Mi-Cha Flubacher (Vídeň): Official discourse in interview data

This talk discusses interview data gathered in a current ethnographic research project in a Thai massage studio in Vienna. In general terms, the project concerns the role of language in an ethnic economy that finds itself on the receiving end of exoticisation processes. As the economic activity of Thai massage is not only ubiquitous in European metropoles, but also contested in terms of legitimacy, a meeting with a representative of the Thai government in Vienna was arranged in order to gain an insight into the official discourse. This discourse turned out to erase most problematic aspects related to working conditions, illegitimate practices etc. It is thus the aim of this talk to discuss potential interpretations on the basis of such interview data.
The organization of this lecture takes place in the framework of the „Current Issues in Sociolinguistics“ seminar and is supported by the European Regional Development Fund-Project „Creativity and Adaptability as Conditions of the Success of Europe in an Interrelated World” (No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000734).