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Article published In: Decolonial Approaches to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Applied Linguistics: Addressing local and global EDI challenges
Edited by Kyria Finardi, Marina Orsini-Jones and Azirah Hashim
[AILA Review 38:2] 2025
► pp. 237–261

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Heritage speakers in Switzerland

Plurilingualism and social justice in a multilingual country

ORCiD logo with link | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Published online: 11 December 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.24068.weh
Abstract
Switzerland is often praised for its multilingualism; however, this reputation conceals a complex paradox characterized by both pride in and apprehension towards multilingualism. This ambivalence arises from various unresolved contradictions, such as institutional and/or national language policies versus individual multilingualism (plurilingualism) and the distinction between local and foreign languages. This paper draws on the experience of plurilingual speakers in Switzerland reflecting on the ideologies affecting heritage speakers. The discussion emphasizes the importance of decolonizing scholarly knowledge through the explicit articulation of the locus of enunciation and the creation of spaces that empower marginalized voices and languages. The paper draws upon my research and locus of enunciation as a teacher in Swiss higher education, with a plurilingual, multi- and transcultural background, from a family with diverse migration experiences. Also, it draws upon selected reflections of my students and my memories as a former trained elementary school teacher and speaker of a non-prestigious heritage language crossing the linguistic borders in Switzerland. The discussion highlights the significant impact of early educational experiences on academic trajectories. The plurilingual speakers whose experience I draw upon have a migration background, grew up in Switzerland in homes where a language other than the local (majority and official) language is spoken. They attended monolingual schools and regularly confronted monolingual perspectives shaped by native speaker views, language hierarchies, and the entrenched concepts of monolingual habitus (Gogolin, I. (1994). Der monolinguale Habitus der multilingualen Schule. Waxmann-Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and monolingual mindset (Clyne, M. (2008). The monolingual mindset as an impediment to the development of plurilingual potential in Australia. Sociolinguistic Studies, 2(3). 347–366. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) within educational institutions. The analysis concludes that the Swiss educational system does not adequately address the specific needs nor fully appreciates the potential and linguistic repertoires of heritage speakers arguing that linguistic injustice stemming from monolingual perspectives in Switzerland can be addressed through the framework of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB).
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Moving toward social justice
  • 3.Theoretical background: Considerations for knowledge production
  • 4.Methods
  • 5.Results
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (85)
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