Language in the process of labour market rationalisation: A sociohistorical approach across twentieth-century Spain |
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Authors: | Amado Alarcón Alarcón Maria Jesús Muiños Villaverde Maria de los Ángeles Serrano Alonso Josiah Heyman |
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Institution: | 1. Departments of Business Administration & Economics, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain;2. Department of Business Administration and Sociology, Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain;3. Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, United States |
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Abstract: | 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. |
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Keywords: | language skills professional classification sociohistorical study competencias lingüísticas clasificación profesional estudio sociohistórico |
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