{"id":248,"date":"2018-03-28T11:03:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T09:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/?p=248"},"modified":"2018-03-28T11:22:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T09:22:30","slug":"for-language-or-for-knowledge-why-summarize-research-in-swedish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/2018\/03\/for-language-or-for-knowledge-why-summarize-research-in-swedish\/","title":{"rendered":"For language or for knowledge \u2013 varf\u00f6r sammanfatta forskning p\u00e5 svenska?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Linus Sal\u00f6 [Version in English appears below]<\/p>\n

F\u00f6r spr\u00e5ket eller f\u00f6r kunskapen \u2013 varf\u00f6r sammanfatta forskning p\u00e5 svenska?<\/h1>\n

Universitet \u00e4r betydelsefulla p\u00e5 flera olika vis, och den kunskap de producerar har m\u00e5nga olika publiker. Det \u00e4r en central utg\u00e5ngspunkt f\u00f6r projektet Making Universities Matter<\/a>,<\/u>\u00a0som jag \u00e4r en del av. Sj\u00e4lv \u00e4r jag \u00e4r sociolingvist. F\u00f6r mig \u00e4r det en lika central utg\u00e5ngpunkt att olika publiker n\u00e5s med olika spr\u00e5k och genrer. Det \u00e4r temat f\u00f6r detta blogginl\u00e4gg. <\/em><\/p>\n

Det h\u00e4r blogginl\u00e4gget handlar om en vetenskaplig studie. Du l\u00e4ser texten p\u00e5 svenska; direkt under finns samma text fast p\u00e5 engelska. Ingen av texterna liknar dock den engelskspr\u00e5kiga tidskriftsartikel d\u00e4r den vetenskapliga studien publicerades<\/u>.<\/a><\/p>\n

Det finns gott om sk\u00e4l att kommunicera forskning p\u00e5 flera spr\u00e5k, och gott om sk\u00e4l att omforma forskningstexter s\u00e5 att de n\u00e5r nya l\u00e4sare. Som forskare vid ett svenskt l\u00e4ros\u00e4te har jag ett slags dubbelt ansvar: dels att sprida mina forskningsresultat i samh\u00e4llet, dels att bidra till att uppr\u00e4tth\u00e5lla svenskan inom mitt fackomr\u00e5de. Eller \u00e4r det verkligen jag som har det ansvaret? Vad spelar det egentligen f\u00f6r roll om min forskning mest publiceras p\u00e5 engelska? Och hur kan egentligen svenska universitet och h\u00f6gskolor arbeta f\u00f6r att p\u00e5verka och reglera forskares spr\u00e5kanv\u00e4ndning? Precis dessa fr\u00e5gor st\u00e5r ocks\u00e5 i centrum f\u00f6r den tidskriftsartikel som inl\u00e4gget handlar om.<\/p>\n

S\u00e5v\u00e4l i Sverige som globalt \u00e4r det ett etablerat faktum att engelskan blir allt vanligare som vetenskapligt publiceringsspr\u00e5k.<\/a>\u00a0<\/u>Den utvecklingen har flertalet f\u00f6rdelar, samtidigt som den ocks\u00e5 f\u00f6r med sig vissa typer av problem. Ett problem som brukar lyftas fram handlar om kunskaps\u00f6verf\u00f6ring fr\u00e5n vetenskapen till samh\u00e4llet i stort. Enligt h\u00f6gskolelagen<\/u>\u00a0<\/a>ska h\u00f6gskolorna \u00e4gna sig \u00e5t forskning och undervisning, men de ska ocks\u00e5 \u201dsamverka med det omgivande samh\u00e4llet och informera om sin verksamhet samt verka f\u00f6r att forskningsresultat tillkomna vid h\u00f6gskolan kommer till nytta.\u201d Kan man samverka med det svenska samh\u00e4llet om all forskning skrivs p\u00e5 engelska?<\/p>\n

