NNES RAs: How ELF RAs inform literacy brokers and English for research publication instructors

Non-native English speaking (NNES) researchers often depend on language professionals to translate or edit research articles (RAs). Genre study can identify the types of changes likely to improve RAs' acceptability. Previously, the reference texts for this analysis have been RAs written by NS authors. In this study, the reference texts were Animal Husbandry RAs published by NNES authors in international journals ranked in the second quartile (Q2) for their field. These RAs were compared to RAs written by Indonesian academics in English and in Indonesian with respect to features posited to be barriers to publication (justification for research, use of citations, structure of the Discussion, non-standard English usage, parochialism and conciseness). In each of these areas differences were found between the Indonesian written and reference RAs. Nevertheless, the reference RAs show significant accommodations to ELF styles. Non-standard English that does not hinder clarity, absence of strong justifying arguments or claims regarding the importance of the work are apparently not major barriers to publication in these Q2 journals. In this field, literacy brokers do not need to impose a Western style on authors' work but should focus on clarity of meaning, quality of explanations, transnational relevance and conciseness.