Language As Lived Experience and Methodological Concern In Migration Research

Language is embedded in migration experiences and in the biographical materials through which these experiences are narrated and studied. Biographical and linguistic biography research has shown that language is not merely a medium of communication but also a dimension of identity, memory, belonging, and social positioning across the life course. For migrants, language may function as a resource, barrier, stigma, marker of social position, or site of identity transformation. Experiences of language learning, language loss, multilingualism, translation, and language shift often become significant elements of migration biographies and turning points in a person's life.

At the same time, language is not only a topic of inquiry but also a methodological challenge and source of knowledge in biographical migration research. Narrative interviews, autobiographical accounts, diaries, letters, and other ego-documents frequently contain multiple languages, code-switching, linguistic inconsistencies, and traces of translation processes. Such phenomena raise important questions about data production, interpretation, representation, and ethics.

This session invites contributions exploring language as both a lived experience and a methodological concern in migration research. We welcome papers addressing:

• the role of language in migrants’ life stories, language and belonging;
• linguistic dimensions of social mobility and exclusion;
• multilingual and mixed-language narratives;
• methodological approaches to analyzing multilingual biographical materials;
• translation and interpretation in research practice;
• ethical challenges related to language in data collection, analysis, and publication.

The session aims to foster dialogue between scholars working in biographical research, migration studies, narrative analysis, oral history, and sociolinguistics, highlighting the potential of language-sensitive approaches to migration research.