In this paper, we discuss the criteria of dominance and non-dominance among varieties of pluricentric languages (Clyne, 1992; Muhr, 2012), in the context of an action-oriented research. It is a project about linguistic and social inclusion in Portuguese higher education institutions of African international students fluent in non-European varieties of Portuguese (Trovoada de Ideias, 2016-2020). For this purpose, we apply those criteria to three non-European varieties of the Portuguese language, from Brazil, Guinea-Bissau and Angola, and further contextualize the observed differences within legacies of racism in the dominance and non-dominance of pluricentric languages such as Portuguese. Finally, we emphasize the need for theoretical and methodological tools for our field research, hoping this discussion contributes to further improving the tools for research on pluricentric languages.

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