Latvian or English - the Language Situation in Scientific Communication in Latvia

Abstract

The growing dominance of English as an international language of scientific communication in the world has been widely acknowledged. However, its effect in the relevant discourse community in Latvia is still to be explored. A case study was undertaken to improve upon the current understanding of the choice of scientific publishing language in Latvia and explore historical factors underpinning the current predominance of English as the lingua franca of the scientific community. It has been concluded that with a strong focus on international publishing in indexed databases, the role of English in scientific communication in Latvia has an increasing tendency to grow. Although currently English does not pose an existential threat to the use of the Latvian language in scientific publications, there is alarming evidence of the increasing hegemony of English in Latvia.

Keywords

• scientific communication
• publications
• case study
• english as a lingua franca
• the latvian language