Linguistic brokers as business and financial intermediaries ? The case of 18th-century Levant trade (original) (raw)

From merchants to speakers: The common origins of trade and language

The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2012

Adam Smith argued that division of labour and language are linked to the concept of persuasion. However, this paper asserts that trade in the long run and linguistic communication have their roots in trust and probity since both imply some sort mutuality; if not, neither one nor the other would occur as strategies in repetitive games show. I. INTRODUCTION. Adam Smith set forth a theory of language functions and linguistic communication which is relevant to economic behavior. Smith distinguishes three functions of language : communicative, narrative, and esthetic. The communicative function takes on two forms : persuasive (TMS, VII, iv p.336 ; WN I, ii p.25) and sympathetic (LRBL, i.17 p.9; i.73 p. 33 ; i.96 p.40; i.v.56 p. 25, etc). Smith takes the persuasive function of language from classical rhetoric, according to which (Aristotle, Rh.,1358b10) the main function of language is for the speaker to hold the listener in her sway. When Smith asks himself for the cause of the trucking disposition, which underlies trading, he finds the answer in persuasion. Thus in LJ (A vi, p.352), Smith asserts that the disposition to truck is founded on persuasion : If we should enquire into the principle in the human mind on which this disposition of We thank two anonymous referees of The Europ. J. of the History of Economic Thought for their thorough comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

The Power of Multilingualism in a Globalized Economy

2019

Language appreciation in trade and commerce is a strong determinant to the viability of goods and services in a corporate entity. The economic power of language transcends beyond the level of small businesses, to impact on large-scale national and international businesses. The awareness that economic returns ride on the wheels of language comprehension between the trader and his client has grown to a phenomenal proportion; while economic internationalisation and multilingualism have become two sides of the same coin. Moreover, the growth of early civilisations in Africa, Asia and Europe was facilitated by cross-cultural transactions, premised on the mutual understanding of the seller and buyer. Here, the economic power and market potential of multilingualism are advanced. The paper further argues that if monolingualism is propagated over linguistic heterogeneity, the economy will suffer. Furthermore, the paper posits that multilingualism can be exploited as a resource with exchange ...

Merchants, scholars and languages: The circulation of linguistic knowledge in the context of the Dutch East India Company (VOC)

Histoire Epistémologie Langage, 2016

Merchants, scholars and languages: the circulation of linguistic knowledge in the context of the dutch east india coMpany (Voc) * Résumé Cet article analyse la contribution de la Compagnie néerlandaise des Indes orientales (VOC) sur la circulation des connaissances linguistiques. Il présente tout d'abord quelques « linguistes de terrain » néerlandais oubliés de nos jours et le sort de leurs oeuvres en Europe. Puis, dans un second temps, il adopte la perspective inverse en examinant dans quelle mesure les érudits basés en Europe invitèrent des membres de la VOC à leur transmettre des informations sur les langues du monde.

Language and foreign trade

European Economic Review, 2008

While language plays an important role in gravity models, there has been little attention to the channels through which a common language promotes bilateral trade. This work proposes separate series for a common language depending upon whether ease of communication facilitates trade through translation or the ability to communicate directly. The series related to direct communication is far more important in explaining bilateral trade, but the other series, based on translation, makes a distinct contribution as well. Either measure of a common language outperforms the measure in popular use, which is implicitly related to translation, and a combination of the two does far better. In addition, the paper examines the effect of two country-specific linguistic influences on trade: Literacy and linguistic diversity at home. Both of these influences promote foreign relative to domestic trade. Finally, the article studies the separate roles of English and network externalities. r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: F10; F40

Economic Value of International Language(s) in International Trade, a Case Study of Traders (Ghana-Togo-Ghana) in Central Business District of Kumasi, Ghana

Journal of Economics, Management and Trade

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories, which could involve the activities of the government and individual. In Africa and Ghana to be specific, it is through international trade that items like automobiles, mobile phones, and other sophisticated machines are acquired. Along the West African belt, trade has been very key in the lives of the individual. However, different languages are used across the West African sub-region. Major amongst these languages are French, English, Twi , Hausa, and Ewe. The success of traders in the sub-region depends greatly on their ability to communicate either in written or oral form one of the aforementioned languages. Due to this barrier traders usually resort to interpreters to aid their trading activities. Meanwhile, these interpreters are not benevolent organizations-they also work at a

Language and economy: from a handicap to a business opportunity

Revista Paradigmes, 2010

Language is often considered one of the factors in creating that ethereal thing we call identity, which is nothing else than a social bond going beyond specific relations and economic or any other interest. This bond links us to a place, it makes us feel that we have foundations, that is, we share something fundamental with others. However, for the foundations to become the basis holding adequately everything built on it, they need to be solid. In social terms, this means that a solid, strong language in a comfortable position allows its speakers to act in trust, and this trust in turn allows to set out ambitious projects and horizons.

The role of language in international trade: How does language affect the choice of foreign trading partners?

2016

In an increasingly global and networked economy, companies have a wider market at their disposal but also a number of barriers they have to overcome in order to expand their business internationally. When the decision of trading with another country is made, one of the key issues companies have to deal with is language: language barriers can hinder international trade, while language similarities can boost it due to the weight of communication costs. The economics of language is an interdisciplinary field of study that aims to bring together reflections on the role of language in the economy and conversely on how the economy affects language choices. In this study we focus on the relationship between international trade and language barriers by analysing Portuguese exports of goods and find that language does play an important role in the choice of foreign trading partners although sharing Portuguese as the common language with a group of countries does not imply exporting more to t...