ABSTRACT
As “global” English overtakes local languages in academia and public life, language professionals working in and into English can act as cultural mediators. However, they may also become cultural imperialists, unintentionally supporting the rise of English above other languages. In texts by multilingual authors, first language interference is inevitable. Editors who know the author’s first language may understand what they mean, but sometimes when the author’s words are taken outside their cultural zone, they can sound strange, make no sense or, at worst, be embarrassing.
This chapter explores this tension between the gatekeepers of English in academic publishing and “non-native,” or multilingual, authors. As language editors of academic texts written in English by multilingual authors, the authors sent their colleagues a survey about their perceptions of and decisions related to style. The authors’ key question was: How can editors present multilingual authors in the best light without losing their individual voice or intended tone?
How much “foreignness” is acceptable? Editors should be able to retain the author’s voice and style in English when they make changes. But what kind of English is this, and who is it for? Is it “good” or “bad” English? In short, the authors’ aim was to find out whose style matters to editors of multilingual authors. Most editors surveyed seemed to see their role as helping the author make their text publishable in that author’s own style.
