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Posted on 2006/03/14
On and off over the years when i have met colleagues from other countries where English is not the first language (for example, Japan, Finland, Norway), we have discussed the frustrations of the dominance of English as the main language of publication (or apparently so). Because of this, those of us English speakers/readers only seem to access the literature in English and miss out on the range of excellent work being published in other languages which we cannot read. People for whom English is a second or other language do manage to access English language publications and even publish in English as well as their main language.
I guess for all sorts of reasons, it is important for us to be able to access the wider range of publications, notwithstanding the language differences. I am wondering what others ideas are about this problem (as I see it). Do you as a reader of this blog believe there is a problem? If your first language is not English, how do you feel about the dominance of English as the language of publication in many contexts? What ideas do you have about how those of us who are English speakers/writers to have access to publications and ideas in languages other than English?
I have floated the idea of a translation service for a fee)with various people including Sonal Srivastava from Common Ground Publishers, and she has suggested that this idea may be worthwhile posting in this blog. I guess one would also have to consider whether the fee would vary depending on if only a translation of the abstract is requested or the whole article. And is it that the translation would only be into English or could one offer translations from any language to any language (for example, Japanese to Finnish)? (no doubt this would not be as easy ...) There are also other considerations such as who would run such a service (assuming feasibility) and the matter of costs and fees. No doubt there are many other issues that are pertinent as well.
I suppose in the interests of being as inclusive as possible - especially in the sharing of ideas to build networks and better human relationships - I pose this to you, the reader, for your thoughts and responses.
heather
I guess for all sorts of reasons, it is important for us to be able to access the wider range of publications, notwithstanding the language differences. I am wondering what others ideas are about this problem (as I see it). Do you as a reader of this blog believe there is a problem? If your first language is not English, how do you feel about the dominance of English as the language of publication in many contexts? What ideas do you have about how those of us who are English speakers/writers to have access to publications and ideas in languages other than English?
I have floated the idea of a translation service for a fee)with various people including Sonal Srivastava from Common Ground Publishers, and she has suggested that this idea may be worthwhile posting in this blog. I guess one would also have to consider whether the fee would vary depending on if only a translation of the abstract is requested or the whole article. And is it that the translation would only be into English or could one offer translations from any language to any language (for example, Japanese to Finnish)? (no doubt this would not be as easy ...) There are also other considerations such as who would run such a service (assuming feasibility) and the matter of costs and fees. No doubt there are many other issues that are pertinent as well.
I suppose in the interests of being as inclusive as possible - especially in the sharing of ideas to build networks and better human relationships - I pose this to you, the reader, for your thoughts and responses.
heather
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