Ett annat problem r\u00f6r utvecklingen av den offentliga och fackspecifika svenskan. Enligt spr\u00e5klagen\u00a0<\/u><\/a>\u00e4r svenska Sveriges huvudspr\u00e5k, \u00e4ven om ocks\u00e5 andra spr\u00e5k f\u00e5r anv\u00e4ndas f\u00f6r olika funktioner i samh\u00e4llet. Det \u00e4r till exempel fritt fram f\u00f6r svenska universitet och h\u00f6gskolor att anv\u00e4nda engelska i forskning och undervisning. Men eftersom de oftast formellt \u00e4r myndigheter har de ocks\u00e5 spr\u00e5kliga ansvar. Exempelvis ska de enligt spr\u00e5klagen verka \u201cf\u00f6r att svensk terminologi inom deras olika fackomr\u00e5den finns tillg\u00e4nglig, anv\u00e4nds och utvecklas.\u201d Hur utvecklar man vetenskapssvenskan om all forskning skrivs p\u00e5 engelska?<\/p>\n

Det \u00e4r tydligt att svenska universitet och h\u00f6gskolor st\u00e5r inf\u00f6r ett dilemma. \u00c5 ena sidan finns flera goda sk\u00e4l att anv\u00e4nda engelska som ett s\u00e4tt att n\u00e5 ut med kunskapen vid den internationella forskningsfronten. \u00c5 andra sidan kan den ensidiga anv\u00e4ndningen av engelska g\u00f6ra det sv\u00e5rt att n\u00e5 ut med kunskapen i det omgivande samh\u00e4llet, som i Sverige \u00e4r flerspr\u00e5kigt om \u00e4n dominerat av svenska. Dessutom m\u00e5ste svenskan anv\u00e4ndas f\u00f6r att utvecklas, och den m\u00e5ste utvecklas f\u00f6r alls kunna anv\u00e4ndas framgent.<\/p>\n

Ett s\u00e4tt att f\u00e5 bukt med denna problematik \u00e4r att kr\u00e4va sammanfattningar p\u00e5 svenska i forskningstexter som skrivs p\u00e5 engelska (och andra spr\u00e5k). I Sverige \u00e4r det framf\u00f6r allt doktorsavhandlingar som blivit f\u00f6rem\u00e5l f\u00f6r detta krav. Denna utveckling har p\u00e5hejats av spr\u00e5kvetare, som brukar framh\u00e5lla flera f\u00f6rtj\u00e4nster med svenskspr\u00e5kiga sammanfattningar: dels bidrar de till att \u00f6verbrygga kunskapsgapet mellan vetenskap och allm\u00e4nhet, dels bidrar de till att det svenska spr\u00e5ket f\u00e5r utveckla fackspecifika termer, uttryckss\u00e4tt och register. Svenskspr\u00e5kiga sammanfattningar brukar d\u00e4rmed lyftas fram som ett botemedel f\u00f6r de problem som engelskans dominans inom vetenskapen kan f\u00f6ra med sig. Men fr\u00e5gan \u00e4r om en och samma text verkligen kan l\u00f6sa alla problem i ett slag. L\u00e5t oss f\u00f6rest\u00e4lla oss en doktorsavhandling i astropartikelfysik, som mot slutet av doktorandtiden ska f\u00f6rses med en fyra sidor l\u00e5ng sammanfattning p\u00e5 svenska. Hur borde den skrivas? En avhandlingssammanfattning som \u00e4r popul\u00e4r nog f\u00f6r att allm\u00e4nheten ska f\u00f6rst\u00e5 den kommer knappast bidra till att utveckla disciplinens spr\u00e5kliga register. Och omv\u00e4nt: en sammanfattning som g\u00f6r anspr\u00e5k p\u00e5 att introducera nya svenska termer och uttryckss\u00e4tt, ja den kommer troligen bli sv\u00e5rtillg\u00e4nglig f\u00f6r de flesta icke-specialister. Svenskspr\u00e5kiga sammanfattningar kan allts\u00e5 bidra till antingen ett kunskaps\u00f6verf\u00f6ringsm\u00e5l eller ett spr\u00e5kutvecklingsm\u00e5l \u2013 men man m\u00e5ste v\u00e4lja, f\u00f6r m\u00e5len \u00e4r inb\u00f6rdes of\u00f6renliga. Of\u00f6renligheten till trots \u00e4r b\u00e5da m\u00e5len goda.<\/p>\n

