Cover not available
Article published In:
Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes
Vol. 2:1 (2021) ► pp.5–29
ARTICLES

Scholarly publication of Brazilian researchers across disciplinary communities

| University of British Columbia
| Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
| Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

This paper examines the context of scholarly knowledge production and dissemination in Brazil by comparing the publishing practices in both Portuguese and in English of Brazilian scholars who hold a research grant, across eight fields of knowledge. Data consists of 1,874 Curricula Vitae and the analysis focused on the language, number, and genres of publications over a three-year period (2014 to 2016). The study revealed a clear contrast regarding the more frequent use of English by researchers in the ‘harder’ sciences and the preference for Portuguese by those in the ‘softer’ sciences. The results also suggested an interconnection in which scholars who published the most tended to adopt English. Multiple factors involved in the genre and language choices made by academics were analysed, such as characteristics of the work produced by each disciplinary community, the audience of the research, the type of language used, and the need to obtain research funding. This investigation can potentially inform policies and investments in Brazilian higher education and research to provide continued support specific to the needs of different disciplinary communities, as well as foster the inclusion of multilingual scholars who do not have English as their first language in the global arena of knowledge production and dissemination.

Keywords: scholarly publication, multilingual scholars, knowledge production, knowledge dissemination, disciplinary communities
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The use of English for publication purposes in different disciplinary communities
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Analysis
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 2 August 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jerpp.20012.bau
References
Adams, J., & Gurney, K.
(2014) Evidence for excellence: Has the signal overtaken the substance? Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Ammon, U.
(1998) Ist Deutsch noch internationale Wissenschaftssprache? Englisch auch für die Hochschullehre in den deutschsprachigen Ländern. De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2006) Language planning for international scientific communication: An overview of questions and political solutions. Current Issues in Language Planning, 7(1), 1–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010) The hegemony of English. In World Social Science Report. Knowledge divides (pp. 154–156). UNESCO Publishing. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Bennett, K.
(2014) Introduction: The political and economic infrastructure of academic practice: The ‘semiperiphery’ as a category for social and linguistic analysis. In K. Bennet (Ed.), The semiperiphery of academic writing (pp. 1–12). Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
BCCM4. 4th Brazilian Conference on Composite Materials
(2020, May 10). Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Benfield, J. R., & Feak, C. B.
(2006) How authors can cope with the burden of English as an international language. CHEST Journal, 1291, 1728–1730. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bordons, M., & Gomez, I.
(2004) Towards a single language in science? A Spanish view. Serials, 17(2), 189–195. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bourdieu, P.
(1982) Ce que parler veut dire. Fayard.Google Scholar
(1984) Capital et marché linguistiques. Linguistische Berichte, 901, 3–24.Google Scholar
(1986) The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1988) Homo academicus. University Press.Google Scholar
(1991) Language and symbolic power. Polity Press.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P., de Swaan, A., Hagège, C., Fumaroli, M., & Wallerstein, I.
(2001) Quelles langues pour une Europe démocratique? Raison politiques, 21, 41–64. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
(2020, May 10). Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Burgess, S., Gea-Valor, M., Moreno, A. L., & Rey-Rocha, J.
(2014) Affordances and constraints on research publication. A comparative study of the language choices of Spanish historians and psychologists. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 141, 72–83. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Canagarajah, A. S.
(1999) Resisting linguistic imperialism in English teaching. Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2002) A geopolitics of academic writing. University of Pittsburgh Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cargill, M., & Burgess, S.
(2008) Introduction to the special issue: English for research and publication purposes. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(2), 75–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carli, A., & Calaresu, E.
(2003) Le lingue della comunicazione scientifica. La producione e la diffusione del sapere specialistico in Italia. In A. Valentini, P. Molinelli, P. Cuzzolin & G. Bernini (Eds.), Ecologia linguistica (pp. 27–74). Bulzoni.Google Scholar
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)
(2017) Chamada CNPq Nº 12/2017 – Bolsas de Produtividade em Pesquisa – PQ. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Corcoran, J. N.
(2015) English as the international language of science: A case study of Mexican scientists’ writing for publication (Unpublished PhD dissertation). University of Toronto. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
(2019) Addressing the “Bias Gap”: A research-driven argument for critical support of plurilingual scientists’ research writing. Written Communication, 36(4), 538–577. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Corcoran, J. N., & Englander, K.
(2016) A proposal for critical-pragmatic pedagogical approaches to English for research publication purposes. Publications, 4(6), 1–10. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Corcoran, J. N., Englander, K., & Muresan, L.
(2019a) Pedagogies and policies for publishing research in English: Local initiatives supporting international scholars. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019b) Diverse global perspectives on scholarly writing for publication. In J. Corcoran, K. Englander, & L. Muresan (Eds.), Pedagogies and policies on publishing research in English: Local initiatives supporting international scholars (pp. 1–16). Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Curry, M. J., & Lillis, T. M.
