Leveraging Multilingual Interventions at a South African University: A Decolonial Perspective

This conceptual paper critically explores how multilingual practices are being leveraged at a South African university as both a transformative and decolonial project. Using a decolonial theory as its analytical lens, the article interrogates the epistemic, linguistic, and pedagogical interventions aimed at dismantling the dominance of English in a higher education institution. The paper argues that multilingualism, when approached not as an add-on but as an epistemic right, opens up spaces for African languages and ways of knowing to thrive in academia. Drawing from recent institutional interventions such as translanguaging tutorials, academic staff training on multilingual pedagogies, and multilingual writing support for postgraduate students, the article offers an analysis of how these practices reimagine language policy beyond tokenistic inclusion. However, the implementation of multilingualism is not without its contradictions and challenges including limited resources, linguistic hierarchies, and epistemic resistance from both staff and students. Methodologically, the paper employs critical analysis of emerging themes on multilingualism, inclusive multilingualism practices, and translanguaging. The article concludes by arguing that multilingualism must be central, not peripheral in higher education and it recommends systemic shifts in pedagogy, policy, and institutional culture to realise its full transformative potential.