The Inferior Science and the Dominant Use of English in Knowledge Production

Abstract

This article examines international scientific activities in the context of hierarchical international relations and how English use is related to inequality in core-periphery relationships. However, the author recognizes that the theoretical concept of colonialist discourse is too dichotomous to apply to the multilayered structure of the real world. To some extent, Traweek’s notion of “the acceptance of the Euro-American dominant scientist” can be related to English use in the means of achieving a competent scientist for nonnative English speakers who are located in the periphery. This becomes a social-structural problem of using another language to nonnative English-speaking scientists and engineers. Korean scientists’ and engineers’ international scientific activities are greatly motivated by sociocultural determinants such as cultural prejudice, their peripheral position, reputation and recognition, and English competence. Although English use greatly affects their international activities, especially paper publication in international journals, they tend to disregard the general English problem by separating general English use from scientific English use.