Linguistic Capital and Career Development: Earnings and Employability in a Globalised Economy

Abstract

In the current study, “linguistic capital” is considered as an economic resource that determines career growth in the globalised labour market. Drawing on Bourdieu's concept and recent work on the commodification of language, we examine how foreign language proficiency and communication skills contribute to earnings and employment. By employing a mixed-method approach, we combine an analytical literature review with quantitative data obtained from a survey of employees from three environments: the Republic of Moldova, hybrid/nomadic and abroad. Descriptive statistics and comparative tables link the number and type of working languages, the internationalisation of companies and employer support for language learning with expected career achievements. The results show a systematic positive correlation between multilingualism, employment and income, with a stronger effect observed in international organisations and among respondents working outside Republic of Moldova. Employer practices (providing training, recognising tasks that require language skills) increase the perceived return on language capital, while sectoral and regional contexts lead to heterogeneous benefits. In addition to general language proficiency, business communication skills such as negotiation, report writing and intercultural pragmatics are particularly essential for career grows. UDC: 81’246.3:[005.952:005.53];Jel: J24, J31, F6, I2