The perceived value of English for academic publishing among ESP multilingual scholars in Europe

Abstract

This paper explores the perceived value of English as the main language for the transmission and exchange of scientific knowledge and, more particularly, as the main language for research writing among European scholars within the field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). From my position of editor-in-chief of the LSP journal Ibérica (ISSN: 1139-7241), I have surveyed 133 scholars from 18 European countries who have submitted their papers in English to the journal between 1999 and the first half of 2013 and gathered comments on two particular issues: the scholars’ perceived value of English for research publication purposes (ERPP) in comparison with research published in their national language, and actions in their countries to either encourage the use of English or, on the contrary, protect the national language against the spread of English. Main findings point at a set of global and supranational interrelated driving forces that portray an irreversible hegemony of English for scientific communication and research writing as well as at the passivity of educational authorities against the global trend that favours English in general and ERPP in particular.