A technology‐based, financially sustainable, quality improvement intervention in a medical journal for bilingualism from submission to publication

Abstract

Key points While English is the dominant language in scientific literature, there are many reasons for introducing bilingualism in academic journals. Bilingualism has generally been avoided due to the perception of high costs and possible inconsistencies between the source language article and the translated version. A medical journal based in Santiago, Chile, carried out a two‐year‐long quality improvement intervention to overhaul the peer review, copyediting, translating and publication technologies to ensure full bilingualism from submission to online publication. The outcomes are full bilingualism for articles submitted in Spanish and simultaneous publication of both language versions while not compromising the financial sustainability of the journal.

Alternatives to English only in scholarly publishing: Emerging trends of language policies among non‐Anglophone journals?

“…The rise of AI technology will facilitate the translation of articles in natural and medical sciences from local languages into English because most subject‐specific terms are imported into non‐Anglophone countries from Anglophone countries, the centre of knowledge production, and require much less human intervention. The successful application of the bilingual publishing policy to Medwave has shown that AI‐based and human‐revised translation of medical articles from Spanish into English within a limited budget is feasible (Bachelet & Rousseau‐Portalis, 2023). The translation of academic articles in social science and arts journals from local languages into English, by contrast, may require more human interventions from translators because some expressions may have no equivalents in English due to their close connection with non‐Anglophone culture, ideology, history and society.…”

“…To date, specific research on the adoption of these two language policies by non-Anglophone journals has been rare. One exception is the contribution of Bachelet and Rousseau-Portalis (2023), who reported how they as the editors of Medwave, a…”

“…To date, specific research on the adoption of these two language policies by non‐Anglophone journals has been rare. One exception is the contribution of Bachelet and Rousseau‐Portalis (2023), who reported how they as the editors of Medwave , a Chile‐based medical journal, have attempted to improve the journal's international visibility and impact, and promote medical knowledge produced in Latin America to the international community by applying a bilingual publishing policy. In this case study, the two editors showcase their 12 years of experience in developing a bilingual workflow from submission to production and ensuring translation quality with a limited budget through AI‐based and human‐revised translation.…”