Library acquisition policy

Again the general trend is to bilingual libraries: language of teaching, plus English. As funds for acquisition of books (and journal subscriptions) are cut, priority goes to "major international texts and journals". These are usually in English. In England itself, academic libraries are often monolingual.

Issues:

Is justice applicable between languages?
Are there moral obligations of equal acquisition, across languages?
Is there, in any case, a moral preference for multilingual libraries?
Should libraries give preference in acquisition, to multilingual works?
Should all EU languages be given equal library acquisition status with English, in the EU?
Should libraries in the EU give preference in acquisition, to EU languages, or to all European languages?
Should there be a maximum on English-language acquisitions?
If a library refuses to supply a work in an official EU language, is that contrary to European law?
Can a monolingual library be prosecuted under national law, for criminal discrimination?

Equal treatment of speakers
Probably, most of the world's students use a language which is not their native language or dialect. British and US-American students can study in their own countries, and globally, in a standard English close to their native dialect: an extremely privileged group.

Issues:

Should all students be obliged, as a matter of justice, to use a non-native language as part of their university study?
Should English-language students, specifically, be excluded from English-language international courses, to prevent unfair advantage?
Should the number of languages of teaching be greatly increased, to include also non-standard dialects?
Is an examination just or fair, if one student can use a native language, while others must use their fourth or fifth language?
Are migrants (English speakers excepted) systematically disadvantaged at European universities?
Is it just to give protected status (including education facilities) to some minority languages, but not to others?

Access to journals and conferences
Issues of justice between speakers, arise also in selection procedures, for journals and conferences. The dominance of English-language publishing is well known. Less obvious is that publishers are also disproportionately located in English-speaking countries. English-language journals also, inevitably have editors and advisors who speak, read and write good academic English. It is not as easy to trace the language of conferences, but English is certainly the dominant language of conferences. A bilingual conference is usually in the teaching language of the host university, plus English. Organisers often require papers in English, even if most of those present understand other languages.

Issues:

The basic issue: is it legitimate for a journal to refuse an article on grounds of language?
Is this refusal discriminatory, and possibly a criminal offence?
Is this refusal morally equivalent to racism?
Should journals, published in the EU, be obliged to accept submissions in all EU official languages?
Is refusal of an article in French by a British journal, for instance, contrary to European law?
Should there be quotas by native language, for journal editors, editorial boards, advisors and reviewers?
Is it acceptable for a journal to refuse a person as editor/advisor, on grounds of language?
Is a requirement to use one language for conference papers legitimate?
Is lack of funds for translation a legitimate reason to limit conference languages?
Should the EU fund monolingual conferences?
Should a minimum number of EU languages be legally required at non-local conferences?
Are existing conference language restrictions contrary to European law?

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<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
The language of course material	\|	The language of publication

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