by Tanisha Pandey
What comes to mind when you think of multilingualism? Perhaps Switzerland, Luxembourg, or Canada, and with them languages such as German, Swiss German, French, and English. Maybe Portuguese and Italian, as well. But what about Arabic, Turkish, Tamil, or Polish? Are those also languages that we perceive around us, and if so, do they also belong to our idea of multilingualism? Is multilingualism appreciated in all domains of life equally, or is it site dependent? For instance, do we prefer multilingualism in certain spaces, like in art, culture, and travel, but find it undesirable at the workplace? These questions sit at the heart of contemporary research on multilingualism and invite us to look more closely at what it means, for whom, and in which contexts.
At its simplest, multilingualism refers to the use of more than one language by individuals or societies. Yet, sociolinguistic research shows that multilingualism is never simply about the presence of multiple languages. It is about how languages are organized, valued, and utilized in day-to-day life. Different studies approach multilingualism from different angles, revealing how it can serve economic, educational, or ideological purposes.
One example comes from Switzerland. Del Percio’s 2016 study examines how Swiss multilingualism and cultural diversity are mobilized in state branding. In promotional discourse, multilingualism is framed as historical capital, i.e. an inherited national asset that signals openness, stability, and progress. However, this narrative of celebration also limits what more can be added about Switzerland’s history and present. Such storytelling makes certain examples of multilingualism more lucrative, while erasing other less obvious ones and making them disappear. This study demonstrates that not all linguistic diversity carries equal symbolic value.
A second perspective emerges from works on early childhood education in Luxembourg. Kirsch’s 2021 study investigates how multilingual policies are implemented in daycare centres. Educators and parents routinely use multiple languages (including some first languages not part of the official languages of Luxembourg) when communicating, singing, and reading to the children, constructing a shared belief that multilingual exposure supports early childhood language learning. Yet these practices also reproduce clear language hierarchies. French and Luxembourgish are preferred because they promise success in later life; German occupies a strategic middle position due to its role as a medium of instruction in secondary school education; while Portuguese, English, Italian, Chinese, and other home languages are comparatively devalued due to lack of perceived social relevance. Definitions of multilingualism in this example vary from one parent to another; yet they also differ amongst daycare staff. This example suggests that varied language hierarchies, shaped by ideologies about literacy, schooling, and social mobility, stratify societal multilingualism.
Taken together, these cases are examples of critical sociolinguistic approaches that foreground power and inequality. As Duchêne, in his 2020 paper, argues, dominant discourses often celebrate multilingualism while erasing the power relations that determine whose languages count. Multilingualism is embedded in social hierarchies that grant some speakers distinction whilst denying others legitimacy. A multilingual repertoire can be an asset in one context and a liability in another. Fluency in French, German, English, and Italian may ease access to tourism jobs in Switzerland, while Portuguese and Spanish (and Arabic or Albanian) can be framed as deficits tied to class and racialised assumptions. Moreover, in some cases, multilingual skills may be exploited without recognition, such as when migrant workers translate informally at work without compensation.
Scholarly interest in heritage languages investigates societal multilingualism from a critical perspective. Heritage languages are understood as languages that are transmitted across generations within contexts of migration. Their presence in language biographies might inform patterned variation in language. Nevertheless, this continues to be closely connected to an individual’s/family’s history of mobility. Research at the University of Bern and the CSLS studies these dynamics closely. Projects led by Prof. Katrin Bente-Karl, such as Unvergessen, examine how multilingual repertoires change across generations and life stages, such as in contexts of aging and dementia. Her work on Slavic languages as migrant and heritage languages in German-speaking Switzerland foregrounds speakers whose linguistic experiences are often excluded from national narratives of multilingualism.
Additionally, the ENLIGHT project Linguistic Equity in Multilingual Regions (LEMuR), led by Prof. Florian Busch explores linguistic equity across European multilingual regions. Prof. Silvia Natale’s research on Italian as both a second and heritage language in migratory contexts of Switzerland further demonstrates how language status shifts depending on speaker position and social context.
Returning to the questions raised at the outset, these projects remind us that multilingualism is not just about identifying and counting the plethora of languages in the mix. It is also about asking the less obvious questions about which languages are seen, heard, and valued. Such inquiries expand our understanding of multilingualism and can pave the way for equitable policies and a fairer society.
References:
Del Percio, A. (2016). Branding the nation: Swiss multilingualism and the promotional capitalization on national history under late capitalism. Pragmatics and Society 7(1). 82–103.
Duchêne, A. (2020). Multilingualism: An insufficient answer to sociolinguistic inequalities. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 263, 91-97. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2020-2087
Karl, K.B. (2022). Sprachportrait einer russisch- und deutschsprachigen an Demenz erkrankten Frau. Z Gerontol Geriat, 55, 276–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-022-02065-z
Kirsch, C., & Aleksić, G. (2021). Multilingual education in early years in Luxembourg: a paradigm shift? International Journal of Multilingualism, 18(4), 534–550. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1905643
Natale, S., & Kunz, A. (2023). Tra italiano L2 e heritage language. Education et Sociétés Plurilingues, (54), 39-52.
