English-Only Science in a Multilingual World: Costs, Benefits, and Options

Many, perhaps most, scientists are grateful that English has become the international language, but an informative protest comes from Prof. Tsuda Yukio of Japan, who has taught in the U.S.

"Today one speaks of globalization. It's really Americanization....the dollar economy and communication in English. Isn't it appropriate to think about egalitarian communication and linguistic equality? .... When I told Americans that the reign of English causes linguistic discrimination they argued adamantly that the world chose English, so what's the problem?

My rebuttal: 'We lack the freedom NOT to choose English.' I said the great power of world English precludes the use of other languages. But for Americans English is de facto the world language. They wouldn't acknowledge that a problem exists. I said that English contributes to the Americanization of the world. The American reaction: 'One needs English to survive. English is the key to success and prosperity.' I answered: 'Every language and culture is indispensable and deserves protection.' They argued: 'Language and culture are constantly changing. Besides, even if a language disappears, the culture remains.' I answered: 'Language is inseparable from culture and identity.' The debate went on and on. My perspective apparently shocked the Americans. That they argued so vehemently is significant. How so? Their opposition shows how important the supremacy of English is, thanks to which they maintain their advantaged position in the world.

My stand questions precisely that. It's quite understandable that English speakers reject criticism that threatens their position and profit. Many of them lack a moral sense of egalitarian communication. They regard the rule of English as a natural phenomenon."

"Lost in Translation" (Nature Vol 445:25, Jan 2007) reports on the burden of English as a second language for scientists. Besides translating texts, they must learn enough English to understand and deliver oral presentations, and to converse with colleagues of diverse backgrounds and accents. The time and effort detracts substantially from scientific work. Presenters feel humiliated by language mistakes, and struggle to understand what they hear and read in English. Ulrich Ammon points out that the work of those less fluent is more likely to be ignored, hence colleagues and employers value scientists who are fluent in English. Some Finns worry that their own language may fail to develop new scientific words and concepts, thus barring lay people from science discourse and causing social inequality based on English proficiency.

Four examples of bilingual policy and achievement

1) The European Union includes 27 countries and has 23 official languages. The Commission of the European Communities supports the principle of unity in diversity: "The ability to understand and communicate in more than one language--already a daily reality for the majority of people across the globe--is a desirable life-skill for all European citizens. It encourages us to become more open to other people's cultures and outlooks, improves cognitive skills and strengthens learners' mother tongue skills..." COM (2005) 596 II.1.1
http://europa.eu/languages/

2) NAFSA: Association of International Educators [formerly National Association of Foreign Student Advisers ] "It is time to launch a major national effort to ensure that every U.S. college student graduates with both an understanding of at least one foreign area and facility in at least one foreign language."

"Yet a bilingual nonimmigrant American student remains an anomaly. And we often fail to encourage heritage speakers to build upon their language skills. Most of the 150,000 U.S. students who study abroad head to English-speaking countries, or take special courses taught in English in Spain, France, Russia, Japan, China, or elsewhere. More than 90 percent spend a semester or less overseas. Unfortunately, language immersion for American students is the exception, not the rule. The current worldwide popularity of English-and of American culture-is no argument for Americans' resistance to and recalcitrance at learning other languages. Our security and economic prosperity will depend upon the ability of future generations to understand others around the globe. .... Although the number of U.S. students going abroad for study has tripled over the last 15 years...students who study abroad amount to barely more than 1 percent of the 8 million full-time and 5 million part-time undergraduates attending the 3,400 accredited U.S. colleges and universities.
--Strategic Task Force on Education Abroad, 2003
www.nafsa.org

3) Modern Language Association of America Among U.S. post-secondary students in 2006, 8.7 percent enrolled in college/university foreign language courses. Though an increase in recent years, this is less than half the rate in 1965. The top four languages are Spanish, French, German, and American Sign Language. Arabic and Chinese enrollment has increased markedly. Only 1.4 percent were enrolled in advanced courses, where they would begin to achieve fluency.
--Enrollments in Languages Other than English, 2007.
http://www.mla.org/2006_flenrollmentsurvey

4) English Next. David Graddol. British Council, 2006 (131 pp.) "David Graddol concludes that monoglot English graduates face a bleak economic future as qualified multilingual youngsters from other countries are proving to have a competitive advantage over their British counterparts in global companies and organisations. Alongside that, many countries are introducing English into the primary curriculum but - to say the least - British school children and students do not appear to be gaining greater encouragement to achieve fluency in other languages. If left to themselves, such trends will diminish the relative strength of the English language in international education markets as the demand for educational resources in languages such as Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin grows and international business outsourcing in other languages such as Japanese, French and German spreads...."
--Rt Hon Lord Neil Kinnock, Chair of the British Council
www.britishcouncil.org/learning-research-englishnext.html