The worldwide dominance of English as the lingua franca in academia is neither new nor wholly unproblematized. In order for academic research to be noticed, it must be published in English. Some non-native English-speaking academics fear that this puts them at a disadvantage, while others are concerned that English will take over as the language of academe in institutions of higher education and might erode the salience of other languages in these languages’ native environments. 

This session does not engage in a critical evaluation of the linguistic dominance of English; rather, my departure point is that we conduct academic international collaboration as well as teaching that involves teams of partner universities in English. Good language skills are key to international collaborations both in research and in teaching environments.

What is more, culture impinges on language, as the latter is a reflection of society both temporally and spatially. This session will elaborate on the underpinning of gender-inclusive language, as well as provide broad tenets of academic communication in English.