Sustainable Multilingualism / Darnioji daugiakalbystė

A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE MULTILINGUALISM: INSIGHTS FROM 25 ISSUES (2012–2024)

Servet Çelik, Aurelija Daukšaitė-Kolpakovienė — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

As an outlet in the field of multilingual studies, Sustainable Multilingualism (ISSN: 2335-2019; eISSN: 2335-2027) has contributed significantly to research on language diversity, education, and policy. Since its establishment in 2012, the journal has provided a platform for scholarship that addresses the complex dynamics of multilingualism in both local and global contexts. This bibliometric study examines the first 25 volumes of Sustainable Multilingualism (2012–2024) to evaluate its thematic evolution, authorship patterns, institutional and geographic reach, and citation performance. The corpus comprises 249 peer-reviewed research articles, which were analyzed using manual coding and bibliometric tools, including Excel and VOSviewer. The findings reveal that annual article output stabilized at ten per issue after 2016, reflecting consistent editorial capacity. Thematically, early volumes focused on identity, language policy, and rights, while more recent issues highlight digital multilingualism, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), and artificial intelligence in education. Lithuania, Türkiye, Latvia, Spain, and Poland emerge as leading contributors, with author affiliations spanning more than 40 countries. However, contributions remain unevenly distributed, with a strong European concentration and limited or no participation from the Middle East (excluding Türkiye and Iran), Oceania, Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and Central Asia. Citation metrics demonstrate a modest but growing impact: the journal’s CiteScore increased to 0.9 in 2024, its SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) rose to 0.211, and its h5-index reached 10, reflecting a steady integration into global scholarly discourse. Frequently cited and downloaded articles highlight the journal’s impact on multilingual education, migration studies, and research on endangered languages. The study concludes that while Sustainable Multilingualism has achieved international visibility and sustained scholarly contributions, expanding representation to include underrepresented regions would enhance diversity and further increase global engagement. Building on the findings, some recommendations are also included to guide the journal’s editorial strategy and future growth.

THE APPLICABILITY OF SPOLSKY’S TRIPARTITE MODEL IN THREE CONTEXTS

Zsófia Fülöp, Zahia Flih, Beyza Nur Gürses, Szilvia Bátyi — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This study evaluates the applicability of Spolsky’s tripartite model of language policy, consisting of language beliefs, practices, and management across three different minority contexts in Europe. The research respectively targets Algerians in France, Hungarians in the UK, and Turks in Hungary. The first study centres around the national and community level, while the second and third studies focus on the family domain. For the case of Algerians in France, the study investigates language management by analysing governmental top-down language policies and probes language beliefs and practices among first-generation immigrants using a questionnaire. The second study shifts to the familial domain, using a questionnaire based on Spolsky’s tripartite model to explore bilingualism efforts among Hungarian-speaking mothers in the UK. Meanwhile, the Turkish context in Hungary utilizes both semi-structured in-depth interviews as well as a short questionnaire to examine Turkish families’ language management, beliefs and practices. The studies present varying results, with Algerians strongly upholding Arabic against the weight of French monolingual policies and the societal demands for using French. Moreover, Hungarian families’ efforts to meticulously cultivate bilingualism among their children are undermined by external pressures in education, leading to a more fluid bilingual experience. By contrast, the results showcase the shift of Turkish immigrants towards Hungarian due to intermarriages and the lack of institutional support. Although the findings underscore Spolsky’s model adaptability in depicting language policy dimensions across different contexts, it falls short of accounting for layers of complexity pertaining to the impact and role of external socio-political and economic factors. Furthermore, the model partially grasps the dynamic nature of multilingual identity construction. As such, these insights call for a rigorous investigation of these complexities in order to arrive at a better understanding of the fluid and ever-evolving nature of language policy as well as producing more context-sensitive policies.

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND WAGE PREMIUMS: A REVIEW OF ANALYTICAL MODELS WITH REFERENCE TO LITHUANIA

Milda Kiškė — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This paper reviews multiple cross-national empirical studies and proposes a comparative analytical framework for the economic value of multilingualism in the Lithuanian labour market. The study draws on the concepts of human capital theory, language economics and communication efficiency models. By synthesising the main findings on multilingual labour markets, the paper shows how wage differentials related to language skills can be analysed using different statistical methods. The study uses an illustrative simulated data set based on the PIAAC methodology. The data indicate that individuals with proficiency in the national language (host-country) skills can expect an average wage premium of 18.8%. The findings of the study suggest that to strengthen the workforce in Lithuania, it would be beneficial to integrate language policy with educational and employment systems. The statistical results presented in this paper are based on a simulated dataset modelled on the PIAAC framework and do not represent empirical findings from real Lithuanian labour force data. Additionally, the proposed analytical model provides a novel perspective and addresses a specific gap in existing research on the economics of multilingualism in Lithuania. The framework highlights policy levers such as transparent language requirements, targeted L2 support, and recognition of minority language capital—that can operationalise sustainable multilingualism, i.e., maintain linguistic diversity while improving equitable labour-market access in Lithuania.

