Challenges of Multilingual Research: A Discourse in the Context of Nagaland, India

Nagaland, a small Northeastern state in India, may be considered to be one of the world’s most linguistically diverse regions. This is so because it is home to 17 officially recognized tribes, along with many unrecognized sub‐tribes, most of whom speak two to three sub‐dialects that are often not mutually intelligible. For example, the Chakhesang tribe has three distinct dialects, namely, Chokri, Khezha, and Sapu, each unique in phonology and lexicon, that members of this tribe find it difficult to communicate with each other. This diversity creates challenges for both education and research. In a similar vein, multilingual research in Nagaland recurrently encounters difficulties and challenges that go beyond the conventional global frameworks. Although multilingual research has made advancements, contexts like Nagaland, which are characterized by multilayered linguistic complexity, remain to be addressed. This study presents the argument that standard research methods, which usually assume more uniform linguistic contexts, are not sufficient for Nagaland. It also raises the need for context‐sensitive approaches to multilingual research that can account for such complexity. The study explores the challenges of conducting multilingual research in Nagaland, while also evaluating the limitations of existing research methods, and attempts to advocate for a new framework that can better suit its multilingual realities. The findings of the study contribute to the broader discourse on multilingual research methods by emphasizing the importance of culture and linguistic sensitivity in diverse contexts.