1. Contributor Eligibility
Language in Japan invites submissions from all scholars of Japanese linguistics or closely related fields. Contributors credited as first author will be limited to one paper per issue. There is no such restriction for second authors or below, for book review authors, nor for solicited translators.
2. Eligible Content
A submitted manuscript must be written in English. Either the UK or the US standard variety of English is acceptable, providing the manuscript is consistent throughout in its use of the grammar, lexis and orthography of the variety chosen.
A manuscript must deal with some aspect of language relevant to Japanese and/or Japan, which may include Ryūkyūan, Ainu, pidgins and creoles, signed, mixed and heritage languages, in or outside Japan.
A manuscript must be original work.
A manuscript previously published in a book, academic journal, periodical or similar will not be accepted, whether a translation or not. A manuscript already submitted, or which the author(s) plan(s) to submit, to another book, academic journal, periodical or similar will not be accepted, whether a translation or not. A manuscript that is already publicly available as an online pre-print, or similar, will not be accepted, whether a translation or not.
A manuscript already published in a conference proceedings or a research grant report, as well as an excerpt from an unpublished Masters’ Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation, may be submitted under the condition that the author(s) provide(s) written notification to this effect. However, manuscript content already publicly available online at an institutional repository, or similar, may not be submitted unless substantial revisions have been made.
3. Submission Types
Language in Japan publishes three types of manuscript:
Type I. Original Research Papers: academic papers presenting original research by the author(s).
Type II. Translations of Seminal Papers: English-language translations of seminal research originally published in our sister Japanese-language journal and as yet unavailable in English translation.
Type III. Book Reviews: critical evaluations of recently published volumes of work, determined to be of interest to the readership of Language in Japan.
A Type I manuscript may be submitted by both members and non-members of the Society of Japanese Linguistics, providing the manuscript meets all the Eligible Content criteria in 2 above.
Potential contributors wishing to submit a Type III manuscript must first contact the Language in Japan editors for permission. Type II manuscripts are solicited by the editors.
4. Submission Requirements
A submission should include two copies of the blinded manuscript (i.e. with all obvious personal identifying information removed):
Document 1: one copy in Microsoft Word (.docx) format with any non-standard fonts embedded
Document 2: one copy in .pdf format with any non-standard fonts embedded
Below the manuscript title in each file should be an abstract of 150-250 English words, as well as 5-8 English keywords. Words appearing in the manuscript title may not be used as keywords. Although strictly optional, authors may also wish to include a Japanese version of their title, abstract, and keywords in order to expedite the peer review process.
A submission should also include a scanned copy of the signed Language in Japan Author Agreement.
Documents 1-3 should be sent by email attachment, together in one email, to the editors.
If you wish to send your submission in a format other than Microsoft Word (.docx), please contact the editors.
5. Formatting & Length Requirements
Please refer to the Style Guide on our website for details on formatting. In principle, submitted manuscripts should be between approximately 8,000 and 15,000 words, inclusive of footnotes and bibliography.
6. Submission Deadlines
Authors may submit a manuscript at any time. However, those obtaining a successful peer review must also complete any necessary corrections or revisions by a fixed deadline for their work to be eligible to appear in a given issue.
7. Peer Review Process
The decision on whether to accept or reject a manuscript rests solely with the editorial board, following a double blind peer review process. Invited submissions will be treated in the same fashion as regular submissions, with the editorial board reserving the right to ask authors for revisions. In either case, the author(s) will be informed of the results of the peer review at least two months before the start of production for publication.
8. Corrections and Revisions
The author(s) will be given one chance to make any necessary corrections or revisions to their accepted manuscript. Any subsequent substantial revisions to the content, however, require permission from the editorial board. During the corrections and revisions process, you may be asked by the Manuscript Editor to submit tables, figures, graphics and other non-textual material as separate files. We ask for your cooperation to ensure timely publication.
9. Article Processing Charges
Language in Japan does not charge any submission, processing or publication fees.
10. Copyright
Language in Japan has First World Publication Rights, as defined by International Copyright Conventions, to a published manuscript. All statutory rights in the copyright of a published manuscript are retained by the authors.
11. Open Access
A manuscript published in Language in Japan will be granted immediate and free open access on J-STAGE.