Does Science Need a Global Language?: English and the Future of Research - Hardcover

Montgomery, Scott L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226535037 ISBN 13: 9780226535036

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2013

Synopsis

In early 2012, the global scientific community erupted with news that the elusive Higgs boson had likely been found, providing potent validation for the Standard Model of how the universe works. Scientists from more than one hundred countries contributed to this discovery—proving, beyond any doubt, that a new era in science had arrived, an era of multinationalism and cooperative reach. Globalization, the Internet, and digital technology all play a role in making this new era possible, but something more fundamental is also at work. In all scientific endeavors lies the ancient drive for sharing ideas and knowledge, and now this can be accomplished in a single tongue— English. But is this a good thing?

In Does Science Need a Global Language?, Scott L. Montgomery seeks to answer this question by investigating the phenomenon of global English in science, how and why it came about, the forms in which it appears, what advantages and disadvantages it brings, and what its future might be. He also examines the consequences of a global tongue, considering especially emerging and developing nations, where research is still at a relatively early stage and English is not yet firmly established.

Throughout the book, he includes important insights from a broad range of perspectives in linguistics, history, education, geopolitics, and more. Each chapter includes striking and revealing anecdotes from the front-line experiences of today’s scientists, some of whom have struggled with the reality of global scientific English. He explores topics such as student mobility, publication trends, world Englishes, language endangerment, and second language learning, among many others. What he uncovers will challenge readers to rethink their assumptions about the direction of contemporary science, as well as its future. 

About this title

About the Author:

Scott L. Montgomery is a consulting geologist and university lecturer. He is the author of The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science, The Powers That Be: Global Energy for the Twenty-First Century and Beyond, and several books on the history of science and scientific language, including Science in Translation: Movements of Knowledge through Cultures and Time.

Review:

Montgomery explains how the dominance of English extends beyond formal science publications to international organizations, corporate correspondence, job and fellowship postings, Web sites, and much else...Science's adoption of one language is less a cause for concern than another instance of a grand tradition...because for millennia, lingua francas have catalyzed major advances in scientific and other learning.                                                                 Peter Monaghan, Chronicle of Higher Education

Scott Montgomery's book is a fine illustration of the way [new studies of global English] are emerging.  In is the scientific story, told by a scientist--by a scientist who has taken the trouble to understand current linguistic thinking on the global use of English...As Montgomery writes..."What has happened to modern science is remarkable, revolutionary." From a linguistic point of view, I already knew it was remarkable...But I had not fully taken on board just how revolutionary the consequences of this development have been. from the forward by David Crystal

In [this book], Montgomery investigates the role of English as the global language of science...The book focuses clearly on  natural sciences, yet it is also highly relevant for social sciences, including business and management, as well as for the humanities...This is not a naive or triumphant book about English as a global force. It is a book written by a modernist, a believer in science as a joint, progressive human project. For this purpose as well as for its sheer learnedness and elegance of expression, it is well worth a read.  --Susanne Tietze, Sheffield Hallam University

...the book is an excellent treatment of topics very important to scientific research, communication, and education in general. Highly recommended.  Chemical Information Bulletin, American Chemical Society

Because both educators and researchers at all levels encounter increasing levels of globalization, this book is recommended for all.  Journal of Chemical Education

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0226535037
• ISBN 13: 9780226535036
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240