What is it about?
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, Claude etc are now widely used in academic writing and publishing. This article examines what this means for language diversity in global research. Through a scholarly dialogue involving five sociolinguists, the paper explores how AI tools influence the way academic texts are written, edited and reviewed. While AI can help researchers draft and improve manuscripts, the article shows that these tools are largely trained on dominant forms of English, especially American English. As a result, they often favour a single standard style of writing and may overlook or misrepresent other legitimate varieties of English used around the world. The discussion highlights both opportunities and risks. AI may support multilingual researchers who lack access to editorial support, but it may also reinforce existing inequalities in global academic publishing. The article therefore calls for more critical and responsible use of AI, as well as greater attention to linguistic diversity when these technologies are developed and used.
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Why is it important?
Generative artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of everyday academic writing. Many researchers now use AI tools to draft, edit and polish manuscripts. However, little attention has been given to how these tools shape language norms in global scholarship. This article explains the potential effects of AI on linguistic diversity. If AI systems continue to privilege a narrow standard form of English, they may reinforce existing inequalities in academic publishing and marginalise scholars who write in other legitimate varieties of English. By drawing attention to this issue early, the article encourages researchers, editors and technology developers to think more carefully about how AI tools are used in academic work and how they might be designed to support a more inclusive global research community.
Perspectives
As a sociolinguist working on World Englishes and language ownership, I see the growing use of generative AI in academic writing as both promising and troubling. While these tools can support scholars who lack access to editorial assistance, they may also normalise a narrow model of English, which will quietly erase the linguistic diversity that characterises global scholarship. I hope this article encourages researchers to reflect more critically on how AI is shaping academic language and whose voices are being privileged in the process.
Kingsley Ugwuanyi
King's College London
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This page is a summary of: Generative AI and linguistic diversity in academic writing and publishing, Journal of English for Research Publication Purposes, December 2025, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/jerpp.00035.ugw.
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