An editor of an english journal responded to me. I changed the reply into
an anonymous text:
>Dear Wolfgang
>Many thanks for your posting. I know that anglo journals don't always make
>it easy but I like to think that many are getting better. During my
>editorship at "XY-journal" I have tried to assist non-anglo
>speakers/writers to get published without incurring enormous additional
>expenses. Sometimes the publisher will pay for expert translation (if an
>academic editor presses); and as an editor I do a fair amount of
>'polishing' (often for those whose first language is English too). And I
>don't think "XY-journal" is an exception or even a
>front-runner. So, please keep submitting to 'anglo' journals!
>Good luck
>editor
Dear editor
your examples of supporting non-anglo authors show what single persons may
do at best. I wonder if it would be possible to introduce a reliable
procedure for foreign authors. The problem starts with the question if a
manuskript should be written in mother-language and translated, or in a
foreign tongue and corrected. The first way is expensive, the second one
will lead to a different text and different reviews (probalby not so
favorable ones). What do you think about the idea to introduce a different
review process for non-native authors: The reviewees evaluate if a text
should be supported by a professional translator. At least the authors who
are able to write fluently but not perfectly english could submit their
texts before they pai for corrections. After this decision the author knows
if she or he has a chance to get published and what has to be changed in
the text. The risk of investments in a text now comes closer to those of
native speakers (it is still much more work to write in another language).
At this step of the process, an international and mutual funding system for
corrections could further lower the barriers to another audience. A realy
global organization could coordinate such a fund (UNESCO might be a
candidate). Of course any journal could also use own resources for that,
but I think that this is a kind of national/international task, and the
states should take part in such efforts of cultural exchange. Some kind of
splitting costs, and some rules, which provide work to the translators in
non-anglo countries could refine the model. - So far my ad hoc
considerations.
Wolfgang Zierhofer
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Wolfgang Zierhofer Ph.D.
Department of Geography
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Winterthurerstrasse 190
CH-8057 Zurich
Switzerland
Tel: (+41) (0)1 / 635 52 12
Fax: (+41) (0)1 / 362 51 97
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
www: http://www.geo.umnw.ethz.ch/home/wolfgang/
Home: Imfeldstr. 4
CH-5430 Wettingen
Switzerland
Tel: (+41) (0)56 / 426 00 75
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