This paper examines the effect of superdiversity on linguistic practices in Southampton port city, UK. A set of related studies on the city's social and linguistic cohesion offer data on the negotiations in the networks that shape urban multilingualism. This paper investigates a series of workplaces (public and private, big and little), involving many nationalities, ethnicities and languages, and constituting microcosms of intricate, social hierarchies. Findings and recommendations are shared with participants and the research impact on communties' language sensitisation is debated.