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Language and disciplinary differences in a biliterate context
Author(s) -
Petersen Margrethe,
Shaw Philip
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
world englishes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.6
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-971X
pISSN - 0883-2919
DOI - 10.1111/1467-971x.00255
Subject(s) - danish , discipline , context (archaeology) , publication , sociology , linguistics , public relations , political science , social science , history , law , philosophy , archaeology
This paper analyses some of the publication characteristics of a biliterate environment – the Faculty of Business Administration in a Danish business school. Academics in this faculty read predominantly in English, publish both in English and in Danish, but interact with one another almost exclusively in Danish. Data on text production, reception and publication are used to categorise the departments in the faculty and reveal interesting differences in spite of similarities in the overall linguistic environment. In particular, the paper considers potential relations between the local and the international academic forum; it shows that a languages–of–communication profile can be drawn for each department; it develops a notion of two types of publication cycles, reflecting different attitudes and demands across disciplines or academic units; and it shows that the existence of four potential communities to be served may contribute to our understanding of choice of language for publication.