Overcoming or Reinforcing Linguicism through Multilingual Research?

This paper critically reflects on a multilingual research project that aimed to investigate and address the issue of disaster linguicism in New Zealand. The project, which involved a diverse team of linguistic minority researchers, sought to overcome linguicism by using culturally and linguistically responsive research methods. Through qualitative interviews conducted in participants’ preferred languages, the project aimed to provide a safe space for linguistic minority communities to share their experiences of multilingual disaster/health communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the research team encountered unexpected challenges. Despite the intention to elevate the voices of underrepresented linguistic minority communities, the project inadvertently reinforced linguicism at times. Researchers' cultural and linguistic competencies, while valuable, also led to power imbalances and reinforced English language ideology in subtle ways. The study’s critical collective self-reflection reveals that even well-intentioned efforts to overcome linguicism can reproduce it through research practices. The paper highlights the complexity of conducting inclusive research in linguistically diverse contexts and emphasizes the need for constant reflexivity when working with linguistic minorities. This collective self-reflection offers valuable insights into both the transformative potential and the challenges of conducting inclusive and multilingual research, particularly in the contexts of decolonizing research.