Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of research on language and blue-collar workers with a focus on how language competence, use and management are influenced by a labour market characterized by globalization, mobility, and migration. The first section focuses on the diverse and complex linguistic practices among blue-collar workers in transnational and transient multilingual settings. The second section reviews studies on the relationship between language, professional identity, and workplace exclusion and inclusion among blue-collar workers. The third section focuses on how linguistic practices and ideologies reproduce or challenge existing hierarchies and power structures.