Is there science beyond English?

Of the past 25 winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature, only 9 wrote their masterpieces in English; the remaining 16 laureates wrote in other native languages. Many of their works were eventually translated into English, which was probably necessary for international recognition and the attention of the Swedish Nobel Prize committee. The translators faced the arduous task of transferring the splendour of the original text into a different semantic, syntactic and sometimes cultural context to make it appeal to a wider audience. Most Nobel laureates in Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine do not face the challenge of translating their works into another language before gaining recognition. Many speak English as their first language and even non-native English speakers usually publish their discoveries in English. Furthermore, given that English is the lingua franca of science, the international community—including the Nobel Prize committees at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Karolinska Institute—do not have to wait for a translation. The situation is reminiscent of the ancient and medieval worlds, when scholars could communicate only in Latin until great historical literates, such as Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare and Martin Luther, promoted the use of the Italian, English and German languages, respectively, by writing in their native languages.