THE FOREIGN‐LANGUAGE PROBLEM FACING SCIENTISTS AND TECHNOLOGISTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM—REPORT OF A RECENT SURVEY

Abstract

The foreign‐language barrier facing British scientists is a function of a, the amount and value of foreign scientific literature produced; b, the linguistic ability of the people wishing to read it; and c, the availability and effectiveness of translation services. To obtain quantitative data on these points the NLL has recently conducted a survey amongst scientists and librarians in the United Kingdom and the present paper presents the more important results. The survey has shown that the language problem is of considerable magnitude and is common to the majority of scientists and technologists. The languages creating the most difficulty are Russian, German, and Japanese. It has also indicated that local translation facilities are not particularly effective and that, as far as national facilities are concerned, British scientists are largely unaware of existing services which might help them to overcome their difficulties. The results of the investigation suggest a number of lines of action which the appropriate authorities might follow. The most important would seem to be the publishing of an international index to translations and the creation within the United Kingdom of a centralized Japanese translation service.