Written by Mame Andoh (She/Her/Hers), Equity Ambassador Lead
At UBC Okanagan, plurilingualism isn’t just a concept; it’s a lived reality for many students, staff, and faculty whose unique language repertoires shape the way they learn, teach, and express themselves.
A group of dedicated staff at UBC Okanagan Library have come together to highlight the value of plurilingual voices on campus and create space for more inclusive academic communication practices.
Jess Lowry (she/her), Academic Communication Consultant at the Centre for Scholarly Communication; Jo Scofield (they/them), Student Learning Hub Coordinator; and Rina Garcia Chua (she/her/siya), Academic Integrity Program Manager were first inspired to work together after attending a recent speaker series that featured Dr. Vershawn Ashanti Young (Dr. Vay) as a keynote speaker. They wanted to continue having conversations about linguistic justice on campus and plurilingual approaches to writing to help raise awareness about the limitations of standard English.
Across their respective units, these staff members work to enhance resources and supports for students, researchers, and faculty who want to embrace plurilingualism in their own work and communities. Both the Student Learning Hub and Centre for Scholarly Communication support clients who want to use their own authentic voice in their writing.
To help increase awareness of plurilingualism on campus, they worked together to develop a campaign called True To You: not ur standard english ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, that included a giveaway, educational information, and promoted the existing supports at UBC Okanagan.
Support for Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate students can book an appointment with Writing and Language Consultants in the Student Learning Hub. With the understanding that Plurilingualism helps further students’ knowledge and confidence in their own linguistic identities, the Student Learning Hub developed a philosophy on Linguistic Justice, Language Awareness, and Plurilingualism. They also provide a document to support students who want to learn more about plurilingualism and code-meshing.
Support for Graduate students, researchers, and faculty
Graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty members can get support from Writing and Academic Communication Consultants at the Centre for Scholarly Communication. The Centre for Scholarly Communication also published a Teaching Philosophy that recognizes the inherent value of linguistic and cultural diversity in communication.
Graduate students, staff, faculty support
Linguistic Equity Project
A group of researchers at UBC Okanagan is reimagining classroom practices as culturally sustaining and moving beyond traditional notions of academic English writing towards a more inclusive, asset-based, and globally representative learning environment.
Project Spotlight: Linguistic Equity
Keep Learning
All UBC Okanagan community members are encouraged to learn more about plurilingualism and explore the importance of using one’s own authentic expressions and voice in their writing. See the resources below for more information.
Texts that exemplify plurilingualism and/or code-meshing
- Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
- Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
- If We Were Villains by ML Rio
- Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
- Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
- Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
- The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
- Erasure by Percival Everret
- A is for Acholi by Otoniya J. Okot Bitek
- Nedi Nezu (Good Medicine) by Tenille Campbell
- Invasive Species by Marwa Helal
- Poems from the Edge of Extinction: An Anthology of Poetry in Endangered Languages By Chris McCabe
Reading list for those who want to learn more about code-meshing and plurilingualism
- Young, V. A. (2014, February 2). Connections. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/video/connections-dr-vershawn-young/
- Dr. Vay Conversation about his book This Ain’t Yesterday’s Literacy and initiating change in language education: https://youtu.be/hs6LqeZx28U?si=1-qWiMLtB2e2cnWp
- Fountainhead Press. (2021, March 23). March 23 – Linguistic Justice and Emerging Classroom Pedagogies. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs6LqeZx28UYoung, Vershawn Ashanti. (n.d). Should Writer’s Use They Own English? https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/ijcs/article/29866/galley/138209/view/
- Wright-Taylor, C., & Clarke, E. (2024, Summer). Creating a translingual writing bank for Laurier students and faculty. cwcaaccr.com. https://cwcaaccr.com/2024/08/14/creating-a-translingual-writing-bank-for-laurier-students-and-faculty/
- Piccardo, E., Chen, L., & Taylor & Francis eBooks EBA. (2025). Autoethnographies of plurilingualism: Voices of the selves. Routledge.
- Should Writers Use They Own English? by Dr. Vay (Vershawn Ashanti Young)
- “Students’ Right to Their Own Language”: A Retrospective by Geneva Smitherman
- Your average nigga: Performing race, literacy, and masculinity by Dr. Vay (Vershawn Ashanti Young)
- Coloring Memories and Imaginations of “Home”: Crafting a De/Colonizing Autoethnography by Kakali Bhattacharya
- Your average nigga: Performing race, literacy, and masculinity by Dr. Vay (Vershawn Ashanti Young)
- Coloring Memories and Imaginations of “Home”: Crafting a De/Colonizing Autoethnography by Kakali Bhattacharya
Standard American English definition and expansive discussion:
- Chun, C., O’Neil, K., Young, K., & Christoph, J. N. (n.d.). Sound writing. SW Standard American English. https://soundwriting.pugetsound.edu/universal/SAE.html#:~:text=Standard%20American%20English%20(%20SAE%20)%20(,our%20society%20as%20a%20whole
- Inoue, A. B. (2021, July 3). Blogbook — the habits of white language (howl). Blogbook — The Habits of White Language (HOWL). https://asaobinoue.blogspot.com/2021/07/blogbook-habits-of-white-language-howl.html
- Smitherman, G. (1995). “Students’ Right to Their Own Language”: A Retrospective. The English Journal, 84(1), 21–27. https://doi.org/10.2307/820470
- Corrigan, P. T. (2019, July 30). White teachers are a problem: A conversation with Asao Inoue. Teaching & Learning in Higher Ed. https://teachingandlearninginhighered.org/2019/07/30/white-teachers-are-a-problem-a-conversation-with-asao-inoue/
- National Council of Teachers of English. (2019, April 4). Asao B. Inoue, #4C19 Chair’s Address. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brPGTewcDYY
- Hotson, B., & Bell, S. (2021, December 9). Creating writing centres in neocolonialism. cwcaaccr.com. https://cwcaaccr.com/2021/12/09/writing-centres-neocolonialism/
- Shapiro, S. (2025). Unpacking the “C” in CLA: Enacting our commitment to linguistic access, asset, and agency. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices, https://doi.org/10.3138/jmtp-2-Shapiro
Plurilingual Lab at McGill University
- Galante, A., Chiras, M., dela Cruz, J. W. N., & Zeaiter, L. F. (2022). Plurilingual guide: Implementing critical plurilingual pedagogy in language education. Plurilingual Lab Publishing. https://www.mcgill.ca/plurilinguallab/files/plurilinguallab/plurilingual_guide_2.pdf
- Videos on Plurilingualism: http://www.youtube.com/@PlurilingualLab