"How May I Be of Service?" Foreign Accent Adoption in Off Shore Call Centres

Abstract

Linguistic skills are important in organisations with geographically dispersed links; particularly in the off-shore call centre industry, where employees with diverse first languages are required to speak English with a foreign accent to effectively communicate with customers in English speaking countries. Yet, the call centre literature does not reflect an in-depth understanding of foreign accent adoption. This paper aims at initiating a research agenda by drawing upon sociolinguistic research on ethno-linguistic vitality (ELV) � defined as a sense of pride in one�s linguistic and cultural heritage � to explain the dynamics of foreign accent adoption. Based on the ELV literature I present propositions for antecedents and consequences of foreign accent adoption in the off-shore call centre industry.