THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF RUSSIAN AS A LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE
I. L. Kosin
MODERN science is truly international and its principal language for communication is unquestionably English. Russian is second. This fact can be seen in the fact that close to 70% of some 26,000 scientific articles, reports, and books in physical sciences abstracted in January 1972 by Chemical Abstracts were written in English and 20% were written in Russian. This is also true for biological sciences: also in January 1972, Biological Abstracts reviewed 11,666 scientific papers; again, for nearly 70% of them the original language was English and for 18%–20%, Russian.
This is nothing new, for the growth of English and of Russian as the two most important languages of international science has been steady ever since the turn of the century. For example, in 1897 German occupied the undisputed place as the leader in scientific communication, via the periodical press, in analytical chemistry ( Science , 25:555). English was in third place, with 19.1% of papers to its credit, just behind French with 20.0%. Russian was a poor fourth with 2.3%. By 1950, the comparative standing of the four leading languages became drastically altered: English moved into first place, with 44.1% of all papers in the language, followed by Russian with 20.2%. German and French came to share third place, each accounting for 10.7% of the papers.
More recent data related to several scientific disciplines and collected from several sources show that as the means for communication via the printed word in the international scientific community today English is the leader, with Russian firmly in second place. This order applies to all areas of scientific endeavor covered in the survey: chemistry, physics, geology, mathematics, biological sciences.
For example, one can see from Chemical Abstracts that in the proportion of papers written in these two languages in the field of chemistry between 1958 and 1969, only English and Russian made real gains. The comparable data in physics, collected from the Soviet abstracting periodical Referativnyi Zhurnal , reveal a strong position occupied by the Russian language between 1959 and 1969 and, of course, by English. We can also see that Russian has become an important language, second only to English, in mathematics and in biological sciences. The same is true for meteorology and geology.
The conclusion is clear: Russian now is a major language of science. Furthermore, on the basis of all long-time trends, it should remain in that position for the foreseeable future. The degree of its relative importance varies, of course, from discipline to discipline and from one field of specialization to another. For example, French, which in the total picture of “languages of sciences” occupies a relatively minor place today, is close on the heels of Russian in the broad area of plant sciences and microbiology. The same can be said for German in some areas of animal sciences. However, the fact remains that based on the total volume of published papers, Russian today is the second most important language of science.
An obvious question then suggests itself: If Russian is so important, then why is it that in our colleges and universities, particularly in our graduate schools, science students generally tend to ignore this language. In my opinion, the major reason is tradition.
For years, German and French were the languages of choice for most scientists in this country. Until very recently these languages were considered by our graduate schools as the only acceptable language options for students majoring in sciences. It is a truism that graduate schools are the creation of their graduate faculty who, in turn, are creatures of their own graduate school experiences. This helps to explain why it is that very few American scientists had considered Russian as a suitable science language (i.e., language suitable for serious study) until October 1957. In other words, until the first Sputnik shook the American scientists out of their stance of complacency (or smugness) vis-à-vis the Russian language.
As we all know, traditions die hard, and the tradition of encouraging students in sciences to study languages which, in the context we are considering here, have been on a downhill road, is no exception. This unwillingness to change has been, in my judgment, largely responsible for the attitude of cynicism on the part of these students toward foreign language requirements in our graduate schools. Considering the fact that only 5%–7% of all scientific literature today is published in German and French, can we really expect an average student to regard the Study of these languages as “relevant” to his needs? Let us remember also that most of these students have had a minimal exposure to foreign languages before their entry into graduate school. No wonder, then, that they tend to express strong and vociferous resistance to the advice rendered, often half-heartedly, by their major professors regarding the “need” to Study one or more foreign languages. The student believes that this professional tool is superfluous. The matter is further aggravated by the undeniable fact that his major professors themselves have low proficiency in foreign languages.
