This study examines multilingualism as a dynamic sociolinguistic phenomenon shaped by globalization, transnational mobility, digital communication, and shifting ideological structures. Drawing on translanguaging theory (Li, 2018; Otheguy et al., 2019) and plurilingual perspectives (Muñoz-Basols, 2019; Modiano, 2023), the research frames multilingualism not as a collection of discrete linguistic codes but as a fluid repertoire embedded in social, cultural, and political systems. While multilingual practices are widely normalized in daily communication, national language policies often remain rooted in monolingual or hierarchical ideologies that privilege dominant languages—particularly English—over regional and minority languages. In South Asia, and specifically in India and Pakistan, English is discursively constructed as a language of modernization, quality, and global competitiveness, while national languages such as Hindi and Urdu are symbolically elevated but functionally restricted. Regional languages, despite being widely spoken, continue to face institutional marginalization. Using a qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach informed by Fairclough’s (1995) framework, the study analyzes contemporary policy documents, government frameworks, and scholarly discourse from 2017 to 2025. The findings reveal four dominant patterns: (1) English maintains hegemonic authority as a socioeconomic gatekeeper; (2) national languages serve symbolic roles without structural empowerment; (3) regional languages are relegated to cultural domains; and (4) significant gaps persist between policy prescriptions and lived multilingual practices such as translanguaging in classrooms. These results underscore the need for rights-based, inclusive, and contextually grounded language policies that align with UNESCO’s multilingual education agenda and support equitable access to learning. The study argues that multilingualism should be treated as a pedagogical asset and a linguistic right essential for social justice, cultural sustainability, and educational transformation across South Asia.

Abstract This paper aims to explore the role of teachers in bilingual and multilingual translanguaging classrooms and how bilingual and multilingual translanguaging are different from each other. Data were collected from five state-run schools in the Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. A qualitative approach to data analysis was adopted. Findings reveal that most English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers use translanguaging in two different ways — six teachers use only two dominant languages (Bengali and English) and three teachers use three languages, including minority languages. This paper argues that bilingual translanguaging is subtractive whereas multilingual translanguaging is additive and inclusive. Moreover, multilingual translanguaging seems to be more beneficial to students than bilingual translanguaging.

State-funded city theatres play an important role in keeping a finger on the pulse of society. As porous institutions that act as meeting places between artists and citizens, they can present themselves as reflexive or subversive voices. The combination of Brussels’ idiosyncratic sociolinguistic situation and its artist-driven performing arts landscape provides an exceptional context for encounter between the wealth of language communities and heterogeneous audiences. In this article, I examine how the Royal Flemish Theatre (KVS) uses this bottom-up dynamic to reflect the city’s urban multilingualism both on stage and in its outreach strategies. I consider the institution’s exemplary role in structurally embedding a trilingual translation policy, and its latitude in relation to politically conditioned requirements in a city where Dutch is increasingly becoming a minority language. This way, I demonstrate that, far beyond catering for the Flemish minority, KVS’s language and translation policy, as well as its principles, align with a future-oriented political project based in actual language practices. Furthermore, I highlight the particular role of the in-house “city dramaturg,” who probes the urban fabric and guards the institution’s vision while navigating the conditions imposed by funding bodies. It is argued that, by destabilising long-standing linguistic and cultural relations, KVS functions as a translation site, a shared space of debate to negotiate language relations and translation practices.

