Approach
Rethinking researcher-participant roles: Ethics of care and collaboration in the migration linguistics of precarious migrants

Nicanor Legarte Guinto, Brian D. Villaverde, Amiel Jansen Demetrial & Aurelio Teodoro Maguyon III
Southern Luzon State University
Abstract

Recent studies on language and migration have attempted to address the social injustices stemming from global disparities in wealth and opportunities. However, there’s a risk of researchers unintentionally reinforcing traditional power dynamics, positioning themselves in power while reducing participants to mere data sources. Focusing on migrants in precarious living conditions, whose migration is often a consequence of political and economic upheaval in the origin, this paper interrogates the role of researchers and the researched with respect to social justice perspectives. We argue that conducting research on, for, and with such vulnerable migrant populations requires a reflexive understanding of our own positions and decisions throughout our engagement with participants. We propose that this approach is most effectively executed if we treat participants as equal partners in knowledge generation and social action, guided by principles of care, empathy, and unconventional methodologies. Through this, we hope to advocate for migration linguistics that is truly fair, just, and empowering among migrants.

Keywords:
Publication history

Date received: 24 September 2023

Date accepted: 8 May 2024

Published online: 4 June 2024

Table of contents

Applied and sociolinguists among other researchers are predisposed to paying closer attention to language and communication-related issues and problems that confront people. Against the backdrop of a skewed global distribution of wealth and opportunities, its resulting injustices, and the roles played by language therein have become matters of pressing concern in the field (Aguilon, Guinto, & Aberion, 2022, pp. 229–230; Capstick, 2020; Coupland, 2016; Pennycook, 2021, pp. 6–17). Yet, despite the imperative of heightened sensitivity to the complexities of human existence and in the rush towards publishing first and publishing more, some researchers may run the risk of unproblematically reproducing on their own turf the very power imbalances that in hindsight they advocate to mitigate or eradicate elsewhere. In an intellectual climate where social justice (Grain, 2016; Mintz, 2022; Rawls, 2001) is considered ‘a way forward,’ particularly in applied linguistics (Charity Hudley & Flores, 2022; Ladegaard & Phipps, 2020), research on experiences of pain and damage (Tuck & Yang, 2014, p. 226) appears to have gained greater academic appeal. The vulnerable living and working conditions of migrants in precarity (more on this in Section 2) make such groups attractive sources of data, exposing them to the possibility of yet another regretful exploitation under the guise of academic investigation.

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