ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ontologies triggered by two distinct terms circulating in southern European Portuguese academic and scientific discourses on linguistic diversity: that of Portuguese as a pluricentric language and that of polycentricity in multilingual spaces with Portuguese. Pluricentricity vs polycentricity reproduce the conceptual tension in the language sciences between language as decontextualized system and as contextualized practice, with differentiated impact on how knowledge about Portuguese-based linguistic diversity is being produced, distributed in academic institutions, and is serving policy interests across the Global South and the Global North. I explore the extent to which both ontologies have transformative potential but are prone to epistemic limitations, from material and decolonial perspectives. By revisiting studies in Portuguese-based migrant contexts, I identify some blind spots that deter researchers from tackling the complexity of migrant multilingual diversity. Stating the need to make explicit these epistemic traps, the paper calls for standing suspicion of any given language ontologies and suggests ways of thinking of alternatives that explore with migrant speakers their own complex spaces of multilingualism.
