The case of Sydney universities

Embracing multilingualism or preserving English-only practices in the Australian context

Bibliographic Data

ID21458324
AuthorsRodrigo Arellano (0000-0001-6107-4618, Universidad de La Frontera), Luis Torres-Vásquez (0000-0002-2535-6754, Peruvian University of Applied Sciences)
Year2025
Publication date2025-03-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Review of Applied Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0155-0640 • E-ISSN: 1833-7139
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/aral.24083.are
OpenAlexW4408668617
LanguageEN
References cited59

Within the study of multilingualism, research using the lens of “linguistic landscapes” (LL) has caught the attention of sociolinguists by describing the make-up of urban centers and shedding light on issues of social justice and linguistic harmony. The current study aimed to determine if the language used in the public domain in the university context endorses a monolingual mindset, or whether it promotes multilingual ideologies. To accomplish this goal, photographic data was collected by exploring the physical campuses of two Australian universities in Sydney. By using discursive analysis in the context of LL methodologies, the following categories emerged from the data: (1) omnipresence of monolingual signage, (2) relatively high frequency of Asian languages and Arabic, (3) Westernization and/or commodification of Indigenous languages, (4) symbolic use of university space, (5) differences between top-down and bottom-up messages, and (6) display of information about health issues. These findings suggest the pervasiveness of a monolingual mindset in university campuses in Sydney, despite nascent attempts to incorporate messages in languages other than English in the public domain

Sociology · Education Systems and Policy · Multilingual Education and Policy