Scripting Swiss smiles
A sociolinguistic analysis of affective-discursive practices in a Swiss call centre
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4178773 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mi-Cha Flubacher (0000-0001-7011-9873, University of Vienna , Wien , Austria, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 2022 |
| Issue | 276 |
| Pages | 93-116 |
| Publication date | 2022-07-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of the Sociology of Language (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0165-2516 • E-ISSN: 1613-3668 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/ijsl-2021-0094 |
| OpenAlex | W4285033506 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 28 |
Revisiting data from a sociolinguistic ethnography of an in-bound Swiss call centre (2010-2011), I will show how the scripted smile of agents is fused strategically with the use of the dialect in order to produce 'affective-discursive practices' that aim for a projection of quality of service. These practices include 'scripted affective efficiency' and the 'stylization of Swiss authenticity'. Inherently embedded in and emblematic of the political economy, these particular affective-discursive practices are conducive to the company's branding strategies of authenticity, directly linked to market distinction and profit generation. From today's standpoint, i.e. 10 years later, transformations in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) have displayed the limits of these affective practices and their underlying discourses and ideologies in the face of cost-benefit analyses when the number of incoming calls dwindled due to the development of smartphones. This paper will discuss affective-discursive practices from a political-economic and critical sociolinguistic perspective
Discourse analysis · Ethnography · Ideology · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Scripting language · Sociology · Anthropology · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic research and analysis
The Audacity of Affect
The Managed Heart
Language as Resource in the Globalized New Economy
The ideology of dialect in Switzerland
Expanding the Notion of the Linguistic Repertoire
Empowerment as an affective-discursive technology in contemporary capitalism
Policing for commodification
Engineering commodifiable workers
Marketing, management and performance
Selling the self’
Beyond the managed heart? Seduction, subjugation and the symbolic economies of sleep
Discourse and affect
Language, dialect and national identity in Switzerland
Going beyond language
The selective celebration of linguistic diversity
On Semiotic Ideology
Affect and discourse - What's the problem? From affect as excess to affective/discursive practice
Investissement langagier et économie politique
Styling the worker
Quand légitimité rime avec productivité
Text trajectories in a multilingual call centre
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |