While research suggests that multilingual speakers have agency over their linguistic use and are free to choose one language or another as they see fit (Marshall & Moore, 2018; Piccardo, 2019), not all multilingual speakers feel emancipated to use their languages freely (Galante, 2020), with discrimination and status in a country being two of the main reasons for lack of agency (Tankosić et al., 2021). Multilingualism is an essential factor in harmonious communication as it promotes dialogue and understanding among peoples from different backgrounds (United Nations, nd) and investigating multilingual speakers’ experiences with their language use is necessary to strengthen multilingualism in Canada and beyond.
The goal of this study, funded by McGill's Social Sciences and Humanities Development grant, is to examine multilingual speakers’ experiences with language use and reasons for using (or not) one language or another, along with factors that contribute to linguistic freedom or discrimination. Results of this study will inform language policy at provincial, federal and international levels.
PrincipaI Investigator: Dr. Angelica Galante, McGill University
Research Assistants: Li Peng and Hannah Keim
Funding: McGill’s Social Sciences and Humanities Development Grant (SSHD #87651)
Watch our presentation at the 2024 CERLL Symposium with results of the study.
