2 key questions to ask
when publishing outside your native language
Nowadays, English is the primary language of academic
publishing for many topics of international interest.
Nevertheless, English is not the preferred language forsome topics (e.g., French is still an important language formathematical analysis, and Russian-language articles oncybersecurity are sometimes at the forefront of research),and many national and regional journals and conferences
publish articles in languages other than English. Becauseof this, all researchers may want to publish outside of theirnative language at some time in their careers.
As translators and editors in English, Japanese, andother languages, we’re often asked by non-English native
researchers who want to publish in English,“Which language should I write up my research in, mynative language or English?”It’s a very pertinent question. In this article, we’ll answer
2 key questions and discuss the different factors to consider when making the decision. We’ll focus on Japanese
researchers wanting to write in English, but the discussion applies equally to other language pairs.

1.

Should I write in my native language (e.g., Japanese) or the target language (e.g.,English) first?

2.

How do I know whether my skills in the target language are good enough to write
directly in the target language, instead of having it translated?

The answers to these questions depend strongly on the characteristics of the languages as well as the researcher’slanguage skills and time available to write.

1) Should I write in my native language (e.g., Japanese) or the target language(e.g., English) first?
Writing in Japanese for translation to English
The differences between Japanese and English go deeper than simply having different words and grammar. Let’s takeone example: logical flow.
The logical flow of conventional argumentation in Japanese is different than that of English. A native Japanese speaker
will naturally write using the logical flow that is suitable for Japanese. This means tending to state individual points andfacts first, and later connecting them clearly together at the ends of your paragraphs.

1
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In contrast, a native-English speaker typically starts paragraphs with a topic sentence (or focus sentence) that describes
the theme of the message for that paragraph and then connects additional sentences that add evidence supporting orrefuting the topic statement.
Because of this difference, if the Japanese logical flow is kept intact during translation to English, the resulting structure
is likely to confuse English readers: they will have to guess at how the sentences ultimately connect together, without aclear guide at the start of the paragraph. The final summary sentence will act as a sort of “surprise,” and English readers
are not accustomed to seeing such surprises in standard research writing.
Of course, neither format is inherently superior. It is simply a matter of which one the reader is accustomed to. Thismeans that even those Japanese researchers who are fluent in English are less likely to notice the difference between
their own writing and that of native-English speakers. English-native researchers writing in Japanese have the sameproblem with a mismatch between the structure of what is written and what native-Japanese speakers expect.

What does this mean for translation?
Using a translation team: If you use a translation team that understands the difference in logical flow and the manyother differences between the two languages, then they can change this text to a more natural style of wording andadjust the logical flow to match the target language. If you have such a team, then there is no problem with writing inyour native language from the start.
However, many translators do not adjust the flow of the text to more natural structures in English. This is the job of aneditor. At ThinkSCIENCE, specialist translators first translate the text to the target language without adjusting the logicalstructure. Specialist editors then adjust the logical structure and other aspects to match the academic writing style of thetarget language. If you are engaging translation services, be sure to inquire whether it is translation only or combinedtranslation and editing.
Translating yourself: If you write first in Japanese and then do the translation yourself, you will need to make these
editorial changes or ask an editor to comprehensively edit (or rewrite) the text to ensure that the result is natural for thetarget language.
Because the conventions of writing differ not only from language to language but also among research fields, werecommend asking a specialist editor, as general editors will not necessarily know the writing conventions of your field.

(2) How do I know whether my skills in the target language are good enough towrite directly in that language, instead of having it translated?
Writing in English from the outset
It is good for non-native English speakers to write in English from the outset if they are proficient enough in English toexpress the relations between parts of sentences and they have enough time to do this. They will be more likely to use
English logical flow when writing and will also include fewer direct “translations” from their native language.
See our previous Featured Article for more information and tips on the actual process of writing naturally in English.

Do I need English editing before submitting my manuscript?
If your grammar is good enough to express the relations between concepts/things both within sentences and between
sentences, then your message should be understandable. When you check through your English manuscript and finish
self-editing, you may decide that your message will be understood by the reviewers: If they can quickly and easily
understand your main message and supporting evidence, even with some grammar mistakes in your writing, then you
might decide to submit.

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If the journal editor can understand your paper clearly even with some mistakes, the paper will usually enter peer
review. Peer reviewers, as long as they can clearly understand your scientific content, will review the paper. They may
then ask you to fix the English errors before resubmission. The key here is that no-one should have to do a lot of work tounderstand your message.
So, the point is whether the reviewers will be able to understand your English easily. If they might not understand,then consider asking a colleague who is good at English or a specialist native editor to help you improve the clarity ofyour paper before submission.
If you are asked to revise your paper based on the reviewers’ comments, then be prepared to produce English at least
as good after revision as it was before it. So, when checking your revised paper, you should ask yourself again whether
you need English editing. You might need to ask for help from an English-speaking colleague or a specialist nativeeditor.
Another consideration is whether the journal offers copy-editing of accepted papers, to fix English errors and follow ahouse style. Some journals, such as PLOS ONE, do not perform any copy-editing. For those journals, we recommendthat you have either comprehensive editing or proofreading performed before you submit your revised paper.
Last but not least, we want to mention the time available for writing. Even good writers can produce work with errors in it
when they are rushed. This can be magnified when writing outside their native language.
If you are short on time, think about the trade-off between writing quickly, but maybe not clearly, in English and writing
quickly in Japanese and explaining your scientific message accurately and clearly. This is for you to judge whether you’ll
need English editing (or not) or Japanese-to-English translation.
Our team can often complete highly technical work very quickly, with our EXPRESS services. So, if you’re not sure whatto do, please do talk to us and we’d be happy to help you decide what’s best in the circumstances.

Using both strategies: writing in your native language and in the target language
There may be times when you want to combine the strategies of writing in your native language (e.g., Japanese) andwriting in the target language (e.g., English. We’re happy to support you in this through providing both translation andediting services in a “mixed project.”Example 1: You had your English paper edited before submission and now you are in a hurry to write your revised
paper. You can write the new parts of your manuscript in Japanese and we can translate them and make them fit
coherently and consistently with the original text.
Example 2: You are writing a new paper for submission in English and find you are running out of time. You complete
the paper in Japanese. We’ll comprehensively edit or proofread the English text, depending on the level of editing youneed, and translate the Japanese text, linking them together coherently and consistently.

Summary/Conclusion
Even those writing in their own language can benefit from having another person look at their work before submission.
For those writing in a foreign language, this is a crucial step. Whether to write in your own native language and havethe paper translated or write in a foreign language and then have the work carefully checked is a personal choice, but
the above considerations can help you to make the best decision in light of your own language skill and your target
publication.
If you’d like personalized advice about this or any other publication topic, please contact us. We’re always happy tohelp.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.