The Politics of Researching Multilingually

Author: Prue Holmes, Judith Reynolds and Sara Ganassin Series: Researching Multilingually

Paperback

Offers a unique understanding of the politically charged nature of researching multilingually

This book offers a unique understanding of how researchers’ linguistic resources, and the languages they use, are politically and structurally constrained, with implications for the reliability of the research. The book will help readers to make theoretically and methodologically informed choices about the political dimensions of their research.

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Summary

Offers a unique understanding of the politically charged nature of researching multilingually

Description

This book offers a unique understanding of how researchers' linguistic resources, and the languages they use in the research process, are often politically and structurally shaped and constrained, with implications for the reliability of the research. The chapters are written by both experienced and novice researchers, who examine how they negotiated the use of their own, and others', linguistic and communicative resources when undertaking their research in politically-charged, and linguistically and culturally diverse contexts. The contributing authors are either from the Global South, or engaged in work which is contextualised within the Global South; or they face linguistic structural hegemonies in the Global North which challenge their research processes. They utilise diverse theoretical, methodological and disciplinary approaches to produce a collection of engaging and accessible accounts of researching multilingually in their contexts. These accounts will help readers to make theoretically and methodologically informed choices about the political dimensions of languages in their own research when researching multilingually.

Critic Reviews

“This book is a tour de force. It departs from a celebratory approach and moves to a critical and reflexive approach in researching multilingualism. It opens up debates on hidden hierarchies and power relations, and explores space for decolonisation and change. It is a must read for anyone who wants to research about and through multilingualism.”

In its ambitious, cosmopolitan sweep, this book offers fascinating reflections on multilingualism as glossodiversity in applied linguistic research. By focusing on hegemonic structures, power relations and decolonizing ways of understanding both language and research, the authors offer unique insights into the political dimensions of what it means to ‘research multilingually’ in various corners of the globe. Claire Kramsch, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Zhu Hua, Institute of Education, University College London, UK

About the Author

Prue Holmes is Professor of Intercultural Communication and Education in the School of Education, Durham University, UK. She is the editor of The Cultural and Intercultural Dimensions of English as a Lingua Franca (with Fred Dervin, 2016, Multilingual Matters).

Judith Reynolds is Lecturer in Intercultural Communication in the Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies at the University of Manchester, UK. Her research focuses on how language and culture intersect, and how both shape identities, in professional and workplace settings in particular.

Sara Ganassin is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Communication in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, UK. She is the author of Language, Culture and Identity in Two Chinese Community Schools: More than One Way of Being Chinese? (2020, Multilingual Matters).