Scripting Swiss smiles: a sociolinguistic analysis of affective-discursive practices in a Swiss call centre

Abstract

Abstract Revisiting data from a sociolinguistic ethnography of an in-bound Swiss call centre (2010–2011), I will show how the scripted smile of agents is fused strategically with the use of the dialect in order to produce ‘affective-discursive practices’ that aim for a projection of quality of service. These practices include ‘scripted affective efficiency’ and the ‘stylization of Swiss authenticity’. Inherently embedded in and emblematic of the political economy, these particular affective-discursive practices are conducive to the company’s branding strategies of authenticity, directly linked to market distinction and profit generation. From today’s standpoint, i.e. 10 years later, transformations in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) have displayed the limits of these affective practices and their underlying discourses and ideologies in the face of cost-benefit analyses when the number of incoming calls dwindled due to the development of smartphones. This paper will discuss affective-discursive practices from a political-economic and critical sociolinguistic perspective.