Paper short abstract:

Questions regarding language(s) of instruction and research have been integral parts of old and renewed debates on rethinking higher education. This presentation interrogates the language question and its ramifications for research and publishing, taking a university in Ethiopia as a case study.

Paper long abstract:

Questions regarding language(s) of instruction and knowledge production have been integral parts of old and renewed debates on rethinking and reimagining higher education. In African contexts, these questions and provocations often consider the status of languages of European origin, such as English on the one hand and that of languages having African roots on the other. However, much of the literature on this topic focuses on teaching and learning, and studies exploring implications for research and knowledge production remain scant. This paper qualitatively and critically interrogates the language question and its ramifications for research and publishing taking a public university in Ethiopia as a case study by focusing on the following research questions:

- What are the perceptions regarding the place of English and Ethiopian languages in knowledge production?

- What challenges are faced, and what epistemic and policy ecologies are required to create multilingual and linguistically inclusive knowledge production and dissemination structures, cultures and platforms?

- How relevant is the decolonial turn as a conceptual tool towards rethinking the language of higher education in the context studied?

Documentary data and interviews with 25 academic staff members and university leaders are analysed to inform the study. In addition to addressing the research questions, the findings empirically shed light on a topic entangled with theoretical debates related to two distinct but overlapping developments in global higher education- internationalisation and decolonisation.

Keywords: Language, English, Higher education, Knowledge production, Research, Decoloniality, Ethiopia