Space, Time and the Construction of Identity : Discursive Indexicality in Cultural, Institutional and Professional Fields

Given the consolidated position of English as the international language for communication in business and management, as well as in institutional contexts, this book depicts a wide panorama of encounters where identity, image and reputation are a key focus in creating effective interactions. The main theme of the work is how temporal and spatial meaning representations in language reflect and, in turn, construct these personal, professional and corporate identities. From each chapter different sociolinguistic realities emerge which affect English, as it is used by both native and non-native speakers, especially in the relationship between local or national cultures and the global professional discourse community.
In this context not only have domain-specific language features been analysed, but also the communication strategies and interactive patterns at work in how different geo-political cultures construe, manifest and adjust their identities over the course of time and in varying physical, virtual, and cognitive spaces.

Rita Salvi is full professor in English Linguistics and Translation in the Faculty of Economics, «Sapienza» University of Rome. Her research interests include general and applied linguistics, text and genre analysis, intercultural discourse for academic and professional purposes, analysis of specialized languages (economics and law). She serves as reviewer for journals, book publishers and research funding entities.
Janet Bowker is a tenured researcher and adjunct professor in English Linguistics and Translation in the Faculty of Economics, «Sapienza» University of Rome. Her research interests lie mainly in academic and professional discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, and socio-cognitive pragmatics. Her self-compiled specialised corpora of business discourse have been used to investigate a variety of topics including the processes of description, evaluation and persuasion in internal and intercultural corporate discourse, and multimodality, genre and register in virtual professional space.