“WOR(L)D”: AESTHETIC AND EXPERIENCED MULTILINGUALISM IN AKVILINA CICĖNAITĖ’S NOVEL “ANGLŲ KALBOS ŽODYNAS” / “A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH” (2022)

Rūta Eidukevičienė, Kristina Aurylaitė — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This article analyzes manifestations of multilingualism, focusing on their aesthetic and thematic functions in Akvilina Cicėnaitė’s autofictional novel Anglų kalbos žodynas [A Dictionary of English] (2022), which employs numerous languages, most frequently English, in a predominantly Lithuanian text to explore the migrant experience. The novel follows a Lithuanian writer and her French-Canadian husband on a road trip across Australia, in which both currently reside, and constantly find themselves in a state of translation between languages, different realities, and cultures. Each chapter of the novel is titled with an English word, forming a dictionary-like structure which frames the narrator’s meditative reflections. The research problem of the article is how multilingualism is made evident in Cicėnaitė’s text and what literary functions it performs in the novel. The analysis draws on theoretical propositions about literary multilingualism by Rainier Grutman (2006, 2024), Till Dembeck (2020), Werner Helmich (2016), Marianna Deganutti (2022), and others, as well as about the functions of multilingualism in fiction by Till Dembeck and Anne Uhrmacher (2016), András Horn (1981), Markus Huss (2021) and others. Central to the analysis is their emphasis on the constructedness of multilingual configurations in literary texts and the two functions, aesthetic and thematic (“experienced” multilingualism), literary multilingualism performs. First, the analysis explores how the novel’s narrative structure is supplemented with multilingual structures, which transform the text into a carefully organized multilingual textual space and enhance the exploration of the migrant’s condition. Then the analysis discusses the instances of “experienced” multilingualism, which root the narrative in specific social and cultural realia of multicultural and multilingual Australia. The article links the analysis of multilingual manifestations in Cicėnaitė’s text to the writer’s exploration of the experience of displacement, the condition of the migrant figure, and her efforts to find a relevant artistic expression for it.

ADAPTIVE TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FOR CULTURE-LOADED TERMS IN CHRONICLE OF A BLOOD MERCHANT: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL ECO-TRANSLATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Xinyu Hou, Deyan Zou, Shuhan Zhang — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

In the context of globalization, the effective transmission of culture through translation has become a pressing concern, particularly in literary works where culture-loaded terms present significant challenges. This study investigates the translation strategies applied to culture-loaded terms in Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua, focusing on the English version translated by Andrew F. Jones. Based on eco-translatology’s “three-dimensional” transformation theory—including linguistic, communicative, and cultural dimensions—this study explores the following question: How does the translator employ adaptive translation strategies for different categories of culture-loaded terms in Chronicle of a Blood Merchant to achieve dynamic balance across the three dimensions? A qualitative analysis of eight representative examples, categorized according to Nida’s classification of culture-loaded terms, reveals that different translation methods such as literal translation, free translation, and explanatory paraphrasing are selectively employed to negotiate cultural specificity. While the translator demonstrates a strong tendency toward communicative effectiveness and linguistic fluency, some cultural depth is inevitably compromised. The study argues for a more integrated approach to strategy selection under eco-translatology, one that maintains cultural integrity without undermining readability. Through analysis, this study reveals translators’ strategic preferences across different culture-loaded terms and examines their implications for cultural transmission, offering insights into the balance of linguistic, communicative and cultural dimensions.

