Positioning English as the international language during the Interamerican scientific integration: the role of multilingualism in defining the scope of a scientific journal in the mid-20th century

Abstract

Abstract Caldasia, a journal published by the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, was the arena of language tensions originating in scientific exchanges in the mid-20th century at a time when English was in the process of affirming its place as the lingua franca of science. In the 1940s, the journal showed indications of a multilingual process reflected in the considerable presence of US authors and their articles in English published in its pages. This paper examines Caldasia’s communication circuit, specifically the negotiations that emerged between the editor and US researchers when deciding on the most appropriate language for publishing the articles. Selecting the language of the articles was considered by them as a critical element in determining the geographical scope of the journal, positioning Caldasia as a regional or international journal. This analysis demonstrates how the tension between multilingual repertoires and linguistic ideologies was experienced in Caldasia. The editor promoted Caldasia as a multilingual journal and to reach this objective the editor managed the multilingual repertoires of the authors in the journal. The case of Caldasia indicates that the Anglicization process of science in the XX century required intense scientific contacts carried out in non-English-speaking spaces; multilingualism was one of the strategies by which English became a globally accepted language.