EVENTS

This lecture examines bilingualism not as a neutral description of a person, but as an idea shaped by power, inequality, and history. While the term is often used to describe someone who speaks two languages, its meaning varies across contexts. Based on collaborative research in Peru and the Philippines with Virginia Zavala, the lecture demonstrates that the label “bilingual” is closely tied to colonial histories, social class, education, and poverty, and is often used to rank individuals rather than simply describe language ability. Focusing on the Philippines, the lecture traces how the notion of bilingual has at times challenged colonial power, yet has also reinforced inequality by marginalising everyday multilingual practices. In work conducted with Ofelia García, it shows that framing people as bilingual or multilingual obscures how they actually communicate and how inequality is reproduced in daily life. Overall, the lecture illustrates that bilingual functions as an ideological label that structures social hierarchy rather than serving as a neutral descriptor of real speakers.