The Construction of Researcher Positionality Through Language Practices in Multilingual Contexts

Marie Rickert, Pomme van de Weerd, Daan Hovens and Leonie Cornips
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Marie Rickert: Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, The Netherlands / iHub, Radboud University, The Netherlands
Pomme van de Weerd: Department of Development and Education of Youth in Diverse Societies, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Daan Hovens: Department of Literature and Art, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Leonie Cornips: NL‐Lab, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Netherlands

Social Inclusion, 2026, vol. 14

Abstract: Ethnographers immerse themselves in the lifeworlds of their participants—including their language practices—through participant observation. In this process, researchers’ linguistic repertoires, along with the language choices and practices they enable, play a central role in co‐constructing positionality within emergent interactions. These interactions both shape and are shaped by locally situated meaning‐making, reflecting the dynamics of the research context. This article examines the dynamic construction of positionality in multilingual research contexts. Drawing on four linguistic ethnographies conducted at a metal foundry, a preschool, a secondary school, and dairy farms, the analysis identifies four key dimensions through which researcher positionality is constructed via language practices: attuning to, engaging in, translating, and recognizing participants’ linguistic practices. Multilingual research contexts, we argue, introduce additional layers of complexity to the construction of positionality and call for critical reflection on the language practices of both ethnographers and participants.

Keywords: linguistic ethnography; multilingual practices; outsider–insider continuum; researcher positionality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:10844

DOI: 10.17645/si.10844

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