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Paper short abstract

An ethnographic study of German-language outsourcing to Kosovo shows how linguistic capital is reshaping power and centre–periphery dependencies, producing new labour hierarchies, and rendering the everyday ethics, limits, and hidden costs of call centre work invisible.

Paper long abstract

As part of an ongoing ethnographic study in Pristina, I examine the role of German in the cross-border outsourcing of customer services to Kosovo. The paper asks how language as linguistic capital reorganises local power relations and what is made invisible when German is shifted elsewhere as an immaterial service.

Initial findings reflect an inherent ambivalence. On the one hand, high demand for German-speaking workers in the BPO sector opens space for negotiation: those who speak German often find work quickly, can choose between jobs, and occasionally negotiate conditions. On the other hand, new internal hierarchies emerge: those without German language skills remain in lower-paid, more precarious positions and face pressure to consider migration.

These shifts are embedded in asymmetrical relations produced by cross-border outsourcing. It ties parts of the local labour market to an external market and stabilises centre–periphery dependencies vis-à-vis the German-speaking region; such asymmetries are pragmatically managed in everyday life rather than explicitly addressed.

The focus lies on everyday practices and ethics of call centre work. Call centres are described as a way to remain in Kosovo and secure stability, yet the work is often perceived as monotonous, emotionally demanding, and at times deliberately concealed by workers themselves due to stigma or shame.

Outsourcing appears as a process of work-related subject formation: income and flexibility are visible, while time regimes, self-discipline, exhaustion, and educational trade-offs remain largely invisible. The limits of what can be outsourced appear less technical than social and affective, amid AI-related uncertainty.