In this interdisciplinary study, Lionel Wee (ELL) delves into the ‘styling’ methods used by commercial organizations and service providers to create their brand image. Wee specifically draws importance to the role of linguistics in organizational styling, focusing on how companies project their identities using certain language and semiotic resources.
The ways in which commercial organizations and service providers ‘style’ themselves – creating the image they wish to portray to their potential consumers – is a long-established area of research in the fields of sociology and business studies. However language also plays an important role in organizational styling, something which until now has been largely overlooked in the literature. This is the first book-length study of the linguistics of organizational styling, looking at the language and semiotic resources used by holiday resorts, pharmaceutical companies, restaurants and insurance companies in order to project their identities, and style themselves. It discusses in detail a number of case studies and presents an innovative take on the notion of style, as well as bringing together work from linguistics, business studies and sociology. This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to scholars and advanced students in sociolinguistics, and scholars of sociology and business studies.
Blog.nus accounts will move to SSO login, tentatively before the start of AY24/25 Sem 2. Once implemented, only current NUS staff and students will be able to log in to Blog.nus. Public blogs remain readable to non-logged in users. (More information.)
The ways in which commercial organizations and service providers ‘style’ themselves – creating the image they wish to portray to their potential consumers – is a long-established area of research in the fields of sociology and business studies. However language also plays an important role in organizational styling, something which until now has been largely overlooked in the literature. This is the first book-length study of the linguistics of organizational styling, looking at the language and semiotic resources used by holiday resorts, pharmaceutical companies, restaurants and insurance companies in order to project their identities, and style themselves. It discusses in detail a number of case studies and presents an innovative take on the notion of style, as well as bringing together work from linguistics, business studies and sociology. This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to scholars and advanced students in sociolinguistics, and scholars of sociology and business studies.