(2004) Multilingual scholars and the imperative to publish in English: Negotiating interests, demands, and rewards. TESOL Quarterly, 381, 663–688. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010) Academic research networks: Accessing resources for English-medium publishing. English for Specific Purposes, 291, 281–295. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Swaan, A.
(2001) English in the social sciences. In U. Ammon (Ed.), The dominance of English as a language of science (pp. 71–83). Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Englander, K.
(2014) Writing and publishing science research papers in English: A global perspective. Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, G., Perez-Llantada, C., & Plo, R.
(2011) English as an international language of scientific publication: A study of attitudes. World Englishes, 30(1), 41–59. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Flowerdew, J.
(1999) Writing for scholarly publication in English: The case of Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8(2), 123–145. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2001) Attitudes of journal editors to non-native speaker contributions. TESOL Quarterly, 35(1), 121–150. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2007) The non-Anglophone scholar on the periphery of scholarly publication. AILA Review, 201, 14–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008) Scholarly writers who use English as an additional language: What can Goffman’s ‘‘stigma’’ tell us? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 71, 77–86. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013) English for research publication purposes. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 301–322). Wiley-Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garfield, E.
(June 10 1996) What is the primordial reference for the phrase ‘publish or perish’? The Scientist, 10(12). Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Gibbs, W. W.
(1995) Lost science in the third world. Scientific American, 273(2), 76–83. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hamel, R. E.
(2007) The dominance of English in the international scientific periodical literature. AILA Review, 201, 53–71. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hanauer, D. I., & Englander, K.
(2011) Scientific writing in a second language. Parlor Press.Google Scholar
Hardwood, N., & Hadley, G.
(2004) Demystifying institutional practices: Critical pragmatism and the teaching of academic writing. English for Specific Purposes 231, 355–377. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Helmenstine, A. M.
(2018, June 22). What is the difference between hard science and soft science? Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Herculano, R. D., & Norberto, A. M. Q.
(2012) Análise da produtividade científica dos docentes da Universidade Estadual Paulista, campus Marília/SP. Perspectivas em Ciência da Informação, 17(2), 57–70. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hirano, E.; Monteiro, K.
(2020) A periphery inside a semi-periphery: The uneven participation of Brazilian scholars in the international community. English for Specific Purposes, 581, 15-29. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
HIV/HEP in the Americas
(2020 May 10). Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Hyland, K.
(2015) Academic publishing: Issues and challenges in the construction of knowledge. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Journal of Applied Oral Science
(2020, May 10). Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Kirkpatrick, A.
(2010) The Routledge handbook of world Englishes. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuteeva, M., & Airey, J.
(2014) Disciplinary differences in the use of English in higher education: Reflections on recent language policy developments. Higher Education, 671, 533–549. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuteeva, M., & Mauranen, A.
(2014) Writing for publication in multilingual contexts: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 131, 1–4. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lillis, T. M., & Curry, M. J.
(2006a) Professional academic writing by multilingual scholars: Interactions with literacy brokers in the production of English-medium texts. Written Communication, 23(1), 3–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2006b) Reframing notions of competence in scholarly writing: From individual to networked activity. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 531, 63–78.Google Scholar
(2010a) Academic writing in a global context: The politics and practices of publishing in English. Routledge. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Lillis, T. M., & Curry, M. J.
(2010b) Academic research networks: Accessing resources for English-medium publishing. English for Specific Purposes, 291, 281–295. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lillis, T. M., & Curry, M. J.
(2016) Academic writing for publication in a multilingual world. In R. M. Manchón & P. K. Matsuda (Eds.), Handbook of second and foreign language writing (pp. 201–222). De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Linn, A.
(2016) Historical context. In A. Linn. (Ed.), Investigating English in Europe: Contexts and agendas (pp. 3–18). De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
López-Navarro, I., Moreno, A. I., Quintanilla, M. Á., & Rey-Rocha, J.
(2015) Why do I publish research articles in English instead of my own language? Differences in Spanish researchers’ motivations across scientific domains. Scientometrics, 103(3), 939–976. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lysandrou, P., & Lysandrou, Y.
(2003) Global English and proregression: Understanding English language spread in the contemporary era. Economy and Society, 32(2), 207–233. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mabe, M., & Mulligan, A.
(2011) What journal authors want: Ten years of results from Elsevier’s author feedback programme. New Review of Information Networking, 161, 71–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mare, M., & Wabe, M.
(2015) The STM Report: An overview of scientific and scholarly journal publishing. Netherlands: International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical PublishersGoogle Scholar
Martinez, R., & Graf, K.
(2016) Thesis supervisors as literacy brokers in Brazil. Publications, 4(3), 26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McGrath, L.
