Issues of multilingualism for scientific knowledge: practices for assessing research projects in terms of linguistic diversity

ABSTRACT

This article sets out from the observation that internationalization and contextualization of scientific knowledge increasingly appear to be in conflict, raising the question of the part played by language in the construction, transmission and dissemination of such knowledge. We will start by emphasizing the importance of considering language not just as a communication tool (vehicular function) but as a construction tool (constitutive function). We will then show how the two functions may be presented differently according to the nature of (a) the disciplines involved (natural sciences, humanities, etc.) and (b) the activities observed (teaching, popularization, international publication, etc.). Finally, we will examine the question of language and multilingualism in the assessment of scientific research, and in particular will describe the postures adopted by research advisers in various disciplines. This will enable us to conclude with some reflections on language policy in higher educational and research institutions.

KEYWORDS:

• Internationalization
• multilingualism
• knowledge construction
• research assessment

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Laurent Gajo is a full professor at the University of Geneva, where he runs the School of French Language and Civilisation. A linguist by training, he has specialized in analyzing bilingual classroom interaction, multilingualism in education, multilingualism in science and language policy. Among other things, he has been involved in the European Dylan (Language Dynamics and Management of Diversity) project and its final publication Exploring the Dynamics of Multilingualism (John Benjamins). More recently he has co-directed the Swiss National Science Foundation’s ‘Les pratiques d’évaluation des projets de recherche à l’épreuve de la diversité des langues’ project. Between 2016 and 2019 he was also co-leader of the ‘Discours et fabrication des savoirs: transmission, transformation et apprentissages’ project funded by the University of Geneva as part of the ‘Language and communication’ thematic network. A member of several committees on education policy, he is also vice-chairman of the Association pour le développement de l’enseignement bi-plurilingue (ADEB). From 2007 to 2013 he was on the Scientific Board of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF).

Anne-Claude Berthoud is Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the Université de Lausanne (UNIL). She is an honorary member of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences, and an honorary member of the Conseil Européen pour les Langues/European Language Council (CEL/ELC). Her main teaching domains were linguistics of interaction, language acquisition, and multilingualism. Her current research is focused on multilingual interaction, particularly on the process of the construction of knowledge in multilingual interaction. She coordinated the DYLAN Integrated Project (Language Dynamics and Management of Diversity), funded under the EU’s 6th Framework Programme. She leads the CEL/ELC working group on ‘Languages and Science’, addressing the question of why multilingualism is relevant to the quality of higher education and research in an international context. She is a member of UNIL’s Interdisciplinary Platform, which seeks to encourage interdisciplinary thinking and research involving cultural and natural sciences, and to imagine new forms of cooperation between disciplines that usually do not have much in common.

Notes

1 Our reflections result from international and national research projects, in particular the European DYLAN Project (Language Dynamics and Management of Diversity) www.dylan-project.org , and the project Multilingualism and evaluation of science: issues for research funding agencies of the Swiss National Science Foundation. They are also based on findings and recommendations developed by the working group on ‘Languages and science’ of the Conseil Européen pour les Langues /European Language Council (CEL/ELC): The challenge of multilingualism for scientific practices.

2 If it is not always easy to calculate an integral or to carry out an assay, this is because it is always difficult to speak about and to write these practices, that is to say to think about them.

3 The hegemonic domination of a language, whatever it is, inhibits the interplay of words and ideas, often stimulated by translations, transfer and code switching.

4 ‘Such esoteric Greek and Latin jargon supposedly makes it more difficult to share knowledge with the general public. I would disagree; even though certain scientific terms are not immediately transparent, this is not necessarily a bad thing, for it ensures that they are not immediately misunderstood!’

5 This section partly repeats chapter 9 of the following book: (Berthoud and Gajo forthcoming). The Multilingual Challenge for the Construction and Transmission of Scientific Knowledge. John Benjamins: https://benjamins.com/catalog/mdm.5. We warmly thank John Benjamins Publishing Company for the kind permission to reuse part of chapter 9.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung; Sixth Framework Programme: [grant number 028702].