Guidelines

On first submission, the manuscript does not require any specific formatting as long as it is clear and consistent. Once a submission is accepted for publication, authors must make sure the final version adheres strictly to the LiC stylesheet.

Please observe the following guidelines:

  1. To be of interest to the journal, contributions must have a clear contrastive focus (comparing two or more languages) and present new insights and/or results based on solid empirical research.
  2. Manuscripts to be considered for standard issues of the journal can be submitted at any time.
  3. Papers as well as reviews should be written in English.
  4. Write concisely and lucidly. Authors who are not proficient writers of English should consider having their article checked by a native speaker expert in the field.
  5. Non-English examples must be glossed or explained.
  6. The journal takes into consideration only original work that has not appeared (or been submitted) elsewhere. This is a strict requirement for publication, and authors are responsible for ensuring that this is the case when submitting their manuscript for review.
  7. Authors are responsible for observing copyright laws when quoting and reproducing material. The copyright of articles published in LiC is held by the publisher. Permission for the author to use the article elsewhere will be granted by the publisher provided full acknowledgement is given to the source.
  8. The recommended length for submissions is between approximately 7,000 and 9,000 words (including abstract, examples, references, appendices if any, etc.).
  9. An abstract of between 100 and 200 words and up to five keywords are required with each submission.
  10. In initial submissions any common and consistent system for bibliographical references can be used. It is essential that submissions are sufficiently clear and well-structured to be read comfortably by referees, and that any bibliographical references are easy to trace.
  11. Manuscripts should be submitted through the journal’s online submission and manuscript tracking site.
  12. The editors will decide whether a submission should be subject to full external peer review. Decisions about publication will be made by the editors following peer review. Authors are responsible for anonymizing their manuscript before submitting.
  13. The corresponding author will receive electronic page proofs in PDF format for final correction. Proofs must be returned with corrections by the dates indicated in the publication schedule, and authors should keep a copy for reference. Any alterations other than typographical corrections in the page proofs may be charged to the author.
  14. Authors of articles as well as reviews will receive a complimentary copy of the issue in which their contribution appears plus an offprint in PDF format.
  15. Guest Editors wishing to propose a special issue of the journal can contact the editors at kristel.vangoethem at uclouvain.be / gudrun.vanderbauwhede at umons.ac.be
  16. For further information please contact editorial assistant Manon Hermann at manon.hermann at uclouvain.be