How can errors in english abstracts get into final copy?: a survey of non-native journal editors and authors

ABSTRACT

A previous study of 197 English abstracts from ten Translation Studies journals in Spain found that over 30% contained at least one grammar, vocabulary or typographical error and 16 contained three or more errors (Linder, 2014). In the present dual study, potential explanations for this perceptively high percentage of error incidence is explored by means of a survey of the central figures in the writing and editing process: the authors and journal editors. In Study 1, the authors (n=16) of abstracts with three or more errors were sent a questionnaire about how the abstract was prepared for publication and who was involved in this process. The questionnaire also asked authors to reflect on their experience and provide relevant insights. In Study 2, the journal editors (n=10) were asked to complete an on-line survey about the journal's procedures vis à vis abstracts and their own attitudes to a number of issues regarding English abstracts. Six (37.5%) authors and six (60%) editors responded. A gap in quality was detected in which English abstracts containing errors could be published and widely disseminated on-line: non-native English speaking authors who wrote or translated their own abstracts in(to) English and submitted unrevised or inadequately revised versions could have their abstracts published in journals that lacked the internal or external native English-speaking personnel and other resources to determine the quality of the English abstract and simply accepted the author's version as correct and natural.

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Index Terms

• Applied computing

  • Arts and humanities

    • Language translation

  • Document management and text processing

    • Document management

      • Text editing