English Hegemony and Epistemic Inequality

Linguistic Coloniality in Latin American Scientific Publishing

Abstract

This article critically examines the hegemony of English in contemporary scientific communication and its implications for knowledge production in Latin America, articulating language policies, coloniality of knowledge, and epistemic dependence. Drawing on a critical theoretical-conceptual review grounded in authors such as Quijano, Mignolo, Canagarajah, Hamel, and Beigel, the study investigates the mechanisms through which English operates as an epistemic filter, shaping the visibility, circulation, and legitimacy of research produced in Portuguese and Spanish. The analysis highlights the structural barriers faced by Latin American scholars—including international indexation models, editorial concentration, hegemonic metrics, and discursive constraints—that reinforce historical power asymmetries and produce processes of epistemic invisibilization and epistemicide. Despite this scenario, the study identifies emerging forms of resistance and emancipatory alternatives, such as SciELO, Redalyc, AmeliCA, and open science policies that promote multilingualism as a principle of cognitive justice. The article concludes that overcoming linguistic coloniality requires profound revisions in scientific policies, valorization of local languages, and strengthening of regional editorial ecosystems, contributing to a more plural, democratic, and decolonized global science.