Interkulturell kommunikation på ett svenskt sjukhus [Elektronisk resurs] Fallstudier av andraspråkstalare i arbetslivet

• In this dissertation I investigate the communication of immigrants employed at a Swedish hospital. The overall aim is to find factors that have a positive effect on their integration into the workplace. The data comprise observations, field notes and approximately 80 hours of audio recordings with five second language speakers made during their everyday activities at work. Since I recorded entire workdays the data include both professional and social interaction, such as meetings, interaction with patients and small talk between colleagues. In preparation for the case studies I conducted a larger number of interviews at the hospital and so gained valuable knowledge about the hospital routines and how second language speakers experience their communicative situation. The five participants in the case studies are one male cleaner from Tanzania, two female nurses, one from Iran and one from Lebanon, and two female physicians, one from Hungary and one from Lithuania. The number of years spent in Sweden varies from 4 to 18. In the analyses I focus on communication strategies , humor and medical case rounds . The results show that lack of language skills is not a hindrance since the participants make use of different strategies to solve language problems. I also show that, despite the difficulties and risks involved in using of humor, the participants do so as a way of showing collegiality. The analysis of case rounds show that the participants are treated as equal interlocutors and contribute as much to the conversation as the first language speakers do. The results indicate, with a few exceptions, successful integration of the participants. Finally, I argue that a multicultural and multilingual staff is a positive feature since their skills in other languages can be used in ways that both save time and are of economic benefit to the employer. I also argue that Swedish teaching should focus more on interactional skills, for example so that the second language speakers are better prepared to face the communicative challenges they encounter in a workplace. 

Ämnesord

Humanities and the Arts  (hsv)

Languages and Literature  (hsv)

Specific Languages  (hsv)

Humaniora och konst  (hsv)

Språk och litteratur  (hsv)

Studier av enskilda språk  (hsv)

HUMANITIES and RELIGION  (svep)

Languages and linguistics  (svep)

Scandinavian languages  (svep)

Swedish language  (svep)

HUMANIORA och RELIGIONSVETENSKAP  (svep)

Språkvetenskap  (svep)

Nordiska språk  (svep)

Svenska språket  (svep)

Nordiska språk  (uu)

Scandinavian Languages  (uu)

Indexterm och SAB-rubrik

intercultural communication

workplace interaction

immigrants

second language speakers

interactional sociolinguistics

case studies

communication strategies

humor

medical case rounds

professional discourse.