Akademisyenlerin Dil Desteği Almakla ve Bunu Çalışmalarda Belirtmekle İlgili Görüşleri

Abstract

The 21st century has witnessed the global spread of English as a lingua franca (ELF) across numerous areas, including science and academia, as a consequence of the interplay of various not-so-innocent historical circumstances and the inevitable effects of globalization. The overwhelming dominance of English as an academic lingua franca (EALF) has put academics all over the world under growing pressure to publish in English for various legitimate reasons such as increasing their international visibility, receiving grants and other awards, and satisfying academic appointment and promotion criteria. Consequently, non-native English speaking (NNES) academics have increasingly resorted to professional and/or non-professional language assistance such as translation, proofreading, and editing to get their English-language publications accepted by publishers. This study explored native Turkish-speaking academics’ views and experiences of receiving English language assistance to publish studies and acknowledging the assistance received in published studies. To this end, an online survey was first administered to a non-random sample of academics from various disciplines, and then online interviews were held with a self-selected group of survey respondents. The survey results showed that most academics first write their studies in Turkish and then have someone else translate them into English, and they receive language assistance from various service providers but mostly from freelance translators. While the assistance received is rarely acknowledged in published studies, the most selected reason for this is that journal editors/publishers do not require to do so. However, the analysis of the interview data showed that academics’ concern over possible negative associations about their (in)competence in English is the most prominent reason behind the non-acknowledgement of the assistance received. In conclusion, the present academic publishing industry dominated by EALF seems to be a major site that has created a burgeoning market for language services, while the work of language workers is taken for granted and almost always remains unacknowledged and, by extension, invisible.