The role of English in scientific communication: lingua franca or Tyrannosaurus rex?

Running Like Alice and Losing Good Ideas: On the Quasi-Compulsive Use of English by Non-native English Speaking Scientists

“…To optimize our attempt to solve this problem, we must first stress the fact that this is not about stopping publishing in English, for there is a genuine need to do so (Tardy 2004). We need a working language to communicate and exchange ideas with colleagues worldwide, and English is the language we presently use.…”

“…Editing of non-NES scientists' texts takes considerably longer and is more time consuming than texts authored by trained NES scientists. The result is a relatively slower publication rate as well as low participation of non-NES scientists in scientific books and reviews edited by their NES peers, even within their fields of expertise and geographic area (Tardy 2004). As a result, non-NES researchers, young scientists, and students commonly buy and learn from books authored by NES scientists, in which the discussion of ideas proposed by local non-NES researchers is poor or non-existent.…”

“…As a result, non-NES researchers, young scientists, and students commonly buy and learn from books authored by NES scientists, in which the discussion of ideas proposed by local non-NES researchers is poor or non-existent. In this context, many young non-NES scientists see collaboration with NES researchers (e.g., participating in ongoing research and engaging in graduate programs) as the ultimate means of achieving academic excellence and/or increasing their publication success (Tardy 2004), disregarding, ignoring or avoiding direct contact with local specialized research teams and the schools of thought they create and promote. Additionally, young non-NES scientists with a poor command of English tend to avoid graduate programs that have an obvious preference for candidates with good English skills.…”

“…Consequently, most of our researchers do anything in their power to publish their papers in journals in the first and second thirds of the list, indirectly withdrawing their support from local editorials and journals (including manuscript submissions and valuable editorial assistance). Hence, the aim of publishing papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals eventually leads non-NES scientists to almost exclusively produce papers in English, leading to a self-perpetuating cycle in which English becomes an increasingly important and ineludible tool to communicate scientific findings (Tardy 2004). In this article, I propose that the ultimate problem in this scenario is that the obligation to write exclusively in English is progressively deteriorating non-NES schools of thought, the quality of interactions between scientists and people and between advisors and advisees, and the integrity of local natural resources and biodiversity.…”

Attitudes toward Writing English in Facebook: The Case of Prestige for Iranian Users

“…It seems that the effect of English media on the world and the popularity of English movies and TV series are key factors leading to this phenomenon. Also, with English as the language of science (see, e.g., Tardy, 2004), it is not surprising that sharing scientific findings in English may be preferable to Iranian FB usersespeciallyfor those with higher academic degrees. Later interviews revealed that the inclination to share scientific topics in English is quite normal for university studentsbecause, as one of the interviewees put forward, "it is somehow a standard for university students to study scientific articles mostly in English".…”