Analysis and news


‘The linguistic monopoly in academic research started decades ago, and it became deeply rooted in the system’


even for scholars with high language proficiency levels. When scholars use their mother languages, this puts little to no strain on the brain resources, compared to using a second language, which requires more mental effort and depletes the brain resources. In other words, listening to or reading a sentence in a second language is slower and less accurate compared to the first language. Moreover, making a decision in a


second language tends to moderate risk- perception and underweight losses and gains. Recent research provides sound evidence that using a second language influences human moral judgment; second languages are associated with less severe moral evaluation towards actions,


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which may lead to unethical practices in academic research.


One of the best models that explain the mental consequences of using a second language is the Brain-Drain model. In this model, Stefan Volk explains how using a second language negatively impacts self-regulation and decision-making. Using a second language can negatively impact scholars’ ability to recognise opportunities, and limits out-of-the-box thinking. The Brain-Drain model also explains how bilinguals perform better while working on tasks that involve creativity, such as research and design, when they use their native language. Creative performance and using a second language are both processed in the same part of the brain, which means the brain capacity is split between the two, reducing creativity and lowering language accuracy. Less accurate research results, lower


research efficiency, less creative work and less ethical research practices; this is the price of linguistic monopoly in research.


In conclusion…


The linguistic monopoly in academic research started decades ago, and it


Amer Abukhalaf is a researcher at the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience


August/September 2021 Research Information 21


became deeply rooted in the system around the globe. That’s why many of us fall into that trap unintentionally, and some of us are even unaware of the existence of the problem. Although we might be among the few


who are benefiting from the injustice embedded in the status quo, it is our responsibility, as scholars, to promote justice in our research and practice, and highlight the imbalances in the system that is affecting all of us one way or another. There is also a responsibility on an institutional level. Research institutions and funders should become aware of the linguistic monopoly and what it does to research quality, and they need to stay reminded that achieving equality, by giving scholars around the world the same resources and opportunities, isn’t enough for establishing fairness in the field. Fairness can only be achieved by


promoting equity and recognising the different circumstances, including linguistic abilities, of scholars worldwide to create fair opportunities that we can all, as an academic society, benefit from.


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