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Language in the process of labour market rationalisation: A sociohistorical approach across twentieth‐century Spain
Author(s) -
Alarcón Amado Alarcón,
Muiños Villaverde Maria Jesús,
Serrano Alonso Maria de los Ángeles,
Heyman Josiah
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
journal of sociolinguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9841
pISSN - 1360-6441
DOI - 10.1111/josl.12587
Subject(s) - rationalisation , objectification , salary , sociology , hierarchy , period (music) , linguistics , social science , gender studies , political science , law , aesthetics , art , philosophy , geometry , mathematics
This article analyses the role of linguistic skills in the process of defining professional classifications in Spain during 1919–1980. The aim is to determine the social evaluation of the skills involved. To retrace the classifications, a total of 114 official documents were examined, establishing a chronological division into three major stages: 1920–1940, 1940–1960 and 1960–1980. The first period (1920–1940) shows efforts toward the initial objectification of working conditions and salary scales, revealing social prejudices and tacit conventions shaping the employment hierarchy, while the second one (1940–1960) indicates the extent to which office work stood out over manual work. Finally, the third stage (1960–1980) shows processes of language rationalisation, which entailed attempts to standardise positions based on required skill sets.