The one-parent-one-language (OPOL) approach has traditionally been considered a widely recommended strategy for heritage-language (HL) maintenance in bilingual families. However, alternative strategies, such as both parents consistently speaking the HL, may be equally or more effective. This study examines families’ language policies and their effectiveness in HL maintenance in Australia, where minority languages often hold lower status than English and receive minimal institutional support beyond the home. Using data from a nationwide survey of 280 families, we analyzed parental language-use patterns and their impact on HL transmission. Most mothers, who more often identified as primary caregivers, reported speaking a HL with their children, while secondary caregivers’ language use was varied. Families were categorized into four language-use approaches: OPOL, mixed-language use from one or both caregivers, HL-only from both caregivers, and single-caregiver only. Comparisons across these categories revealed that families following the HL-only and OPOL approaches reported significantly greater success in maintaining the HL than the other two groups, which showed no significant differences in self-reported outcomes. Follow-up analyses showed that Mixed-language families with high HL use achieved success comparable to HL-only and OPOL policies. Our findings suggest that language input is a central, but not exclusive, contributor to HL transmission. Families who reported higher perceived success showed strong commitment to HL maintenance, with caregivers likely reinforcing each other's efforts beyond direct language input. This study contributes to discussions on bilingual parenting and family language policy, providing empirical insights to inform HL maintenance strategies in diverse linguistic settings.

Context. The speech therapy assessment of aphasia should be conducted, as much as possible, in all the languages of a bilingual or multilingual patient. However, tests are not necessarily available for all languages worldwide, particularly for regional or minority languages. Adapting language tests to the latter category of languages is complex because they are generally less standardized than official languages and also have many linguistic variants. Objectives. The objective of this article is to provide an example of the adaptation of the Screening BAT (Guilhem et al., 2013) established for one of the dialectal varieties of Basque spoken in France (Low Navarrese), but also to discuss the difficulties generated by this type of work and, finally, to provide the first clinical data collected with this tool. Methods. We describe in detail the process of adapting the test, which was done in several stages, including, among other things, the selection of relevant items taking into account the dialectal specificities of Basque. The Screening BAT was then administered to two bilingual patients (L1 dialectal Basque and L2 French) suffering from non-fluent aphasia following a left stroke, as well as to two bilingual control subjects, matched in age and socio-professional level. The four participants were also evaluated with the French Screening BAT. Results. The results obtained with the Screening BAT for both languages show performances consistent with the clinical picture of bilingual aphasic patients established by their speech therapists. The comparison with the control subjects also confirms that the adaptation of the Screening BAT to the Basque language is discriminative and suitable for the dialectal variant examined here. Conclusions. The study highlights the importance of the test adaptation approach to account for the full range of competencies of bilingual patients. The Basque Screening BAT (in its Low Navarrese version) is now ready to undergo the normalization process that will determine its psychometric characteristics.

Commercialising regional or minority languages: associations with Low German in Instagram posts

This study explores professional social support models in schools in Finland and Estonia. The study sheds light on how Finnish and Estonian minority language schools have organised social support in the frame of their professional development for beginning teachers. Using a structural framework for understanding social support at all systemic levels in the learning environment, we used qualitative case studies to analyse how social support for beginning teachers is integrated in everyday practices. We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with school principals, practice supervisors and teachers at 6 schools (3 in each country). The findings show that there were differences in whether the social support was based on individual needs and systematised school-based implementation involving recognised leadership. The differences reflect variations in the level of maturity of the social support system of beginning teachers. The findings were interpreted through a systems approach and adopted to a cross-national context. This resulted in a proposal for a multi-level social support model underlining systematic support mechanisms for professional development with a social dimension.

Aims and objectives: This study highlights the general socio-linguistic situation of Nepal and discusses the structural reformation of languages in education policies. It critically examines their effects on the use and perception of minority mother tongues within internally migrated Maithili families. Methodology: The research employed a qualitative approach. The participants were selected based on purposive sampling. Data and analysis: Data for this research were collected using questionnaires, observations, note-taking and semi-structured interviews. The study analysed the complexities of language planning, perceptions of the mother tongue and the reality of the language policies and practices of migrated Maithili families, through an in-depth case study of migrant Maithili families, along with semi-structured interviews conducted with Maithili teachers, students and parents. Findings and conclusions: The results indicated that the development of the mother tongue at the policy level holds a ‘Positive’ cognition, whereas the practical reality of the mother tongue holds a ‘Negative’ cognition. Originality: This paper offers a unique insight into the multilingual landscape, including the national language, mother tongue and international language. This research is based on actual, observed linguistic interactions along with a critical review of promulgated language policies. Significance/implications: This research adopted an interdisciplinary approach to explore the practicality of current language practices. This report critically reviewed the formulation of minority language policies and their implementation in everyday language use at the local level within a multilingual context. Furthermore, it explored perceptions related to language, particularly the mother tongue, highlighting the need to reassess the complex ethnolinguistic dynamics of minority groups in Nepal.