(2014) Self-mentions in anthropology and history research articles: Variation between and within disciplines. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 211, 86–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meneghini, R., & Packer, A. L.
(2007) Is there science beyond English? EMBO reports, 8(2), 112–116. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Motta-Roth, D., Pretto, A., Scherer, A., Schmidt, A. P., & Selbach, H.
(2016) Letramento acadêmicos em comunidades de prática: Culturas disciplinares. Letras, 26(52), 111–134. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nygaard, L. P., & Bellanova, R.
(2018) Lost in quantification: Scholars and the politics of bibliometrics. In M. J. Curry & T. M. Lillis (Eds.), Global academic publishing: Policies, perspectives and pedagogies (pp. 23–36). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Packer, A. L.
(May 10 2016) The adoption of English among SciELO Brazil journals has been increasing. SciELO in Perspective. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
(2019) The SciELO publication model as an open access public policy. SciELO in Perspective. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Packer, A. L., Cop, N., Luccisano, A., Ramalho, A., & Spinak, E.
(2014) SciELO – 15 years of open access: An analytic study of open access and scholarly communication. UNESCO. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pennycook, A.
(1994) The cultural politics of English as an international language. Longman. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2003) Beyond homogeny and heterogeny: English as a global and worldly language. In C. Mair (Ed.), The politics of English as a world language: New horizons in postcolonial cultural studies (pp. 3–17). Rodopi. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Perez-Llantada, C., Plo, R., & Ferguson, G. R.
(2011) ‘‘You don’t say what you know, only what you can’’: The perceptions and practices of senior Spanish academics regarding research dissemination in English. English for Specific Purposes, 30(1), 18–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Petersen, M., & Shaw, P.
(2002) Language and disciplinary differences in a biliterate context. World Englishes, 21(3), 357–374. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Phillipson, R.
(1992) Linguistic imperialism. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
(1997) Realities and myths of linguistic imperialism. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 18(3), 238–248. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2003) English-only Europe? Challenging language policy. Routledge.Google Scholar
(2008) Lingua franca or lingua frankensteinia? English in European integration and globalisation. World Englishes, 27(2), 250–267. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013) Linguistic imperialism continued. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015) The business of English, global panacea or pandemic? Myths and realities of ‘Global’ English. Presented at 9th GEM&L International Workshop on Management & Language, Helsinki. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Pigliucci, M.
(January 29 2009) Strong inference and the distinction between soft and hard science (Part II). Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Salager-Meyer, F.
(2014) Writing and publishing in peripheral scholarly journals: How to enhance the global influence of multilingual scholars. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 131, 78–82. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sarmento, S., Abreu-e-Lima, D. M., & Moraes, W. B.
(2016) Do Inglês sem fronteiras ao idiomas sem fronteiras. A construção de uma política linguística para a internacionalização. Editora UFMG.Google Scholar
Scimago Lab
(2020a, May 5). Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. Retrieved from on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Scimago Lab
(2020b) Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi: Ciencias Humanas. Retrieved from on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Scimago Journal & Country Rank
(2020) Scimago Journal & Country Rank. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Skudlik, S.
(1991) The status of German as a language of science and the importance of the English language for German-speaking scientists. In U. Ammon & M. Hellinger (Eds.), Status changes of languages (pp. 391–407). De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Skutnabb-Kangas, T.
(1988) Multilingualism and the education of minority children. In T. Skutnabb-Kangas & J. Cummins (Eds.). Minority education: From shame to struggle (pp.9-44). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Solovova, O., Santos, J. V., & Verissimo, J.
(2018) Publish in English or perish in Portuguese: Struggles and constraints on the semiperiphery. Publications, 6(25), 1–14. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Storer, N. W.
(1967) The hard sciences and the soft: Some sociological observations. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 55(1), 75–84.Google Scholar
Swales, J. M.
(1990) Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Swales, J.
(2004) Research genres: Explorations and applications. Klett. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tsunoda, M.
(1983) Les langues internationales dans les publications scientifiques et techniques. Sophia Linguistica, 144-155.Google Scholar
Waltham, M.
(2010) Humanities and social science journals: A pilot study of eight US associations. Learned Publishing, 23(2), 136–143. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ware, M., & Mabe, M.
(2015) The STM report: An overview of scientific and scholarly journal publishing. International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers. Retrieved on 3 June 2021 from [URL]
Wilson, L.
(1942) The Academic man: A study in the sociology of a profession. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wood, A.
(2001) International scientific English: The languages of research scientists around the world. In J. Flowerdew & M. Peacock. (Eds.), Research perspectives on English for academic purposes (pp. 71–83). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Corcoran, James N.
2022. Reflections on the perceived longer-term impact of an ERPP course. Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes 3:2 ► pp. 169 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.