:

1. How do the individual speakers talk about their own relationship with the language they
supposedly represent in this video? To answer this question, do not just state the things
they actually said about these languages. You have to unpack larger ideologies which
undergird the statements that they make. (max. 1000 words)
2. Since this is a promotional video made by Accenture, what ideologies about
multilingualism does Accenture want the audience of the video to espouse or believe in?
(max. 1000 words).

Answer the questions separately.

1. Language ideologies are the collective order, that is, the beliefs and attitudes that
shape speakers’ relationships to their own and others’ languages, mediating between the
social practice of language and the socioeconomic and political structures within which it
occurs. One of the common ideologies about language is that it is not just a social
practice (a central tenet of linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics) but is also and
always infused with and caught up in the political economic, national, (post)colonial, and
political circumstances that shape its use and its role as an object of study, political
manipulation, and cultural value (Cavanaugh, 2019). The language ideologies (both
explicit and implicit) as ways of understanding the relation of language and power as
shown in the featured video are the points of discussion in this essay.

Reference: Adapted from Dr. Raymund Vitorio’s Data Workshop. De La Salle University. Manila, the Philippines
 In the video, three multilingual individuals who worked in Accenture Company (a
multinational company based in Ireland but maintains global presence all over the world,
including the Philippines) were shown. The multilingual speakers working in the
multinational company in the video clearly shows the notable connection of language and
power, that is, how being multilingual is a great advantage of landing a work in a Fortune
Global 500 company.

Another language ideology presented in the video relates to the “multifunctional

nature of language in use, recognizing that language, for instance, does not just express
ideas, but also forms relationships and moves people to action”. This is clearly shown in
the interaction of the speakers in the video. The different languages that they speak which
were known to one another built up their relationship at work and for the ones they work
with, and work for better and stronger. One has to learn the language of another to
understand and work with them, and/or for them. The dominance or power of a language
is also evident on how it is used globally mainly for economic or political reasons.

The reasons for learning other languages were also mentioned in the video. The
Filipino lady mentioned that it was her interest in the country’s culture, music, drama,
and arts that led her to learn Japanese language and that she learned it first from social
networking sites and eventually through formal education. The Portuguese guy attributed
his learning of Spanish with its pervasiveness in his region and learning French from
school. This implies somehow the dominance or power of Spanish and French in Portugal
which may be attributed to historical events. The last speaker, another Filipino stated that
he has a passion for learning languages. He said that he improved his English by reading
books and dictionaries, learned German (although not very fluent) by enrolling in it for a
semester, then Spanish by learning it on his own for several months. It is worth noting
that the languages spoken and mentioned by them were the languages of the countries
who had colonized them or if not, were the superpower countries back then.

The video still clearly points out the advantage of multilingualism in the field of
global business. However, what language/s is/are at the top or to be considered the
language/s of power is the real question.

Although everyone has his or her own language ideology, as part of one nation
with collective ideology about language, one has the capability to bring power to one’s
own language and country through language ideology. Since language ideology is just a
social construct.

From this linguistic task, we learned this in an even more remarkable way. That
what is far more important than the actual learning of a new language itself is, the clarity
and truth for us, Filipinos, that no language is and should be above one’s own national
language along with the other Philippine dialects; that another language/s is/are of the
same standing and that learning them (e.g., English, Spanish, Mandarin, etc.) does not
mean higher social status but instead should be thought of as means to participate in
conversations about language and power that bring social equality, access to power, and
peace.

Reference: Adapted from Dr. Raymund Vitorio’s Data Workshop. De La Salle University. Manila, the Philippines