INTERSECTIONS OF FREEDOM, EXPRESSION OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AND CENSORSHIP IN TRANSLATED LITERARY WORKS: THE CASE OF HARRIET BEECHER STOWE’S NOVEL “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN”

Giedrė Pranaitytė — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The connection between translation and censorship is one of the most inspiring subjects for the academic analysis that not only covers linguistic or cultural problems but sheds more light on important political issues as well. The current article focuses on the practical application of Soviet censorship techniques to the translation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” into Lithuanian. This canonical oeuvre of American literature was translated into the Lithuanian language and published in 1951. The aim of this article is to cast an attentive look at the theoretical considerations on the existing interconnection between the realms of translation and politics since these phenomena are seldom assessed in detail. After making an overview of different academic sources, it is possible to claim that Nicole Doerr’s (2018) basic premise on the prevalent existence of political translation is quite well-justified. The phenomenon of censorship, in turn, still happens to be sustained by the fear of authors and translators due to the potentially negative political evaluation of the dominant themes of certain literary works. The empirical part of the article is devoted to the examination of the Soviet censorship operating in practice in order to explain in what ways the translation of “Uncle Tom's Cabin” into Lithuanian has failed to properly convey religious beliefs of the writer, which are closely linked to various fragments of the Bible. The hostility of the Soviet political elite towards essential Christian concepts was always systematic and consistent. However, the authentic practice of faith eventually turned into the essential obstacle to the political ambitions of the Communists to create a new Soviet man while diminishing the variety of existing attitudes and destroying the worldview based on religion.

ARE LITHUANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHERS READY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PLURILINGUAL APPROACH?

Nemira Mačianskienė, Vilma Bijeikienė — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The growing global outreach of the EU, intensified immigration, and increasing linguistic and cultural diversity have significantly affected the European higher education (HE) landscape. As HE institutions become more multilingual and multicultural, educators are expected to develop competences in linguistic sensitivity and plurilingual practices. This study addresses two research questions: do Lithuanian HE teachers consider themselves prepared to implement the plurilingual approach in their teaching, and do teacher education programs in Lithuania equip educators to work in multilingual and multicultural settings? The research was conducted in two stages. Firstly, the data of 67 Lithuanian HE language and EMI teachers responding to the questionnaire-based survey (developed by the APATCHE project team) were analyzed. Secondly, a preliminary screening of university courses was carried out across three teacher education programs (Initial Teacher Education, Continuous Professional Development, and BA/MA Philology programs) in two major teacher education centers in Lithuania: Vilnius University (VU) and Vytautas Magnus University (VMU). The findings suggest that Lithuanian HE is making progress toward greater linguistic and cultural inclusiveness. Teachers demonstrated a favorable orientation toward plurilingual practices, as reflected in their self-assessments. However, the curriculum analysis revealed that current and prospective language teachers are being insufficiently prepared for the challenges of multilingual classrooms. These results highlight the need to reconceptualize teacher training programs and expand opportunities for in-service and continuous language program teachers to acquire competences to meet the challenges of multilingual and multicultural classrooms.

THE ACQUISITION OF DISCOURSE MARKERS BY ESP UNDERGRADUATES: UNCOVERING SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY WRITING

Oleksandr Kapranov, Oksana Voloshyna — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The acquisition of discourse markers (DMs) by undergraduate students of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) constitutes a research problem that has not been thoroughly investigated from the vantage point of sustainable practices associated with the explicit and implicit modes of instruction. In the article, we present a quantitative study aimed at uncovering whether the acquisition of DMs would be sustainable within the period of one semester. To this end, the material of the study involves a corpus of descriptive essays written by a group of ESP undergraduates whose first language (L1) is Ukrainian and another foreign language is Russian (hereafter referred to as participants). One part of the corpus was written by the participants during the explicit mode of instruction, whereas another part was written during the implicit mode. The corpus was analysed using the software program AntConc (Anthony, 2022) to examine possible changes in the frequency of DMs over time. The quantitative investigation of the participants’ essays revealed the following key findings: while the explicit mode of instruction was associated with a substantial increase in the frequency of the occurrence of DMs in the participants’ descriptive essays, the implicit mode of instruction led to an abrupt decrease in the frequency of DMs as well as the narrowing of their repertoire. The findings, the novelty of the study and the pedagogical implications that arise from the findings are further discussed in the article.

