Common Mistakes Non-Native Authors Make When Writing in English
Content originally published on LinkedIn June 23, 2021
Part 1: Language interference and “learner errors”
Two types of mistakes non-native speakers often make when writing in English
If you’ve done any kind of editing work, even proofreading your own articles, common errors you’ve likely seen include typos, redundancy, and formatting inconsistencies. When the authors have a different native language, though, two additional categories of errors come into play: language interference and “learner errors,” those pesky errors language learners make.
In this article, we’ll look at these two broad error types and offer some examples of both from the point of view of a French speaker (since that’s what we know best). Most will apply to other languages as well.
Language interference
Non-native authors typically make errors due to interference from their native language or culture. This tendency, also known as language transfer or cross-linguistic influence, can manifest itself as false friends that do not fit in the context, as well as sentence structures that follow their language's rules rather than English conventions. Foreign speakers are not always aware of the structural and internal differences that exist between English and their native language. Sometimes, they may be aware of those differences, but because they are not sure how to put them into practice, they fall back to structures that are familiar to them. As editors, we are often able to guess an author’s native language from the type of interference errors in the text. These types of errors tend to be difficult to spot by spelling and grammar tools, as they are technically correct but unidiomatic. The figure below illustrates some of the mistakes French speakers tend to make due to interference with their mother tongue.
False friends or faux amis are words that look or sound the same in both language but mean something different. French speakers might use “actually” to mean “currently” (and not “in fact”) or “eventually” to mean “optionally” (and not “in the end”) because of the French words “actuellement” and “éventuellement,” respectively. In English, a person is called “sensible” if he or she is reasonable, whereas “une personne sensible” is sensitive. A “librairie” is a bookstore and not a “library” (bibliothèque in French). To make matters worse, you also have semi-false friends that have at least one meaning in common in both languages, and at least one different. For example, the French adjective “fatal” can mean the same as “fatal” in English (causing death), but also “unavoidable” in another context.
Structural interference can occur for different reasons. One of these is the possessive case: it is expressed with an apostrophe in English, with no equivalent in many languages. This gives rise to somewhat awkward phrases like “the results of the study of this researcher” instead of “this researcher’s study results” or “the results of this researcher’s study.” Another common example is word order, for instance placing an adjective after the noun it modifies for a French speaker or putting a verb at the end of a sentence for a German speaker.
Using a noun in plural form when it is considered uncountable in English is another common source of error. To a French speaker, “travail” and “travaux” are equally common, whereas “informations” is more frequently used than “information”. In English, “works” and “informations” (when used as nouns) would always be wrong—yet “works” escapes most spellcheckers as it is a correct verb form. Other nouns such as “waters” and “wastes” would be correct in some contexts (navigable waters, hazardous wastes) but not others, for instance, when referring to a glass of water or a pile of waste.
Spelling errors due to interference are largely solved by diligent use of spellcheck tools. Nevertheless, they bear mentioning as you might occasionally gloss over them—for instance, words that are similar in both languages but differ in the use of double letters (such as “address” vs. “adresse,” “symmetric” vs. “symétrique”), vowels (recommend vs. “recommander”) or consonants (“negotiable” vs “négociable”). It is easy to ignore these or inadvertently add them to a custom dictionary.
Learner errors
The other broad error category commonly seen in documents written by non-native speakers is related to language acquisition and falls under the umbrella of “learner errors.” Spelling and grammar tools will catch the most basic of these errors, but not the majority. Undetected errors include those in capitalization and punctuation conventions, inappropriate register, and word forms, prepositions and collocations that don’t match English usage. Mixing UK and US English variants is also a common faux pas [see Which kind of English do I need?].
There is some overlap between interference and language learning: the better you know a language, the less likely you are to make interference mistakes. Conversely, if you are a beginning learner, you will rely more heavily on your own language’s rules when writing in English. Therefore, the examples in the figure below could apply to either or both error types. We will cover some of these errors in more detail in subsequent articles.
So, what should you do if you are not a native English speaker and you plan to submit a scientific paper in English? In a companion piece, we’ll cover a few strategies to help you improve your English writing. For now, let’s just say that there are three musts: (1) use authoritative reference materials; (2) run a spelling and grammar check; and (3) ask individuals with a good working knowledge of English to proofread, preferably including a native speaker.
In addition, we strongly recommend asking a professional editor to review your manuscript for language and style. Many clients come to us at first because the journal editor suggested or required that they have the article polished by a native English speaker in order to be accepted for publication. With the help of a professional editor, those days will be behind you.
This is part of a series of articles by Isabelle Berquin and Karen Tkaczyk, two trained scientists who moved into providing language services for scientists. Isabelle was a molecular biologist who worked in cancer research and Karen was a development chemist who worked in pharmaceuticals.
Karen provides editing services for scientists, mainly academics, who write in English when that is not their native language. Isabelle has co-authored over 30 research papers; she provides translation and consulting services for life scientists and enjoys turning data into engaging visuals.
Look out for the other posts in this series by both Karen and Isabelle. Topics include common mistakes authors often make, style matters, language variants, software tools that can help you edit your texts, tips for better scientific writing in English, and tips on creating impactful visual elements. If these articles are of interest or you’d like us to cover a specific topic, leave us a comment!
English Writing Tips for Scientists: List of Topics