This commentary examines the legal framework governing Irish-language rights in Ireland (Éire), the United Kingdom (particularly Northern Ireland), and the European Union, highlighting the persistent tension between symbolic constitutional commitments and practical enforcement. Despite Irish's status as the first official language under Article 8 of the 1937 Irish Constitution, judicial interpretations - seen in cases like O’Monacháin v An Taoiseach [1982] IESC 10 and Peadar Ó Maicín v Ireland [2014] IESC 12 - treat it as participatory rather than structural, emphasising "reasonable efforts" (Ó Cadhla v Minister for Justice & Equality [2019] IEHC 503) amid resource constraints. Statutory measures, such as the Official Languages Act 2003 and its 2021 Amendment (fully commenced December 2024), offer incremental progress but leave court proceedings largely unaffected. In Northern Ireland, the archaic Administration of Justice (Language) Act 1737 was repealed by the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, introducing an Irish Language Commissioner and promoting bilingualism, though implementation remains uneven. Supra-nationally, the European Convention on Human Rights (Articles 6 and 14) and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages influence domestic standards, while EU law - post-2022 derogation lift via Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/2264 - ensures Irish's full official status, despite ongoing linguist recruitment challenges. Comparatively, Irish lags behind Welsh and Scottish Gaelic frameworks. Recommendations include enacting a specialised Irish Language in the Courts Act, enhancing training, and leveraging discrimination arguments under the ECHR. Ultimately, bridging symbolism and reality demands legislative clarity and investment to affirm cultural identity and democratic integrity.

Abstract This article sheds light on the current language situation in the Val d’Aran, with a focus on Aranese language acquisition, proficiency, and usage. As in many minority language settings, New Speakers bring new dynamics into the language community. The basis for this investigation was an online survey, filled out by 125 Aranese speakers, 51 of whom are New Speakers and 74 of whom are L1 Speakers. It will be shown that New Speakers do not report acquiring a language proficiency as high as L1 Speakers, and they report using the language in fewer different contexts, but both groups indicate using the language equally in formal and informal settings. Overall, the unique situation of Aranese within the Occitan varieties can be corroborated.

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: Our paper outlines the development of vocabulary proficiency tests for minority languages and addresses the challenges in doing so. Design/Methodology/Approach: The strategies are exemplified based on recently developed tests for Sicilian and Venetan, two large languages in Italy without official status. Users of these types of languages tend to have only oral skills, some only receptive. They are bilingual and speak the national majority language as their primary and dominant language; they are exposed to a lot of variation, and their languages have been stigmatized in the past. Data and analysis: Our paper summarizes 11 challenges, including shifting proficiency, tolerance to variation, various aspects related to lack of codification, bilingualism with a typologically close language, and practical challenges when validating the tests (e.g., the lack of “monolingual” control groups) Findings/Conclusion: We conclude with a road map for creating vocabulary tests in minority languages. We discuss points of criticism. Originality: While assessment tools have been developed for official majority languages, we lack such measures for regional minority languages. Herein, we argue why they are needed and explain what is important when developing them. We provide a point of departure for future undertakings of this kind. Significance/Implications: Assessment material for minority languages is of practical value in educational contexts and research on multilingualism, and it contributes to creating equality in research.