MEDIATION STRATEGIES IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM TO BUILD STUDENTS’ SOCIO-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCES

Daiva Pundziuviene — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

In recent global practice, innovations in language teaching / learning go hand in hand not only with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but also with the development of Emotional Intelligence (EI), with an emphasis on the integration of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into the language teaching/learning process, and a shift from a four-skill model of language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) to a four-communication mode model (reception, production, interaction, and mediation) (Council of Europe, 2020). SEL encompasses five broad and interconnected domains of competences: self-knowledge, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making, which can be learned in a variety of subject areas, with students of different ages and in different cultural contexts (Durlak et al., 2024). Various methodologies can be used for developing SEL competences, for example the innovative and increasingly popular teaching method – mediation, which the CEFR defines as the ability to help people understand each other, a complex text, an idea, or a cultural aspect when they cannot communicate or understand for various reasons. In order to investigate how mediation strategies in the English language classes can facilitate socially and emotionally enhanced language learning, the present research focuses primarily on the concept of SEL and the analysis of previous research on the enhancement of SEL competences in the educational settings, presenting a large-scale study of emotional intelligence among the Lithuanian youth. The introductory part also introduces the concept of mediation, the main mediation activities and strategies, and their potential application in language teaching / learning. In order to analyse the attitudes of students (N = 58) of Vytautas Magnus University Institute of Foreign Languages (VMU UKI) towards the use of mediation as a new method in the English language classroom and to improve their mediation and SEL competences, a study was conducted. The sample consisted of 58 students, 20 of whom were studying General English at B1 level and 38 of whom were studying Academic English at C1/C2 level according to CEFR. This study also presents a self-assessment analysis of the English language learners to assess their improvement in mediation and SEL competences. A quantitative research methodology and short semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the needs, experiences and improved competences of the research participants. The results showed a positive correlation between the use of mediation strategies in the English language classes and the learners' improved mediation and SEL competences. Based on the insights gained from the study, the paper provides practical recommendations for the use of mediation strategies in the English language classes and the development of learners' socio-emotional competences.

THE LANGUAGE IDENTITY OF AN ENGINEERING PROFESSOR: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO MULTICULTURAL AND MULTILINGUAL EXPERIENCES

Badriyah Ulfah, Utami Widiati, Sri Rachmajanti, Utari Praba Astuti† — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

One of the key aspects of exploring language identity in multicultural and multilingual environments is the transition from one's native language to shared languages. This transition refers to the shift between languages that individuals experience within both everyday interactions and professional settings. However, this transition process remains underexplored despite its complexities. The present study seeks to address this gap by investigating the effects of language transitions on academics, especially those working in non-language disciplines. It aims to explore the complexities of language identity through the narrative of an engineering professor with over 30 years of academic experience in Indonesia, England, and Malaysia. Adopting a qualitative narrative inquiry approach, the researchers employed semi-structured interviews to examine the professor’s personal and professional journey, capturing detailed accounts of his experiences with Indonesian, English, and Malay. Key findings reveal that language adaptation extends beyond proficiency, encompassing emotional, cultural, and professional dimensions. The professor’s transition from vernacular languages to Indonesian, and later to English and Malay, highlights the challenges and strategies involved in balancing professional obligations with the imperative of cultural preservation. Immersion in English-speaking environments has significantly shaped his self-perception and communication styles, while returning to his hometown introduced complexities in reconciling global and local identities. The findings suggest a need for greater sensitivity to the broader implications of language transitions, particularly among academics outside language-focused disciplines, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of language identity in diverse academic contexts.

EDITORIAL

Michael Lönz — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0200

If I had had to write this editorial three or four years ago, I would have taken my thick dictionaries (dictionary and encyclopaedia of English usage) off the bookshelf, sat down at my desk and tried to compose an appropriate English text. It would have taken a lot of time and effort, frequent consultation of dictionaries and a great deal of self-doubt before I finally finished the text. Because although I have been writing academic texts in English for several decades – initially out of necessity, as opportunities to publish in my native language became increasingly limited – I still find it difficult. And even today, my writing style reveals that English is not my mother tongue. However, since AI-based translation programmes have reached a level that was hardly imaginable a few years ago, my work has become easier. I also wrote this text in German first, then had it translated, and finally corrected the translation and sent it to print. In order to produce English texts, I don't have to constantly check and improve my English skills. Why am I telling you all this?

Because the journal Sustainable Multilingualism is committed to a principle that it sees as complementary, which, despite the ubiquity of English not only in academia and the advances in digital technology, upholds the validity of the concept of multilingualism and/or plurilingualism. Servet Çelik and Aurelija Daukšaitė-Kolpakovienė demonstrate how it has done so since its first publication in 2012 in their article A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE MULTILINGUALISM: INSIGHTS FROM 25 ISSUES (2012–2024). The other articles in the current issue confirm the findings in their breadth.

