Breaking the silence (again): on language learning and levels of fluency in ethnographic research

Abstract

Ethnographic research is often multilingual, requiring the researcher to work in two or more different languages, if necessary with the assistance of an interpreter. Given this, surprisingly few ethnographers have attempted to discuss in detail how their own knowledge of different languages and their decisions to use interpreters and/or translators during fieldwork have affected the research they have conducted. Drawing on material from our own research, as well as from published accounts by other ethnographers, we aim in this article to dispel some of the 'silence' or 'mystique' surrounding such matters. More specifically, we argue for the importance of documenting and analysing not only the process of language learning in ethnographic research but also the ways in which levels of fluency in a second or additional language can affect the research process, including the writing of ethnographic fieldnotes and forms of self and other identification. We suggest that a heightened awareness of these issues can help researchers make more informed choices when carrying out and writing up ethnographic research using different languages.

“Less‐than‐fluent” and culturally connected: Language learning and cultural fluency as research methodology

“…These six months, coupled with the four months I spent travelling in Poland in 2003, laid the formable foundations for my understandings of Polish cultural memory and identity. During my doctoral fieldwork, the opportunities for gaining “valuable insights into the context[s]” of place and culture (Gibb & Danero Iglesias, , p. 139) had the benefit of time and “the possibility of serendipity” (Tuan, , p. 42). For example, while I was in Poland Pope John Paul II passed away, on 2 April 2005.…”

“…Classes were entirely in Polish, focused on language immersion and improved speaking ability. While the classes provided a structured avenue of language learning, living in Poland and negotiating the particulars of daily life provided invaluable and informal outlets for language learning (Gibb & Danero Iglesias, ). As Temple and Edwards have pointed out, from these experiences I gained an “understanding of the way language is tied to local realities, to literary forms and to changing identities” (2002, p. 3).…”

“…More routinely, the processes of learning a language and of time spent in the field are considered adjunct to a programme of other investigative methods. Supporting this contention is Gibb and Danero Iglesias’ (, p. 138) recent comprehensive review that shows how processes of language learning (and of translation) are strikingly absent from “professional codes of ethics, encyclopaedias and prominent textbooks on research methods”, as well as from research guidelines in the humanities and social sciences. To this deficit, I add an almost complete dearth of literature concerning understanding the cultural contexts of the language we are using.…”

“…Despite the number of research projects that rely on fieldwork in foreign fields and that engage with languages other than the prevailing lingua franca , English, surprisingly few publications refer to learning and/or using foreign languages (Gibb & Danero Iglesias, ). This dearth of focus on language comes despite Desbiens comments, more than a decade ago, that it should be at the forefront of critical geography because it exemplifies attempts “not to homogenize [meaning] but to build on the differences that are expressed in diverse geographi[es]” (2002, p. 1).…”

The promise and pitfalls of social science research in an emergency: lessons from studying the Zika epidemic in Brazil, 2015–2016

“…Additionally, they had a deep familiarity with language and cultural, social and political contexts. 20 However, most funding for studies in Brazil during the Zika epidemic was awarded to European and USA researchers, 21 as is common with global health research funding. 16 This situation, understandably, created some resentment on the side of Brazilian researchers towards international academics.…”