🤖 AI Summary
This study investigates linguistic inequality faced by non-native English-speaking developers in globally distributed, English-dominant software development environments—and its impact on career advancement and team status. Drawing on Bourdieu’s sociological theory of field, capital, and habitus, it pioneers a systematic sociological analysis of linguistic capital in software engineering. Through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and critical discourse analysis, the study identifies three latent linguistic capital barriers: (1) asymmetrical technical terminology translation, (2) turn-taking exclusion in meetings, and (3) inequitable construction of document authority. It proposes a “progressive habitus adaptation” practice model, explicating how non-native speakers strategically reconfigure linguistic capital to enhance discursive agency and professional voice. Validated and adopted by industry development teams, the model offers both a theoretically grounded framework and actionable interventions for equitable, cross-cultural software collaboration. (149 words)