Earlier, tradition was given as a reason for the existence of a “blind spot” in the field of vision of the average American scientist concerning the Russian language. There are other reasons as well. One is, of course, a near-total ignorance of the language on the part of the average scientist. This being so, the latter dismisses Russian because he cannot use it. Another reason is a deeply ingrained Suspicion, especially among biologists and health science research workers, that Soviet science is somehow “second rate.” Fortunately for this country, this intellectual aberration is on the way out—thanks largely to the increased availability of Soviet periodicals in English translation and to the more frequent contact with Soviet scientists at international conferences and through “cultural exchanges.”
Then there is the problem of attitude, of lack of motivation (euphemism for laziness) by the established scientist. This attitude is encouraged by the availability of abstracts in English for most of the important Russian language scientific publications and by a relatively new development, already alluded to, in the field of communication in international science, i.e., the “cover to cover” English translation of a number of Russian scientific periodicals. Many American scientists have accepted this translated material as an easy way out of a dilemma: their growing realization that Soviet science can no longer be ignored is countered by their unwillingness to invest some personal effort to acquire the necessary knowledge and ability to read scientific Russian.
One may argue that the existence of these translations would mitigate against learning Russian by potential or aspiring young scientists. But it need not be so. One reason is that the time lag that exists today between the average interval is nearly twelve months. No scientist who wants to be “on top of things” in his area of specialization can afford to walt that long. Furthermore, the list of Soviet journals in English translation is still woefully brief when considered against the total output. Moreover, the cost of these translated periodicals is high. All in all, we can expect the translation program (largely supported by federal funds) to help the cause of Russian in our science community and, by extrapolation, in the schools, colleges and universities of this country. The plain facts of the case are that Russian is important as a communication tool in science, and its importance is steadily growing. When this information, based on indisputable facts, permeates our social and professional environment, then, I believe, the science-oriented students who, after all, represent the future in American science, will become more selective in deciding on the first foreign language to study: for many, if not most of them, common sense will point to Russian.
Reprinted from BioScience 22, 12 (December 1972), by permission of the publisher. The American Institute of Biological Sciences. The author is a member of the Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University.
http://web2.adfl.org/adfl/bulletin/v05n1/051048.htm
I. L. Kosin
MODERN science is truly international and its principal language for communication is unquestionably English. Russian is second. This fact can be seen in the fact that close to 70% of some 26,000 scientific articles, reports, and books in physical sciences abstracted in January 1972 by Chemical Abstracts were written in English and 20% were written in Russian. This is also true for biological sciences: also in January 1972, Biological Abstracts reviewed 11,666 scientific papers; again, for nearly 70% of them the original language was English and for 18%–20%, Russian.
This is nothing new, for the growth of English and of Russian as the two most important languages of international science has been steady ever since the turn of the century. For example, in 1897 German occupied the undisputed place as the leader in scientific communication, via the periodical press, in analytical chemistry ( Science , 25:555). English was in third place, with 19.1% of papers to its credit, just behind French with 20.0%. Russian was a poor fourth with 2.3%. By 1950, the comparative standing of the four leading languages became drastically altered: English moved into first place, with 44.1% of all papers in the language, followed by Russian with 20.2%. German and French came to share third place, each accounting for 10.7% of the papers.
More recent data related to several scientific disciplines and collected from several sources show that as the means for communication via the printed word in the international scientific community today English is the leader, with Russian firmly in second place. This order applies to all areas of scientific endeavor covered in the survey: chemistry, physics, geology, mathematics, biological sciences.
For example, one can see from Chemical Abstracts that in the proportion of papers written in these two languages in the field of chemistry between 1958 and 1969, only English and Russian made real gains. The comparable data in physics, collected from the Soviet abstracting periodical Referativnyi Zhurnal , reveal a strong position occupied by the Russian language between 1959 and 1969 and, of course, by English. We can also see that Russian has become an important language, second only to English, in mathematics and in biological sciences. The same is true for meteorology and geology.
