English or Perish? The Value of Linguistic Capital in the Social Sciences and Humanities

This article examines the relationship between linguistic practices and funding success in Canadian social sciences and humanities. Through a mixed-methods approach combining data on 56,680 successful and unsuccessful grant applications submitted to the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and 45 interviews with past members of review committees, we analyse how language intersects with knowledge hierarchies and disciplinary cultures. Our findings show that writing a grant proposal in English rather than in French is associated with slightly higher chances of securing funding, mostly reflecting the greater recognition of applicants who have published in prestigious anglophone journals. However, the worth of this linguistic capital varies significantly across disciplines. These differences stem from how each discipline defines scientific value – whether through a more universal or context-dependent perspective and according to singular or plural hierarchies.