Effects of language-based diversity in Indian organizations

Abstract

India is a country with a lot of diversity in terms of genetics, cultures and languages. Though thenumber of scheduled languages as per the Constitution is 22, there are 438 spoken languagesas per estimates. With increased urbanization and the wave of corporate culture sweepingacross even small towns, the companies that operate in the Indian market today employ peoplefrom different parts of the country who speak different languages. This affects not only howpeople perceive themselves but also how they perceive others and affects their interactions inwork/social settings.Linguistic interactions produce identities as a social and cultural product rather than identitybeing the source of the interaction.Linguistic practices associated with a social identity can beexplained in terms of both positive and negative practices rather than fixed social categories.Linguistic diversity can thus be a major factor that drives someone to social exclusion. There arealso studies that show that the concern with minority languages leads to greater divisiveness ina country with a wide variety of ethnic groups.