A Language Apart: The Challenges of Israelis Scholars with non-Native English in Academic Publishing and How We Can Help

English is the undisputed international language of scholarship. Scholars the world over must write in English to advance their academic careers and gain recognition for their research by publishing in top journals. However, for ​Israeli academics, this situation presents a number of challenges. Many ​Israeli scholars feel they are at a considerable disadvantage when compared with native-English-speaking scholars. For them, writing a high-level academic paper in a foreign language adds an extra layer of complexity to an already high-stakes and high-pressure endeavor. This is true even for those who have a strong command of colloquial English but do not necessarily have sufficient proficiency in academic terminology and style to pass the bar of acceptance for publication. In this lecture, I would like to present initial findings from a survey we sent to Israeli academics to better ​understand their language challenges and to ​suggestions solutions that will enable​ them​ to feel confident that, despite their more limited English abilities, their research stands an equal chance of success in a competitive academic ​landscape. ​I will also present recommendations for how ​professional academic translators and ​editors can collaborate with ​publishers, journal editors, and universities in order to reduce the obstacles preventing ​scholars from sharing their scholarship​ worldwide​.

Avi Staiman