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The purpose of this paper is to explain the reversal of language hierarchy in a Finnish multinational corporation (MNC) from a political perspective. This paper situated the language hierarchy in the historical context of the colonial-style relationship between Finland and Russia. From a post-colonial perspective, the colonial legacy of Russia has had an influence on language strategy and everyday translation work in the Finnish multinational until the present day.

This paper undertook a case study based on qualitative secondary analysis of existing data sets. These data sets originated from two previously conducted studies of the same Finnish MNC.

The findings revealed a reversal of the traditional corporate language hierarchy. Russian, as the host country language of powerful local subsidiaries, rose to the top of the hierarchy at the expense of English, the common corporate language, and other languages. The colonial-style relationship was enacted by professional and paraprofessional translators who collaborated by using “the master’s language and imitating the master’s voice” to reap the strategic benefits of local responsiveness.

In contrast to previous work drawing on post-colonial theory in the study of MNCs, this paper represents the headquarters in Finland as the “colonised” party and the Russian subsidiaries as the “coloniser.” Owing to its colonial legacy, Russian, the host country language, became very powerful and influenced the language strategy of the entire MNC. This paper conceptualized translation as a multilevel phenomenon and offers a holistic explanation of why the language hierarchy in the Finnish MNC was reversed.

The specific character of language policy is considered in multi-ethnic Russian regions in this paper. The relevance of this paper is because of the fact that language is one of the most important indicators of ethnic identity, and it fulfills a crucial role in the self-preservation of the ethnic community. The purpose of this paper is to determine the status and trends of language policy in multi-ethnic regions as a part of national education.

The authors analyze the historical aspect of language policy with the help of problem and comparative analysis and study the problem of bilingualism in the modern Russian society.

The threat of loss or the ban on land national (mother) language, as well as its infringement form an intolerant consciousness and attitudes in the mass consciousness and behavior of people. It is one of the factors of the deterioration of interethnic interaction and increase of ethnocentric attitudes to counter assimilation and acculturation. Language has communicative, integration, political functions in modern society. It is very important for the preservation of ethnic education. The analysis shows the inconsistency in the language policy whose roots lie in the historical past.

It is substantiated that the existence of a variety of peoples, ethnic groups with their own independent languages challenge state government bodies to solve a number of problems associated with ensuring the optimal functioning of Russian and national (mother) languages. It is concerned with the quality of education in the education system and the advisability of using languages in official events and the volume of television and radio programs in national languages, and so on.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between skills in the Estonian, Russian and English language, and labour market outcomes in Estonia, a linguistically divided country.

The authors use the Estonian Labour Force Surveys 1992–2012. The authors rely on multivariate linear regression models to document the relationship between language skills and labour market outcomes.

Estonian language knowledge (for ethnic Russians) are important determinants of unemployment. Wage, in contrary, is closely related to English skills. Ethnic Russian men do not earn any premium from speaking Estonian, while women, fluent in Estonian earn approximately 10 per cent more. For ethnic Estonians, Russian fluency is associated with a similar income gain.

Due to the observational nature of the data, the effects reported in this study are not causal effects. As a second limitation, the self-reported language skills data may be imprecise and hence the effects the authors report may be too small.

The results stress the role of workplace segregation, both along gender and ethnic lines, in determining the individual labour market experience.

The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the effects of language skills in a rapidly developing labour market in a linguistically divided economy. The authors analyse several languages with different legal status and document long-term trends in the effects.

– This chapter aims to increase our understanding on how the language diversity of multiethnic Central Asian countries and their diasporas constitutes a talent and resource-base for local and global businesses. We revisit the role of ‘language capabilities’ for boundary-spanning abilities and the particular challenges and opportunities posed by linguistically diverse contexts among diaspora members and their homeland.

– This chapter provides an overview of prior research and uses qualitative interviews and ethnographic data.

– The findings indicate that language diversity is an important multi-layered resource and a socio-economic link that allows culturally distant markets to interact and bridges the gaps across geographic boundaries. Individuals with multiple languages and migrant ties may develop alternative ways of communicating for business, such as translanguaging and cultural communication mode-shifting.

– The administrative ‘imperial’ languages are often perceived as the oppressor's instrument, however, the alternate perspective presents it as a resource for economic relations and international business development that exists in parallel to the indigenous language heritage. We introduce a concept, on diaspora ‘language portfolio’ that is a toolbox of communication assets that allows migrants to connect and operate interculturally and inter-regionally.

– We deviate from the English language dominance of the international business literature and address how another geographic and linguistic context such as the Russophone business provides a contextual lens to understand how language capabilities of diaspora members is an asset to both, their home and host nations. We illustrate how both the Russian language and the regional and minority languages offer a great potential for entrepreneurial and trade relations. By introducing a Framework of Diaspora ‘Language Portfolio’ this study underlines that minorities and diasporas are key boundary spanners and connectors in new markets and enhance the development of trade in the region.

Drawing on the semantic field theory, the paper aims to uncover the challenges of importing and translating a management accounting concept into the Russian language and the semantic nature of resistance towards the imported management accounting concept.

The paper draws on the extensive literature review of the histories of accounting in the Soviet Union and the United States in the first part of the twentieth century and 17 interviews conducted with the Russian accounting academics.

We demonstrate the case of resistance in adopting the imported Anglo-Saxon management accounting concept. We also discuss historical underpinning and origins of this resistance in light of semantic field theory.

The paper calls for more research in the non-Anglo-Saxon contexts problematizing conventional assumptions and beliefs about objectivity and universality of accounting language.

The study demonstrates the importance of understanding historical and cross-cultural developments of accounting language for accounting educators and practitioners. Critical awareness of the differences in semantic fields of accounting can help accounting researchers and educators to develop contextualized research projects and context-relevant teaching practices.

The study contributes to the literature on translations of accounting concepts by demonstrating that accounting concepts are not understood in isolation, instead, they are interpreted in relation to each other. The present study demonstrates that the relationship between the management accounting concept (the signifier) and its meanings (signifieds) is fluid, culturally and historically contingent. To understand this relationship, we should attend to the historical development of semantic fields and associative relations between concepts.

The Department of Nationality Literatures of the Russian National Library (RNB) in Saint Petersburg is a unique repository of publications in diverse languages of the peoples of the former USSR. In the collections are works in the Latvian language not to be found in Riga, works in the Tatar language not to be found in Kazan, and so on. Over the course of many decades academic researchers from all over the world have worked with these collections. Following the breakup of the USSR, the relevance of new functions for the department become apparent. First, as the nationality communities in Saint Petersburg came to life, many people were drawn back to their own ethnic roots. The Department of Nationality Literatures serves, in its own way, as a national center for representatives of nationality communities. Second, the need to promote tolerance is important in Russia today. The Department brings into the public eye the cultural riches of diverse peoples and, in that way, promotes mutual understanding and tolerance. The results of a sociological study have been employed to determine the role of the Department in current changing sociocultural conditions.

Attempts to discover an internal logic in the high‐speed events taking place in the former Soviet Union. In addressing the problems of the country′s disintegration, examines the issue in its socioeconomic, political and territorial‐administrative aspects. Analyses, for this purpose, the nature of Soviet society prior to Gorbachev′s reforms, its present transitional stage and its probable direction in the near future.