In this article one finds a short introduction to the articles in this special volume. In the continuation of the article is about important priorities made during the last 60-70 years implementing English as a lingua franca. With reference to the theory of Pierre Bourdieu about language as a symbolic power, one can understand the English language as a powerful language in the academic world. Especially when it comes to publication of peer reviewed materials as English today is the most preferred publication language. This fact raises a question about the quality of the text, as Scandinavian academics do not learn English as a mother tongue but as a foreign language. Writing an English text in an academic language does make it difficult for many Scandinavian academics. Today, one might find a solution to this by using new technology, e.g. digital translation programs and artificial intelligence. However, one must ascertain that by enforcing such digital solutions the foundation for text production, translation and teaching is changing fiercely. A situation that is challenging for both researchers and teachers. The last part of the article is about neighbor languages in the Scandinavian region and the necessity of developing a parallel language understanding both when using the Scandinavian languages and when using English.
Michael Dal (Fri,) studied this question.