Skip to main content
Log in

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

  • Synopsis
  • Published:
AMBIO Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  • Agudelo, J.H. 2010. Publicar en Ingles. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Pecuarias 24: 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amonn, U. 2001. The dominance of English as a language of science: Effects on other languages and language communities. New York: Mouton the Gruyter.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom, C.T., and T.C. Bergstrom. 2006. The economics of ecology journals. Frontiers in Ecology and Environments 4: 488–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clavero, M. 2010a. “Awkward wording. Rephrase”: Linguistic injustice in ecological journals. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25: 552–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clavero, M. 2010b. Unfortunately, linguistic injustice matters. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 26: 156–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gannon, F. 2008. Language barriers. European Molecular Biology Organization Reports 9: 207.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garfield, E. 1962–1973. Essays of an information scientist, vol. 1, 19–20. Philadelphia: ISI Press.

  • Guariguata, M.R., D. Sheil, and D. Murdiyarso. 2010. ‘Linguistic injustice’ is not black and white. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 26: 58–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halliday, E. 2009. Knowledge is power: In a world shaped by science, what obligation do scientists have to the public? Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics 9: 25–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Madeleine, B.L. 2007. Lost in translation. Nature 445: 454–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meneghini, R., and A.L. Packer. 2007. Is there science beyond English? Initiatives to increase the quality and visibility of non-English publications might help to break down language barriers in scientific communication. European Molecular Biology Organization Reports 8: 112–116.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, S. 2004. Of towers, walls, and fields: Perspectives on language in science. Science 303: 1333–1335.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rotblat, J. 1999. A hippocratic oath for scientists. Science 286: 1475.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tardy, C. 2004. The role of English in scientific communication: Lingua franca or Tyrannosaurus rex? Journal of English for Academic Purposes 3: 247–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winston, R. 2010. Bad ideas? An arresting history of our inventions, 432. London: Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

I thank all the native and non-native English speaking scientists, editors, and colleagues in general who shared with me personal experiences and perspectives on the topic of this article. I am particularly thankful to Jorge Crisci, Evan Schwindt, Peter Feinsinger, Mario Bunge, Rafael González del Solar, Claudio De Francesco, Sergio Salazar-Vallejo, Miguel Clavero, and Bo Söderström, whose wise criticism and invaluable suggestions and opinion helped me to organize my thoughts. I also thank SSIS for the motivating exchange of ideas and to CONICET (PIP 190) and ANPCyT-FONCyT (PICT Nº 2206) for supporting my work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alejandro Bortolus.

Additional information

This synopsis was not peer reviewed.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bortolus, A. Running Like Alice and Losing Good Ideas: On the Quasi-Compulsive Use of English by Non-native English Speaking Scientists. AMBIO 41, 769–772 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0339-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0339-5

Keywords

Navigation