Zsófia Fülöp, Zahia Flih, Beyza Nur Gürses and Szilvia Batyi provide an interesting insight into the usefulness of a much-discussed theoretical model in their article THE APPLICABILITY OF SPOLSKY’S TRIPARTITE MODEL IN THREE CONTEXTS. This study applies Spolsky's tripartite model of language policy—beliefs, practices, and management—to minority groups in Europe, examining Algerians in France, Hungarians in the UK, and Turks in Hungary across national, community, and family domains. They conclude: While the model proves useful in capturing key dimensions of language policy, the findings reveal its limitations in addressing the complex socio-political and economic influences and the fluid nature of multilingual identity.

In her essay LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND WAGE PREMIUMS: A REVIEW OF ANALYTICAL MODELS WITH REFERENCE TO LITHUANIA, Milda Kiškė aims to show how wage differentials related to language skills can be analysed using different statistical methods, referring primarily to the Lithuanian labour market.

The study by Nemira Mačianskienė and Vilma Bijeikienė ARE LITHUANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHERS READY FOR THE PLURILINGUAL APPROACH? is extremely interesting because the findings they collected for Lithuania are likely to apply to other countries as well. They begin by stating that higher education institutions are becoming more multilingual and multicultural, and that educators are expected to develop competences in linguistic sensitivity and plurilingual practices and then ask how institutions are responding to this challenge. The findings suggest that Lithuanian higher education institutions are making progress toward greater linguistic and cultural inclusiveness but also make it clear that the language teaching offered by universities is not yet really able to meet the changed demands.

Badriyah Ulfah, Utami Widiati, Sri Rachmajanti and Utari Praba Astuti take an individualised approach in their article THE LANGUAGE IDENTITY OF AN ENGINEERING PROFESSOR: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO MULTICULTURAL AND MULTILINGUAL EXPERIENCES. Their study investigates how language transitions shape academic identity by examining the linguistic and cultural experiences of an engineering professor who has worked in Indonesia, England, and Malaysia. Using a qualitative narrative inquiry, it reveals that language adaptation involves emotional, cultural, and professional dimensions, highlighting the complex interplay between global exposure, local identity, and the need for greater awareness of language transitions in non-language academic fields.

In her contribution MEDIATION STRATEGIES IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM TO BUILD STUDENTS' SOCIO-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCES, Daiva Pundziuvienė addresses a highly practice-oriented problem and provides valuable assistance for concrete language teaching. Oleksandr Kapranov and Oksana Voloshyna promise similar insights in their contribution THE ACQUISITION OF DISCOURSE MARKERS BY ESP UNDERGRADUATES: UNCOVERING SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY WRITING.

Xinyu Hou, Deyan Zou and Shuhan Zhang once again draw attention to a widely known problem, particularly in literary translations, namely that while the translator employs adaptive strategies such as literal translation, free translation, and paraphrasing to balance linguistic, communicative, and cultural demands, this often enhances fluency at the cost of some cultural depth. They illustrate this with an analysis of the translation of culture-loaded terms in the Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, a 1995 novel by Chinese author Yu Hua that chronicles the life of a man named Xu Sanguan who repeatedly sells his blood to provide for his family during difficult times in Mao's China, through the lens of eco-translatology's three-dimensional transformation theory.

Giedrė Pranaitytė draws attention to another problem of translation, the connection between translation and censorship in less free societies or those characterised by a strong narrative, in her essay INTERSECTIONS OF FREEDOM, EXPRESSION OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AND CENSORSHIP IN TRANSLATED LITERARY WORKS: THE CASE OF HARRIET BEECHER STOWE'S NOVEL ‘UNCLE TOM'S CABIN’. She takes up Nicol Doerr's approach in her book Political Translation. How Social Movement Democracies Survive (2018) and uses the history of the translation of Uncle Tom's Cabin into Lithuanian to illustrate the role of censorship in the translation of literary works in Soviet-occupied Lithuania.

The conclusion is an examination of intratextual code-switching, illustrated by Akvilina Cicėnaitė's 2022 novel Anglų kalbos žodynas [A Dictionary of English]. Rūta Eidukevičienė and Kristina Aurylaitė, who have been working on this topic for some time, attempt in their contribution ‘WOR(L)D’: AESTHETIC AND EXPERIENCED MULTILINGUALISM IN AKVILINA CICĖNAITĖ'S NOVEL ‘ANGLŲ KALBOS ŽODYNAS’ / ‘A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH’ (2022) to show how strongly multilingual aspects now also shape the aesthetic processing of the present.