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Latin was a dead language at the time while English is the most commonly spoken language on earth. > it's just spoken by a cosmopolitan elite, most of the peop
by comte7092 3y ago
Latin was a dead language at the time while English is the most commonly spoken language on earth.
> it's just spoken by a cosmopolitan elite, most of the people don't speak it or they don't speak it well.
The same statement could be made about science. It’s a subject that’s mostly practiced by the cosmopolitan elite. In fact, even more so: you can’t be on the leading edge of science without being engaged in the global discourse around it.
Additionally, it’s actually quite common outside of English speaking countries for people to be multilingual. Using a common language for science really isn’t a big deal.
- OfSanguineFire 3y agoIt is actually quite common for people outside of English-speaking countries to complain about having to write in English in order to publish, it is indeed seen as a big deal. When an academic does not have flawless English, he/she is often forced to pay a considerable sum of money for language revision of their papers. Peer reviewers often say in their reports “This paper can be accepted provided that the following modifications are made: … the language is revised by a native English speaker.”
- comte7092 3y agoWell then what is the alternative? I agree that is an unfair burden, but the goal of publishing is to have your paper read. Ultimately that’s going to mean translating it at some point into English or some other lingua franca, or have it translated into numerous other languages. The complaint here isn’t about publishing in English, it’s about the burden of translation being on the author rather than the reader.