Linguistic Positionality and Multilingual Interviewing: Understanding the Experiences of War-Displaced Ukrainians

The profound impact of forced displacement on individuals’ language practices and identity construction is a critical area of study, with significant implications for the research process itself. A recent academic paper, "Linguistic Positionality and Multilingual Interviewing: Understanding the Experiences of War-Displaced Ukrainians," delves into this complex intersection, offering insights into how researchers can navigate multilingual environments when studying individuals displaced by conflict. The study specifically examines reflexive multilingual approaches to researching Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Human Cost of Displacement: Language and Identity Under Duress

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 triggered a humanitarian crisis of immense scale, forcing millions of Ukrainians to seek refuge in neighboring countries and across the globe. This mass exodus has had a devastating impact on individuals, disrupting lives, severing ties, and fundamentally altering daily experiences. Beyond the immediate trauma of conflict and displacement, these individuals grapple with the complex interplay of language, identity, and belonging in their new environments. Language, often deeply intertwined with national and personal identity, becomes a site of both resilience and vulnerability. For many, the war has accelerated existing language shifts or introduced new linguistic challenges as they adapt to new social and educational contexts.

Navigating the Research Landscape: Multilingualism in Focus

The paper, guided by the concept of the interview as a form of social interaction, analyzes how linguistic positionality is negotiated between researchers and participants. This negotiation is particularly nuanced when both parties share cultural backgrounds and overlapping linguistic repertoires, even if those repertoires are structured and shaped differently by individual migration trajectories. The research draws on three qualitative empirical studies conducted in Germany and Australia, highlighting the multifaceted nature of participants’ linguistic positionalities.

These positionalities, the authors explain, are (re)shaped by a confluence of factors:

• Perceived Language Proficiency and Linguistic Insecurity: Participants’ self-assessment of their language skills and their feelings of confidence or anxiety in using certain languages play a crucial role.
• Emotional Experiences Tied to Language: The emotional resonance of specific languages, often linked to memories of home, family, or traumatic events, significantly influences how they are used and perceived.
• Linguistic Identity: Participants’ sense of self as speakers of particular languages, or a combination of languages, is a powerful determinant.
• Wartime and Migration Context: The ongoing conflict and the experience of displacement inherently shape language use, often leading to a re-evaluation of linguistic choices and affiliations.
• Interview Topics and Settings: The sensitive nature of the interview subject matter and the physical environment can influence language choices and comfort levels.
• Researcher Language Choices and Participant Attributions: The languages researchers choose to use and the language identities participants ascribe to them also contribute to the dynamic.

The Interview as a Space for Language and Processing

A key finding from the studies is that some participants perceived the interview not just as a data collection exercise but as a valuable space for language practice. They viewed it as an opportunity to showcase their linguistic efforts, to demonstrate their ability to articulate their experiences, and to linguistically process the complex emotions and events they had endured. This suggests that multilingual interviewing can offer a unique avenue for participants to not only recount their stories but also to actively engage with their linguistic selves in the context of their displacement.

The research argues that employing a multilingual approach to interviewing offers significant advantages. It enables access to more authentic and nuanced data, enriching the overall interview dynamics. However, this approach also demands a highly sophisticated level of linguistic navigation. Researchers must be adept at managing interactional processes, particularly in contexts marked by emotional openness and fluid multilingualism.

Key Contributors to the Research

This study is a collaborative effort by four researchers with extensive expertise in linguistics, migration, and qualitative research methodologies.

• Dariia Orobchuk, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hildesheim, brings expertise in multilingualism, media linguistics, migration linguistics, and metaphor research. Her work often explores the linguistic dimensions of migration and societal change.
• Olga Maxwell, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, contributes her background in English as a Second Language (ESL) and applied linguistics. Her research interests include multilingualism, language contact, and language and identity.
• Lesya Skintey, an assistant professor at the University of Innsbruck, specializes in second language acquisition in multilingual contexts, particularly for children, youth, and adults. Her research also encompasses Ukrainian as a first and heritage language.
• Maryna Hontar, a junior researcher at the Institute of Ukrainian Language, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, brings a focus on sociolinguistics, migration linguistics, and language attitudes, offering a perspective grounded in the Ukrainian context.