The conclusion is clear: Russian now is a major language of science. Furthermore, on the basis of all long-time trends, it should remain in that position for the foreseeable future. The degree of its relative importance varies, of course, from discipline to discipline and from one field of specialization to another. For example, French, which in the total picture of “languages of sciences” occupies a relatively minor place today, is close on the heels of Russian in the broad area of plant sciences and microbiology. The same can be said for German in some areas of animal sciences. However, the fact remains that based on the total volume of published papers, Russian today is the second most important language of science.
An obvious question then suggests itself: If Russian is so important, then why is it that in our colleges and universities, particularly in our graduate schools, science students generally tend to ignore this language. In my opinion, the major reason is tradition.
For years, German and French were the languages of choice for most scientists in this country. Until very recently these languages were considered by our graduate schools as the only acceptable language options for students majoring in sciences. It is a truism that graduate schools are the creation of their graduate faculty who, in turn, are creatures of their own graduate school experiences. This helps to explain why it is that very few American scientists had considered Russian as a suitable science language (i.e., language suitable for serious study) until October 1957. In other words, until the first Sputnik shook the American scientists out of their stance of complacency (or smugness) vis-à-vis the Russian language.
As we all know, traditions die hard, and the tradition of encouraging students in sciences to study languages which, in the context we are considering here, have been on a downhill road, is no exception. This unwillingness to change has been, in my judgment, largely responsible for the attitude of cynicism on the part of these students toward foreign language requirements in our graduate schools. Considering the fact that only 5%–7% of all scientific literature today is published in German and French, can we really expect an average student to regard the Study of these languages as “relevant” to his needs? Let us remember also that most of these students have had a minimal exposure to foreign languages before their entry into graduate school. No wonder, then, that they tend to express strong and vociferous resistance to the advice rendered, often half-heartedly, by their major professors regarding the “need” to Study one or more foreign languages. The student believes that this professional tool is superfluous. The matter is further aggravated by the undeniable fact that his major professors themselves have low proficiency in foreign languages.
Earlier, tradition was given as a reason for the existence of a “blind spot” in the field of vision of the average American scientist concerning the Russian language. There are other reasons as well. One is, of course, a near-total ignorance of the language on the part of the average scientist. This being so, the latter dismisses Russian because he cannot use it. Another reason is a deeply ingrained Suspicion, especially among biologists and health science research workers, that Soviet science is somehow “second rate.” Fortunately for this country, this intellectual aberration is on the way out—thanks largely to the increased availability of Soviet periodicals in English translation and to the more frequent contact with Soviet scientists at international conferences and through “cultural exchanges.”
Then there is the problem of attitude, of lack of motivation (euphemism for laziness) by the established scientist. This attitude is encouraged by the availability of abstracts in English for most of the important Russian language scientific publications and by a relatively new development, already alluded to, in the field of communication in international science, i.e., the “cover to cover” English translation of a number of Russian scientific periodicals. Many American scientists have accepted this translated material as an easy way out of a dilemma: their growing realization that Soviet science can no longer be ignored is countered by their unwillingness to invest some personal effort to acquire the necessary knowledge and ability to read scientific Russian.
One may argue that the existence of these translations would mitigate against learning Russian by potential or aspiring young scientists. But it need not be so. One reason is that the time lag that exists today between the average interval is nearly twelve months. No scientist who wants to be “on top of things” in his area of specialization can afford to walt that long. Furthermore, the list of Soviet journals in English translation is still woefully brief when considered against the total output. Moreover, the cost of these translated periodicals is high. All in all, we can expect the translation program (largely supported by federal funds) to help the cause of Russian in our science community and, by extrapolation, in the schools, colleges and universities of this country. The plain facts of the case are that Russian is important as a communication tool in science, and its importance is steadily growing. When this information, based on indisputable facts, permeates our social and professional environment, then, I believe, the science-oriented students who, after all, represent the future in American science, will become more selective in deciding on the first foreign language to study: for many, if not most of them, common sense will point to Russian.
Reprinted from BioScience 22, 12 (December 1972), by permission of the publisher. The American Institute of Biological Sciences. The author is a member of the Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University.
http://web2.adfl.org/adfl/bulletin/v05n1/051048.htm