I dagsl\u00e4get kr\u00e4ver 15 av Sveriges cirka 50 l\u00e4ros\u00e4ten att avhandlingar p\u00e5 andra spr\u00e5k \u00e4n svenska f\u00e5r en svenskspr\u00e5kig sammanfattning. Den som n\u00e4rl\u00e4ser l\u00e4ros\u00e4tenas krav p\u00e5 svenskspr\u00e5kiga sammanfattningar inser snart att olika l\u00e4ros\u00e4ten har olika id\u00e9er om vad sammanfattningarna ska fylla f\u00f6r syfte. Medan vissa l\u00e4ros\u00e4ten kr\u00e4ver popul\u00e4rvetenskapliga sammanfattningar som ett s\u00e4tt att n\u00e5 ut brett med avhandlingarnas inneh\u00e5ll, efterfr\u00e5gar andra l\u00e4ros\u00e4ten fylliga sammanfattningar d\u00e4r terminologin ges svenskspr\u00e5kig form. Denna oklarhet kring sammanfattningens syfte \u00e5terspeglas ofta i forskarnas inst\u00e4llning till svenskspr\u00e5kiga sammanfattningar, d\u00e4r m\u00e5nga ser dem som ett p\u00e5tvingat och alltf\u00f6r tids\u00f6dande dekret. Sammanfattningarna skrivs ofta i all hast, utan tanke p\u00e5 vare sig kunskaps\u00f6verf\u00f6ring eller spr\u00e5kutveckling. I andra fall kan inte doktorskandidaten tillr\u00e4ckligt med svenska f\u00f6r att kunna skriva sammanfattningen \u2013 vilket inneb\u00e4r att det i slut\u00e4ndan \u00e4r handledaren eller n\u00e5gon annan som skriver den.<\/p>\n

Det \u00e4r allts\u00e5 tydligt att m\u00e5let med svenskspr\u00e5kiga policyer drivits igenom utan n\u00e5gon klar bild av vilken funktion sammanfattningarna ska fylla. Tydligt \u00e4r ocks\u00e5 att sammanfattningspolicyn lider av olika typer av implementeringsproblem<\/u><\/a>. Ingen av dessa observationer b\u00f6r dock tas som int\u00e4kt f\u00f6r att sammanfattningarna saknar v\u00e4rde: de produceras uppenbarligen i en stigande grad, och vi vet \u00e4nnu v\u00e4ldigt lite om vilka effekter det f\u00e5r f\u00f6r kunskaps\u00f6verf\u00f6ring och spr\u00e5kutveckling i framtiden. F\u00f6r tillf\u00e4llet \u00e4r funktionen om inte annat symbolisk, eftersom den p\u00e5minner om vetenskapens m\u00e5ngfaldiga syften och publiker.<\/p>\n

Artikeln \u201cUniversities, their responsibilities, and the matter of language\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/u><\/a>finns fritt tillg\u00e4nglig p\u00e5 min Academia-sida, d\u00e4r du ocks\u00e5 finner<\/u> andra texter p\u00e5 likande teman<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For language or for knowledge \u2013 why summarize research in Swedish?<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Universities matter in many ways, and the knowledge they produce has multiple publics. This is a central point of departure in the project platform Making Universities Matter<\/u><\/a><\/em>, of which I am a member. As for myself, I am a sociolinguist. Accordingly, an equally central point of departure for me is that different publics are reached by means of different languages and genres. That is in effect the theme of this blogpost.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This blogpost is about a scientific study. You are reading the text in English; above is the same text but in Swedish. Yet, none of the two texts look like the English-language journal article where the scientific study was published<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are ample reasons to communicate research in multiple languages, and ample reasons to reshape research texts so as to reach out to new readers. In fact, as a researcher at a Swedish university, I have a kind of dual responsibility: firstly, to disseminate my research findings in society at large; secondly, to contribute to the maintenance of the Swedish language within my area of expertise. Or do these responsibilities really rest upon me? Why does it really matter that my research is published for the most part in English? And how can Swedish universities go about regulating the language use of researchers? Precisely such questions are central to the journal article that this blogpost deals with.<\/p>\n

In Sweden as well as globally, it is becoming increasingly evident that English dominates as the language of scientific publication<\/u><\/a>. While this development has several virtues, it also brings with it a number of issues. One issue that is commonly pointed out pertains to knowledge transfer from science to wider society. According to the Swedish Higher Education Act<\/u><\/u><\/a>, Swedish universities are tasked to provide education and produce research, but the mandate also includes \u2018third stream activities and the provision of information about their activities, as well as ensuring that benefit is derived from their research findings.\u2019 Is societal interaction feasible if all research is conducted in English?<\/p>\n

