Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 23 - Linguistic inequality in the humanitarian sector: unravelling English-centric multilingualism

Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024.
This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 23 - Linguistic inequality in the humanitarian sector: unravelling English-centric multilingualism - contributed by Maria Rosa Garrido.

From the introduction 
The humanitarian workers that Footitt et al. (2020) interviewed felt that language was institutionally accorded a low status and that ‘language needs and challenges were not systematically discussed in the context of programme planning, delivery and evaluation’ (p. 97). Limited resources and the imperative to deliver specific project objectives to the donors makes it difficult for Northern humanitarian agencies like Oxfam to adopt multilingual policies. 
Thus, many adopt English as a lingua franca internally (Tesseur, 2021: 262) and ad hoc solutions for unplanned linguistic needs in the field (see Section 4.2). Language training requires a significant time investment which is difficult in intense situations with high rates of turnover, personnel rotation and limited administrative budgets (Crack, 2019). 
This chapter focuses on English-language publications, and I am not aware of any relevant literature in French, Spanish, or Portuguese. Furthermore, due of a lack of Arabic skills I am unaware of Arabic literature on the topic and there might be interesting case studies given the centrality of Arabic-speaking regions in humanitarian operations today. 
As a Catalan-born sociolinguist who is fluent in English, Catalan, Spanish, and French, my scholarly perspective on language and humanitarianism has been shaped by my fieldwork in a local migrant-support NGO, an international solidarity movement called Emmaus and more recently, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Note on contributor 
Maria Rosa Garrido is Associate Professor in English language and linguistics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain).
Her main research interests include the management of multilingualism and the construction of transnational identities in civil society organisations. 
She is author of the monograph Community, Solidarity and Multilingualism in a Social Movement: A Critical Sociolinguistic Ethnography of Emmaus (Routledge Critical Studies in Multilingualism, 2021).

Overviews are already available for the following chapters: 

Introduction: humanitarianism and inequality – a re-orientation

Humanitarianism and colonialism

Humanitarianism and the global Cold War, 1945–1991

Humanitarianism and the new wars: humanitarianism, security, and securitisation

Humanitarianism, development and peace: a southern perspective

Localisation and the humanitarian sector

Human rights and humanitarianism

Humanitarian organisations: behemoths and butterflies

Faith actors in humanitarianism: dynamics and inequalities

Diaspora assistance  

Political solidarity movements and humanitarianism: lessons from Catalonia, Spain (1975–2020)

Subversive humanitarianism

Citizen’s groups and grassroots humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and the military

Race, racialisation, and coloniality in the humanitarian aid sector

Humanitarian organisations as gendered organisations

Sexuality and humanitarianism: colonial ‘hauntings’

Class matters in humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and disability 

Media representations of humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and pandemics 

Humanitarian technologies