Multilingualism and Linguistic diversity in the City of Keys

We are looking for participants for a new initiative: “Many voices of Leiden: Multilingualism and linguistic diversity in the City of Keys.”

This initiative is carried out by a small research group affiliated with the Humanities faculty at Leiden University. In this project, we collect filmed language biographies: interviews with Leiden residents with a migration background, focusing on the role that language - or languages - plays in their lives. These short films will be presented in a mini-exhibition highlighting Leiden as a multilingual city.

The academic aim of the project is to gain a deeper understanding of how important it is for people to maintain their language(s), and what speaking a language other than Dutch means for their well-being and sense of identity as residents of Leiden. The project also has a broader social aim: to help people better understand what multilingualism and linguistic diversity are, and what it is like to live in a country where you are not a native speaker of the dominant language.

If you are interested in sharing your experiences living in Leiden as a non-native speaker of Dutch or have any further questions regarding this initiative, please contact us by sending an email to: j.kesseler@umail.leidenuniv.nl.