A dive into the muddy waters of predatory publishing reveals that all is possible, but normality: A language perspective

Abstract

Predatory publishers represent a menace for the scientific community. However, a less explored side relates to their linguistic impact, due to the fact that poor English is among their distinctive features. In order to provide more evidence helping scholars to identify the potential predatory publishers, this study analyzes some 300 calls for papers from predatory publishers, selected from among those over 1,400 received over the latest 9 months, focusing on distinctive English flaws. The results indicate that the common features include the use of boosting language without any discernment, an unusual use of names, aggressive requests for an answer, avoidance of using the term “call for papers” and its replacement, other less frequent issues, and numerous English flaws. Such features may be used as criteria for avoiding to become a pray of predatory publishers.