Words That Work: Multilingual Repertoires and Survival-Oriented Linguistic Capital Among Interstate Migrant Construction Workers in An Informal Labour Economy

Abstract

Labour migration has transformed many workplaces into multilingual environments; however, research has largely focused on formal organisational settings and language barriers rather than on how workers actively navigate linguistic diversity in informal labour economies. This study explores how interstate migrant construction workers in Kerala develop and mobilise multilingual repertoires in Malayalam-dominant workplaces. Data were generated through indepth interviews with 18 migrant construction workers and were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: linguistic bricolage as daily survival, language as workplace capital, language brokerage and unequal access, gendered linguistic experiences, and language, belonging, and shifting insider/outsider positions. The findings show that workers rely on flexible combinations of language fragments, gestures, observation, visual resources, and peer support to navigate workplace communication and everyday life. Language has emerged as both a communicative resource and a form of workplace capital, shaping access to information, employment continuity, and participation. The findings suggest that multilingual repertoires operate as survival-oriented linguistic capital under conditions of precarity and limited institutional language support. The study contributes to multilingualism scholarship by advancing the understanding of language, labour, and belonging in informal migrant labour economies of the Global South.