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In an increasingly globalised academic landscape, opportunities to conduct research in multilingual settings, or ‘researching multilingually’ (Holmes et al., 2013), has expanded. Multilingualism emerges in research work variably, including studies focusing on multilingual practice (Pavlenko, 2012; Tupas, 2015), working with multilingual teams (Creese & Blackledge, 2012), or research with multilingual participants (Cabiles, 2025). Sometimes, it may be that aspects of research engage with multilingualism but are not necessarily recognised, such as when the language of data collected is different from the funding institution.

English as the linguistic norm of research

Globally, English remains the dominant language of research in academia. The majority of conference presentations and journal publications utilise English. And very rarely do we question these taken-for-granted mechanisms that valorise English as the medium through which ideas and scholastic contributions are legitimised and circulated. The social and cultural foundations of language, as implicated in relations of knowledge and power, are often neglected.

‘Very rarely do we question the taken-for-granted mechanisms that valorise English as the medium through which ideas and scholastic contributions are legitimised and circulated.’

Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1991) has argued that language is never neutral. Linguistic capital is an asset or resource that grants authority to particular voices over others. In academia, English functions as the ‘legitimate language’ that allows certain epistemologies to hold more value while rendering others in the periphery. Scholars have insisted that the privileging of English discourses in universities is ‘epistemicide’ (Bennett, 2015). Epistemicide refers to the regulated, and often legitimised, elimination of knowledge systems from ‘so-called’ ‘Third World’ or ‘Global South’ regions; although Bennet (2015) has argued that this phenomenon also occurs in non-Anglo European countries.

It is through researching multilingually that the English monolingual norm becomes challenged. Scholars like Alastair Pennycook (2010) and A. Suresh Canagarajah (2002) have emphasised that subscribing to monolingual scholarship perpetuates colonial hierarchies. A multilingual approach to research, on the other hand, recentres linguistic diversity in knowledge production and, therefore, embraces epistemic diversity. As a result, researching multilingually is a decolonial act that acknowledges the way language shapes, and is being shaped, by thoughts, emotions and social relationships.

Multilingualism as a resource for ethical research practice

Researching multilingually enables a relational approach with an added complexity. While being able to speak in the heritage language facilitates trust, openness and a level of intimacy, it also can blur the boundaries between insider and outsider roles of the researcher. Consequently, the researcher needs to create a balance between these roles through the virtues of reciprocity and solidarity. Within my own scholarship, I utilise my ability to communicate in English, Filipino and Cebuano, and allow participants to express themselves in either of the three languages or in combination. I also conduct community consultations with diaspora communities for my own research.

Figure 1: A community consultation process for my research with support from the Filipino Community Council of Victoria, Inc. in Australia and RMIT University

Researching multilingually allows the researcher to move beyond translation towards a process of encounter. It is through language that we encounter cultures and identities, and collectively share, contest, and (re)make knowledge.

Researching multilingually matters

Language is an expression of both cultural identity and knowledge systems. Researching multilingually enables marginalised voices to be heard, and ‘invisibilised’ identities to be seen. As such, not only does multilingual research matter, but the who, what, why and how of the research matter.

As a decolonial practice, researching multilingually necessitates confronting standardised research practices that are entrenched within a ‘Westernised’ and colonialist framework. As such, representation must be at the heart of the research design and leadership. Decisions around who are doing the research or are funded to do the research must receive serious consideration from funding agencies. Multilingual and multicultural research must be led and conducted by, for and with scholars and practitioners who represent the linguistic and cultural communities.

References

Bennett, K. (2015). Towards an epistemological monoculture: Mechanisms of epistemicide in European research publication. In R. Plo Alastrué & C. Pérez-Llantada (Eds.), English as a scientific and research language: Debates and discourses English in Europe Vol. 2 (pp. 9–36). Walter de Gruyter, Inc.

Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Harvard University Press.

Cabiles, B. S. (2025). Languaging the schoolscape: Multilingualism in Melbourne’s superdiversity. The Australian Educational Researcher, 52, 3677–3694. Ìý

Canagarajah, A. S. (2002). A geopolitics of academic writing. University of Pittsburgh Press.

Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2012). Voice and meaning-making in team ethnography. Anthropology & Education, 43(3), 306–324.

Holmes, P., Fay, R., Andrews, J., & Attia, M. (2013). Researching multilingually: New theoretical and methodological directions. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 23(3), 285–299.

Pavlenko, A. (2012). Multilingualism and emotions. In M. Martin-Jones, A. Blackledge, & A. Creese (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of multilingualism (1st ed. pp. 454–469). Routledge.

Pennycook, A. (2010). Language as a local practice. Routledge.

Tupas, R. (2015). Inequalities of multilingualism: Challenges to mother tongue-based multilingual education. Language and Education, 29(2), 112–124.