Another issue pertains to the development of the public and field-specific Swedish language. According to the Language Act<\/u><\/a>, Swedish is the so-called principal language in Sweden, although other languages may be used for various ends in society. For example, Swedish universities are free to use English in research and education. However, since universities are standardly government agencies, they also have linguistic responsibilities. According to the Language Act, they have \u2018a special responsibility for ensuring that Swedish terminology in their various areas of expertise is accessible, and that it is used and developed.\u2019 How is scientific Swedish developed if all research is written in English?<\/p>\n

It is clear that Swedish universities face a dilemma. On the one hand, there are many good reasons to use English as a means to disseminate knowledge to the international research frontline. On the other hand, the sole use of English might impede on the objectives to disseminate knowledge to the surrounding society, which in Sweden is multilingual albeit dominated by the Swedish language. Besides, the Swedish language needs be used in order to develop, and it must keep developing in order to stay usable.<\/p>\n

One way of dealing with these dynamics is to demand Swedish-language summaries (henceforth SLSs) in research texts written in English (and other languages). In Sweden, it is first and foremost doctoral theses that have been subjected to this demand. This development has been cheered by linguists who typically see several benefits with SLSs: firstly, SLSs contribute to bridging the knowledge gap between science and the public; secondly, they contribute to expanding the Swedish language with field-specific terms, expressions, and registers. Thus, SLSs tend to be foregrounded as a remedy for the potential issues caused by the dominance of English in science. However, the question is whether one single text is really capable of solving all issues at once. Take the case of a doctoral thesis in astroparticle physics, which at the end of the project is to be supplemented with a four-page long SLS. How is it to be written? An SLS that is simple enough for the general public to grasp is unlikely to contribute to the linguistic registers of the discipline. And vice versa, an SLS which takes seriously the task of introducing new terminology and expressions is likely to be incomprehensive to non-specialists. In other words, SLSs may contribute either to a knowledge bridging goal or a language development goal, but one needs to choose because the goals are mutually incompatible. Incompatibility notwithstanding, both goals are legitimate.<\/p>\n

To date, 15 out of Sweden\u2019s 50 universities demand that theses in other languages than Swedish are supplemented with SLSs. However, a close reading of such policy demands reveals that different universities have different ideas about the purpose that SLSs are intended to fulfil. While some universities demand SLSs as a means to reach out broadly with the content of the theses, other universities request extensive SLSs where core terminology is given Swedish-language equivalents. This ambiguity surrounding the purpose of the SLSs is also reflected in researchers\u2019 attitudes to SLSs. They are often written in a rush, without much focus either on knowledge transfer nor language development. In other cases, the candidate does not have sufficient skills in Swedish to be able to write up the SLS, which at the end of the day means that the supervisor or someone else writes it up.<\/p>\n

It is clear that the SLS policies have been promoted without a clear idea about the function they are intended to serve. It is also clear that the policies suffer from various forms of implementation issues. Yet, none of these observations entail that SLSs lack value altogether \u2013 evidently, they are increasingly produced, and little is known about the effects this fact might have in the future. At the moment, the function of the SLS is at the very least symbolic, as it reminds us of the multiple objectives and publics of science.<\/p>\n

The study \u201cUniversities, their responsibilities, and the matter of language\u201d<\/u><\/a>\u00a0is freely available through my Academia page, where you can also find other texts on similar topics.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linus Sal\u00f6 [Version in English appears below] F\u00f6r spr\u00e5ket eller f\u00f6r kunskapen \u2013 varf\u00f6r sammanfatta forskning p\u00e5 svenska? Universitet \u00e4r betydelsefulla p\u00e5 flera olika vis, och den kunskap de producerar har m\u00e5nga olika publiker. Det \u00e4r en central utg\u00e5ngspunkt f\u00f6r projektet Making Universities Matter,\u00a0som jag \u00e4r en del av. Sj\u00e4lv \u00e4r jag \u00e4r sociolingvist. F\u00f6r […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1111,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[46,45],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research","tag-language","tag-making-universities-matter"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/hist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}