Language and the market society : critical reflections on discourse and dominance / Gerlinde Mautner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mautner, Gerlinde, 1963-

Series:

Routledge critical studies in discourse ; 2.

Routledge critical studies in discourse ; 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociolinguistics.

Discourse analysis.

Capitalism--Social aspects.

Capitalism.

Language and languages--Economic aspects.

Language and languages.

Dominance (Psychology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (215 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2010.

Summary:

In education, politics and religion, there are strong indications that discourse is becoming marketized. Around the world, government ministries have re-defined themselves as "service providers," universities draw up "market-driven" curricula, job seekers are asked to "package themselves" more effectively, and there are advertising agencies specialising in "the Christian marketplace." And it is not only word choice that is effected; higher-level linguistic patterns, such as genres and discursive practices (witness, for example, the text and talk connected with performance measurement and public relations), are also drawn into the orbit of market forces. Through an intricate dialectic, such patterns of linguistic choices, in turn, reinforce the social structures that shape them, further consolidating the marketization process. In a related development, language within the business domain itself is increasingly shaped by strategic planning and control, for example in branding, message design, and the promulgation of management buzzwords. Marketization thus emerges as a globally unfolding process in which language holds a key position as both cause and effect, and as both subject and object. The book examines these phenomena from a linguistic and critical perspective, drawing on critical discourse analysis, sociological treatises of market society, and critical management studies.

Contents:

List of figures

List of tables

Acknowledgments

1. Digging up the world: introduction

Part I: Conceptual groundwork: 2. Invited invaders? the market society and discourse

3. In praise of doubt: the theoretical framework

Part II: Applications: 4. Delivering government: marketisation in public-sector administration

5. Learn how to make money: marketisation in higher education

6. Shop 'n' pray: marketisation in religion

7. How YOU are like shampoo: marketisation in the personal sphere

Part III: Perspectives: 8. Picking holes: critiquing the critical approach

9. From lament to agenda: critical resistance to marketisation

10. Saving the frog from boiling: concluding remarks

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

1-135-14704-3

1-135-14705-1

1-282-57006-4

9786612570063

0-203-85599-X

9780203855997

OCLC:

610042136