Decoloniality, Posthumanism and the Language Assemblage

ABSTRACT This review article analyses decolonial and posthumanist thought within critical language studies, highlighting the convergences, divergences and implications of these critical paradigms. Both decolonial and posthumanist frameworks offer critiques of the universalisation of the human, which has implications for how language is understood and mobilised. However, they offer and are grounded within distinct perspectives. Decolonial thought emphasises the colonial matrix of power and epistemic disobedience, advocating for a pluriversal engagement with possible world s . Posthumanism challenges humanism and anthropocentrism through engagement with non‐human agency and materiality. We explore the repercussions of these critical modes of thought for how language is understood and defined, taking a meta‐theoretical approach to consider the implications of these critical frameworks for how we engage with the language assemblage .