Multilingual Scientific Communication in a Small Language Community: Lessons from the Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation

Abstract

BACKGROUND: English has become the predominant language of international scientific communication. Although the use of a common language facilitates international exchange, the dominance of English may create linguistic, economic, and professional barriers for researchers whose first language is not English. At the same time, scientific communication  in  national languages remains important  for  education, professional practice, policymaking, and communication with society. This narrative review discusses the advantages and challenges of publishing scientific research in Macedonian and examines the development of the Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation (JSER) as a case study of the transition from national-language publishing towards bilingual and internationally oriented scientific communication.

AIM: This narrative review aims to examine the advantages and challenges of scientific publishing in Macedonian and to analyze JSER as a case study of how a small national journal can balance linguistic identity, local relevance, scientific quality, international visibility, and sustainability.

METHODS: A narrative review of literature addressing language choice in scientific communication, linguistic inequality in academic publishing, multilingualism, open science, and accessibility of scientific knowledge was undertaken. In addition, a historical and documentary analysis of the development of JSER was conducted using information presented in the author's documented presentation and publicly available journal and bibliographic information. The analysis focused on changes in publication language, peer review, editorial structure, indexing, accessibility, and internationalization. The analysis is limited by its narrative design and reliance on documentary sources regarding the historical development of JSER.

RESULTS: The experience of JSER illustrates the complex relationship between national-language publishing and international visibility. During its early period, the journal published full articles predominantly in Macedonian, with English abstracts. Subsequently, it adopted bilingual Macedonian-English publication, peer review, international editorial participation, online publishing, and broader indexing. This model increased international accessibility but also generated substantial financial and organizational costs associated with translation, language editing, printing, and information technology. The experience further demonstrates that abandoning the national language is not the only strategy for internationalization. Bilingual publication, English-language abstracts, multilingual metadata, professional translation, open access, and international indexing may provide alternative mechanisms for combining local relevance with international visibility.

CONCLUSIONS: Scientific publishing in Macedonian remains important for preserving linguistic diversity, strengthening national scientific terminology, supporting education and professional practice, and improving access to knowledge for Macedonian-speaking communities. However, national-language publication alone may restrict h an approach is consistent with contemporary open science principles, which explicitly encourage multilingualism and bibliodiversity.