Their combined knowledge provides a robust foundation for understanding the intricate linguistic and social dynamics at play for war-displaced Ukrainians.

The Broader Context: Linguistic Shifts in Ukraine and its Diaspora

The research is situated within a larger context of ongoing linguistic shifts in Ukraine, accelerated by the full-scale invasion. Historically, Ukraine has been a predominantly bilingual society, with a significant portion of the population speaking both Ukrainian and Russian. However, political and social factors have increasingly influenced language use and attitudes. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent full-scale invasion in 2022, there has been a pronounced societal movement towards the increased use of Ukrainian and a decline in Russian language usage, particularly in public spheres and among younger generations. Studies, such as those by Kulyk (2023b, 2024), have documented this significant language shift, indicating a growing preference for Ukrainian as a marker of national identity and resilience.

This phenomenon extends to the Ukrainian diaspora. As Ukrainians have been displaced globally, their linguistic practices in new host countries are shaped by their existing multilingual repertoires, their experiences of war, and their interactions with host languages and cultures. Research by Orobchuk and Skintey (2025) has already begun to explore language shift within Ukrainian refugee families in Germany, highlighting the complex decisions and individual trajectories involved.

Methodological Rigor and Ethical Considerations

The study’s reliance on qualitative empirical research underscores the importance of in-depth understanding. By employing semi-structured interviews, a common method in qualitative research (Karatsareas, 2022; Witzel, 2000), the researchers aimed to capture the rich narratives and lived experiences of their participants. The concept of "linguistic positionality" itself is a reflexive tool, prompting researchers to consider their own linguistic backgrounds, biases, and how these might influence the research encounter (Goundar, 2025; Holmes, 2020).

Ethical considerations are paramount in research involving vulnerable populations, especially those affected by war and displacement. The authors implicitly address these by focusing on creating a space for participants to express themselves and process their experiences. Previous work has highlighted the ethical complexities of research in conflict zones and with displaced populations, emphasizing the need for sensitivity, respect, and a commitment to avoiding further harm (Axyonova & Lozka, 2023; Burlyuk & Musliu, 2023; Dhillon & Ulmer, 2024; Howlett & Lazarenko, 2023; Krause et al., 2024; Seals et al., 2026).

Implications for Future Research and Practice

The findings of this study have significant implications for future research and practice in multilingual settings.

• Enhanced Data Authenticity: By embracing multilingualism, researchers can access deeper, more authentic data that reflects the lived realities of participants, moving beyond the limitations of enforced monolingualism in research.
• Richer Interview Dynamics: The negotiation of language within interviews can create more dynamic and engaging interactions, fostering greater rapport and understanding between researchers and participants.
• Advancing Methodological Reflexivity: The study emphasizes the need for researchers to be acutely aware of their own linguistic positionality and to develop strategies for navigating multilingual interactions effectively and ethically. This includes being mindful of how their language choices can shape the participants’ responses and perceptions.
• Informing Support Services: Understanding the linguistic experiences and emotional connections individuals have with their languages can inform the development of more effective and culturally sensitive support services for displaced populations. This might include language learning programs that acknowledge and leverage existing linguistic repertoires, or mental health services that are attuned to the role of language in trauma processing.

The research highlights that while multilingual interviewing offers immense potential for richer insights, it requires a heightened level of skill and awareness from researchers. The ability to navigate code-switching, manage linguistic insecurity, and understand the emotional weight of language is crucial for conducting ethical and impactful research with war-displaced individuals.

The DOI for this research is https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-27.3.4823. The keywords associated with this study include linguistic positionality, linguistic reflexivity, forced displacement from Ukraine, multilingual interviewing, negotiation of positionality, and code-switching. As data for this publication is not yet available, further analysis will depend on its future release. However, the foundational insights provided by this paper offer a critical lens through which to understand the complex linguistic and identity landscapes shaped by the ongoing war in Ukraine and its global repercussions.