Whose Language Is Nursing? Multilingualism, Ubuntu and the Politics of Voice in Nursing Education

In multilingual nursing education, English-medium practices often dominate teaching, assessment and documentation, positioning students' home languages as informal or inappropriate for legitimate academic participation. This qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and contextual study investigates how nurse educators conceptualise the role of students' home languages in teaching and assessment, and what these conceptualisations disclose about language ideologies, recognition and the politics of voice in professional formation. Across five focus groups with 44 nurse educators, participants framed home language as a pathway to epistemic access, enabling comprehension, conceptual clarity and participation when English constrained expression. They also described multilingual responsiveness as a practice of dignity and cultural recognition, in which respectful communication and non-humiliating feedback enact humanising pedagogy. At the same time, educators highlighted structural tensions in which English operates as a gatekeeping regime in assessment and professional communication, producing moments where students 'know' content yet struggle to demonstrate competence in sanctioned discourse. Communication was further expanded beyond linguistic proficiency to include cultural nuance, nonverbal meaning and relational conduct, linking language to clinical readiness and patient care. The article argues for structured multilingual pedagogies and language-aware assessment that maintain standards while widening voice, belonging and equitable participation.