Background and Aims: The Basic Cardiopulmonary Life Support (BCLS) guidelines have been developed to describe stepwise management of cardiac arrest victims. During the training of healthcare workers in BCLS, their retention of knowledge was assessed using a questionnaire. We describe the process of developing and validating this questionnaire to ensure that participants’ knowledge is reliably measured. Methods: Based on a comprehensive literature review, 16 questions were prepared by six subject experts with mutual consensus. Face validity was done by 15 participants, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The questionnaire was sent to 10 experts for content validity, who graded the questions on four attributes: relevance, clarity, simplicity, and ambiguity. The responses were collected, and item-level and scale-level average content validity indices (I-CVI and S-CVI/Ave) were calculated, along with modified kappa statistics. I-CVI > 0.79 and S-CVI/Ave > 0.9 were considered acceptable. Results: Face validity resulted in minor language changes in three questions, and all questions were retained. In terms of content validity, the S-CVI/Ave scores were 0.99, 0.97, and 0.99. 0.97 for relevance, clarity, simplicity, and ambiguity, respectively. One question had I-CVI < 0.79 and was revised. Minor revisions and reframing of questions were done according to the experts’ suggestions. All the questions demonstrated excellent kappa agreement, and the final questionnaire consisted of 16 questions. Conclusion: The questionnaire designed to assess the knowledge level of participants and retention of this knowledge after BCLS training in healthcare workers met the face and content validity criteria. This validated questionnaire can also be used to assess participants after BCLS training.

Abstract Juhuri (Judeo-Tat) is an endangered minority language spoken by Mountain Jews (MJ), a community of immigrants from the Caucasus now living in Israel and the United States. Over the past century, Juhuri has rarely been used exclusively, existing in the shadow of Russian in the former Soviet Union, or Hebrew and English in Israel and the U.S., respectively. Juhuri has survived as a traditional heritage language to a limited extent, mainly in home and family domains, but has hardly been passed on to younger generations. The current study aims to identify possible predictors of Juhuri proficiency in comprehension and production, focusing specifically on middle-generation MJs who arrived in Israel and the U.S. from late childhood to early adolescence. Questionnaire data were used to assess the relative contribution of several factors to proficiency, including socioeconomic integration, MJ identity, national (Israeli/American) identity, and exposure to both Juhuri and the adjacent heritage (Russian) and societal (Hebrew/English) languages. Findings revealed stronger Juhuri proficiency in Israel than in the U.S. Exposure to Russian had a negative effect on Juhuri proficiency in both countries. While integration in Israel was a negative predictor, national and MJ identities were positive predictors. Results are discussed in light of research on heritage languages, immigration, and identity, as well as the sociocultural differences between the two countries.

The use of Norwegian numerals in the Sámi language is widespread among Sámi native speakers. Like the Sámi languages and the minority language Kven, Welsh is an endangered minority language in a Western European country with one school system. A study from Wales revealed that children who either spoke Welsh only at home or both at home and at school read and compared two-digit numbers more accurately than monolingual English children. Unlike the Norwegian and English languages, the Sámi, Kven, and Welsh languages have strictly regular counting systems. Analyses of the counting systems for the numerals 11–20 in eight Sámi languages and Kven and comparisons with the counting system in Standard Welsh have resulted in a categorization of the counting systems into three groups regarding transparency and possible support for children’s grouping of ten ‘ones’ into one ‘ten’. The analysis gives reason to believe that reversing the increased use of Sámi and Kven numerals may contribute to Sámi and Kven children’s grasping of the base-10 system because of the counting systems’ transparency. Understanding the base-10 system is fundamental for further learning in school mathematics. Based on the findings, we recommend that Sámi and Kven numerals be included in the mathematics curriculum.

Ethnic minority language maintenance from a sociopolitical multilayered perspective: the mongolian case in Northeast China

A harm reduction approach to the practice of language access in language-discordant care.

