The Imperial Tongue: English as Dominating Academic Language

Philip G. Altbach, Monan professor of higher education and director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, writes in the journal, International Higher Education, about the current dominance of English as the academic language of the world. We'll specifically note that in the SCUP Links Blog we have links, in addition to Altbach's piece, directly to these articles: "The Global Higher Education Race" by John Aubrey Douglass, "Mass Higher Education and the Super Research University" by David P. Baker, "Professors of Practice and the Entrepreneurial University" by Henry Etzkowitz and James Dzisah; and "Public Money for Private Higher Education" by Daniel C. Levy. Altbach's full abstract is:

The English language dominates science, scholarship, and instruction as never before. While it is unlikely that English will achieve the status that Latin had as the sole language of teaching and scholarship at the 13th-century universities in Europe, the Latin analogy has some relevance today. Back then, Latin not only permitted the internationalization of universities but allowed the Roman Catholic Church to dominate intellectual and academic life. It was only the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther, combined with a growing sense of national identity, that challenged and then displaced Latin with national languages. As late as the 1930s, German was a widely used international scientific language. Until the mid-20th century, most countries used their national languages for university teaching and for science and scholarship. French, German, Russian, and Spanish were, and to some extent still are, used for academic and scientific publications and have some regional sway. Scholarly communities in Japanese, Chinese, Swedish, and many other languages continue to exist as well. English was the closest thing to an international language, with several major academic systems using it—the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Canada. In addition, the emerging academic systems of the former British Empire—especially India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Nigeria—have traditionally used English as the main teaching and publishing language. But English did not dominate scholarly communication until the 1950s, and national academic communities seemed in general committed to national languages.

English now serves unchallenged as the main international academic language. Indeed, national academic systems enthusiastically welcome English as a contributor to internationalizing, competing, and becoming "world class." But the domination by English moves world science toward hegemony led by the main English-speaking academic systems and creates difficulties for scholars and universities that do not use English.

Also note that the Boston College Center for International Higher Education, which publishes International Higher Education, has made available a podcast interview with Philip G. Altbach, titled, "U.S. Government Interest in Internationalization and the International Branch Campus Phenomenon."