Dear Science Editor,
The discussion in Elisabeth Pain`s "Moving Out of the Shadows: Publishing From the Rest of the World" points to the typical publishing scenario in Brazil, where the mother tongue is Portuguese.
Indeed, Brazilian researchers can be an exemplar of those from most of
Latin America, when it comes to getting published in English in
international journals. The difficulties range from limited English
skills to lack of funding to afford language-editing services.
Brazilian scientists have contributed to approximately 1.6% of what is
published in ISI-indexed journals, and this small percentage
notwithstanding, it is the result of a steady growth in academic
productivity in the last decades. However, as in most South American
countries, attempts to understand research output is mostly focused on
traditional indicators of research performance, which does not include
If sound science and readable English are markers of a manuscript's
quality, why is the role of English in non-native English-speaking
(NNES) countries undermined? A number of editorials and full articles
have devoted attention to language constraints involved in publication
by NNES scientists, and this problem appears to affect novice and
experienced writers alike in South America. However, concerning Brazil,
lack of awareness of the extent to which it could affect their authors'
publication output reveals a blind spot in policy making.
According to Pain, "While researching the issues faced by scholars in
Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, and Portugal, Curry and colleagues found that
'scholars sometimes don't have high-level English proficiency but
publish in high journals.' Their success, Curry says, is 'because they
can draw [on] a network of people that help out.' " Such a network can
certainly be the difference between having a manuscript accepted or
rejected in high-impact journals. But in the case of South American
authors, the fraction of "off-network" scientists is considerable, and
being off network in this English-only research world is even more
disadvantageous. Reducing the language gap among scientists would thus
be well worth the effort.
It is thus about time South American scientists paid more attention to
English proficiency in their countries. It is true that compared to
other research priorities, this issue can be regarded as minor, but it
may be huge for NNES authors who produce sound science and take an
enormous time to gain visibility because manuscripts have to be
re-re-rewritten because of poor English. In Brazil, research in the
Science Education Program of the Medical Biochemistry Institute of the
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro has investigated the correlation
between the English proficiency of more than 35,000 Brazilian
scientists registered in the National Research Council (CNPq) and their
publication in international journals in English. The preliminary data
have pointed to higher output for those whose writing skills are better
developed.* Is this a trend that may turn out to be similar for other
South American countries?
Science Education Program
The Medical Biochemistry Institute
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
Supervisors: Profs Dra. Jacqueline Leta and Dra. Martha Sorenson
* Vasconcelos, S.M.R., Sorenson, M., Leta, Jacqueline.
"Scientist-Friendly Policies for Non-Native English Speaking Authors:
Timely and Welcome." Concepts and Comments. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 2007, in press.