ABSTRACT This article examines recent shifts in discourses surrounding minority languages, considering the necessary conditions for conserving linguistic diversity in contemporary contexts. As language serves as a key repository of human thought and knowledge, the preservation of linguistic diversity remains vital for the global community committed to a sustainable future. Therefore, it is essential to address the changing environment for minority languages to ensure their sustainability. In this context, the article presents a case study of Breton. Drawing on folk-linguistic perspectives, semi-structured interviews with speakers and non-speakers of Breton were critically analysed to examine how the language is perceived within the community. The findings indicate a shift in discourse from a bilateral model that positioned Breton as an alternative to French to a pluralistic one that integrates Breton into a broader multilingual repertoire. This structural shift in the discourse on Breton can be understood considering recent trends in ecological science, where dichotomous understandings of ecosystems are increasingly criticised for being unsustainable, leading to calls for greater attention to interconnection and dynamic networks. Drawing on insights from ecological epistemology, the article argues that ensuring the sustainability of minority languages today requires embracing discourses that reflect interconnectedness and dynamic, fluid identities.

The COVID-19 stay-at-home order created a temporary period of reduced air pollution in San Diego County, offering a naturalexperiment to assess how cleaner air affects pediatric respiratory health. Historical housing discrimination through redlining has leftlasting environmental and health inequities, particularly for non-White and low-income communities. To evaluate whether children in socially vulnerable or historically redlined neighborhoods experienced greater reductions inrespiratory emergency department (ED) visits during the COVID-19 lockdown. We conducted a retrospective study of 101,733 pediatric ED encounters (2016-2020) at Rady Children's Hospital. Weekly respiratoryvisits encounter rates during weeks 10-15 of 2020 were compared to the 2016-2019 baseline. ZIP code-level social vulnerabilitywas measured using the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), and historical redlining grades from the Home Owners' LoanCorporation (HOLC) were spatially linked to the ED data. Correlations and Welch's t-tests assessed associations between respiratoryvisit changes, SVI quintiles, and HOLC grades. Respiratory ED visits declined by 0.25-1.4 visits per week across ZIP codes during the lockdown, with the greatest reductionsobserved in areas with high Minority Status and Language SVI scores (p 0.001). Historically redlined (HOLC grade D) neighborhoodsoverlapped with high-SVI areas and showed significantly greater vulnerability (p 0.001). Cleaner air during the COVID-19 lockdown corresponded with fewer pediatric respiratory emergencies, especially in historicallymarginalized neighborhoods. These findings highlight how structural inequities continue to influence respiratory health andemphasize the need for equitable pollution-reduction policies.

This study examines the 2020 language policy reform in Inner Mongolia, which replaced Mongolian with Mandarin as the medium of instruction for key subjects. Using Fishmans EGIDS and Bourdieus concept of Linguistic Capital (LC), this study argues that the reform constitutes a policy-contingent shift that weakens Mongolians vitality and academic legitimacy. The analysis shows how the policy eroded Mongolians institutional value in education, accelerated intergenerational language shift, and reshaped family linguistic practices. Evidence from comparative studies on Korean, Zhuang, and international instances reveals that the sustainability of minority languages depends not only on community will but also on institutional systems that preserve their LC within the broader linguistic landscape.

English has long been the world’s lingua franca, dominating international communication, science, and media. The recent rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems – from large language models like ChatGPT to AI-powered translation and writing tools – is poised to further entrench English’s global dominance. This article explores how AI-mediated communication may be reinforcing English as the de facto global language. We synthesize current research and examples to examine biases in multilingual AI performance, the standardization of English via AI tools, and the ways AI adoption encourages even greater use of English worldwide. Results indicate that popular generative AI systems disproportionately favor English (and standard varieties of English), often at the expense of linguistic diversity. AI-generated content tends to homogenize toward mainstream English norms, marginalizing minority languages and non-standard dialects. Furthermore, non-native speakers increasingly rely on AI to produce English text, accelerating the spread of English in academia, business, and everyday communication. We discuss the implications of these findings for language learning and global linguistic equity. Finally, we highlight strategies – from diversifying training data to critical pedagogical practices – that could mitigate AI’s English-centric biases and foster a more multilingual AI future.