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Introduction
The accelerating pace of globalization has catalyzed unprecedented levels of transnational scientific collaboration, driving remarkable progress across technological and research frontiers [1, 2–3]. Today’s global research community relies on English as its default language. It both enables and accelerates scientific exchange across borders [4, 5]. While this linguistic paradigm undeniably facilitates cross-border knowledge exchange, its hegemonic status engenders systemic in-equities that disproportionately affect non-anglophone research communities [6, 7]. Current evidence exposes a troubling paradox. Although English was meant to democratize scientific communication, it ends up maintaining unequal access to research opportunities, policy implementation, and technological progress [8, 9, 10–11].
Despite increasing scholarly attention to linguistic barriers in science, the academic community continues to underestimate the multidimensional impacts of language asymmetry [12, 13–14]. Recent work confirms three major problems: non-English papers are largely ignored [15, 16], developing countries must invest heavily in language training [17, 18], and technical translations frequently distort key meanings [19, 20]. Particularly concerning is the epistemological erosion occurring when culturally-specific concepts undergo anglicization, often resulting in biased interpretations or loss of indigenous knowledge frameworks [21, 22].
These linguistic power dynamics have profound effects on global scientific equality: the current system not only puts individual L2 (second-language) researchers at a disadvantage but also biases international research agendas toward anglophone priorities. Emerging scholarship suggests this linguistic hegemony may be creating self-reinforcing cycles of technological disparity, where language barriers compound existing resource inequalities between nations [23, 24–25]. To meet this complex challenge, it is important to explore the impact of English language proficiency on national science and technology levels. To some extent, this paper can contribute to the creation of a polycentric knowledge system that respects linguistic diversity while maintaining effective channels of communication. Such a shift requires multilateral strategies that combine technological innovation, institutional policy reform and epistemological pluralism to ensure equitable participation in global scientific development.
This paper aims to address the following questions.
Research question 1: What are the temporal publication trends in sustainable-development research concerning English proficiency and national competitiveness from 2004 to 2024?
Research question 2: Who are the leading contributors (at the author, country, and journal levels) in this research domain?
Research question 3: Which thematic clusters and emerging frontiers characterize the most recent developments in this field?