linguistic integration of forced migrants; researching multilingually; narrative analysis
Abstract :
[en] This paper outlines some methodological considerations for researching integration trajectories in multilingual societies. It draws on a linguistic ethnographic study undertaken in Luxembourg. It discusses ways of accommodating the participants’ (and my own) multilingual but distinct language competences. I reflect upon how my positionality as a multilingual researcher became part of the research process, shaping both the research design and the relationships I had with the informants. Multilingual research practices can play a fundamental role in empowering participants and privileging their voices in migration-related studies. This paper outlines some of the benefits/complexities that can arise if both participants and researchers draw on their old and newly acquired language resources. In this connection, I will argue that narrative analysis allows a refined understanding of foreign- and cross-language exchanges, which in turn helps to uncover the many ways in which linguistic integration can be understood, practiced and experienced. Narratives also proved to be an excellent tool for exploring multiple and shifting ideological stances in (meta)discourses surrounding language, identity and societal participation in the context of this research.
Disciplines :
Arts & humanities: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
Kalocsanyiova, Erika ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education (FLSHASE) > Education, Culture, Cognition and Society (ECCS)
External co-authors :
no
Language :
English
Title :
Multilingualism in forced migration research: insights from an ethnographic study in Luxembourg
Publication date :
27 September 2018
Event name :
3rd International Conference on the Sociolinguistics of Immigration