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Focus and Scope 

Lenguaje is a Bi-annual indexed and peer-reviewed scientific journal, specialized in the area of language studies. Lenguaje is aimed at university professors, researchers and undergraduate and graduate students, with the purpose of being a space for the dissemination of new knowledge and dialogue on research advances in the language sciences.

Lenguaje publishes original articles derived from scientific research in any of the disciplines that deal with language, mainly in the areas of theoretical linguistics, descriptive linguistics (Spanish, indigenous languages, sign languages and creole languages), applied linguistics (language teaching and learning, lexicography, translation and terminology) and sociolinguistics.

The journal receives articles on a permanent basis and accepts, preferably, research articles derived from studies with final results, review articles and books reviews. Articles on methodologies will only be accepted if they present new research or intervention methods that have been validated. In any case, the contents of the articles are the responsibility of the authors.

The journal is indexed in the following databases and bibliographic indexes:

Publindex, ERIHPLUS, EBSCOhost, Ulrich’s Periodical Directory, SciELO Colombia, MLA International Bibliography, Fuente Académica Premier, MIAR, Journal TOCs,  Informe Académico, Latindex and DOAJ.

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Periodicity

Since 2007, the journal Lenguaje of the School of Language Sciences of the Universidad del Valle offers its readership an annual volume composed of two issues. Starting from January 2024, the journal adopts the continuous publication model.

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Journal funding and rates

In order to reduce publication barriers for authors, the journal Lenguaje, from Universidad del Valle, does not charge authors any fees for publishing manuscripts.

The journal Lenguaje has the support of the Editorial Program and the School of Language Sciences of the Universidad del Valle.

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Statement of Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice

The journal Lenguaje abides by the Code of Conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adheres to its Guidelines for Good Practice.

Authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to be aware of and comply with best practices in publication ethics. These include, but are not limited to, those relating to authorship (e.g., avoiding ghost or guest authorship), double submission, attribution, plagiarism, image integrity and figure preparation, and competing interests.

Reviewers and editors must treat manuscripts fairly and confidentially, and declare any competing interests. Editors must also respect the code of conduct for editorial board members.

We encourage readers to discuss the scientific content of articles in Lenguaje directly with the corresponding authors. Authors may request formal corrections to their publications by sending an e-mail to the journal.

To report possible errors, comments on research or publication ethics, misconduct, or other issues related to the integrity, validity, or reliability of an article published in the journal Lenguaje, you are invited to contact the journal directly. To do so, please send an e-mail to the publication team. Do not rely solely on blog posts, social media or other third-party websites to bring your concerns to our attention. When notifying the journal of your concerns, please provide the full citation and DOI of the article in question, details of your specific concerns, and a statement of any potential competing interests you have with respect to the authors, funders, or sponsors of the article in question.

The journal Language will investigate concerns raised about published articles, regardless of the time elapsed since publication or completion of the study, and regardless of whether the issues are raised internally, by the authors, or by anonymous, pseudonymous, or named third parties. We will take action to correct or clarify the scientific record if necessary, which may include issuing a correction, expression of concern, or retraction. If we anticipate a delayed or prolonged follow-up period, the journal Language may publish an interim notice in the article(s) in question to inform readers of the issues raised.

While the journal Lenguaje values transparency in scientific communications, we also protect the confidentiality of those who raise issues of publication ethics or research integrity, whenever possible, to minimize personal and professional risks to individuals. We consider information and materials received in follow-up discussions of ethics cases to be confidential, but reserve the right to share relevant information with others involved in the case (e.g., editors, reviewers, other journals, affected data repositories), discuss the case in a COPE forum, or contact the authors' institutions, funders, or regulatory bodies, in accordance with COPE guidelines. We cooperate with institutions investigating issues related to the content of the journal Language and, in doing so, share information necessary to support the institution's procedures.

Misconduct

Lenguaje takes seriously all allegations of potential misconduct. We will follow the COPE guidelines outlining how to deal with cases of suspected misconduct.

In cases of suspected research or publication misconduct, it may be necessary for the Editor to contact and share manuscripts with third parties, for example, author(s)' institution(s) and ethics committee(s). Lenguaje may also seek advice from COPE  and discuss anonymized cases in the COPE Forum.

Research Misconduct

If there is suspicion that research has not taken place within an appropriate ethical framework, the Editor may reject a manuscript and may inform third parties, for example, author(s)' institution(s) and ethics committee(s).

In cases of proven research misconduct involving published articles, or where the scientific integrity of the article is significantly undermined, articles may be retracted. See our Retraction policy for further information.

Data Falsification and fabrication

Data falsification is manipulating research data with the intention of giving a false impression. This includes manipulating images, removing outliers or "inconvenient" results, changing, adding or omitting data points, etc. Data fabrication means the making up of research findings.

Any questions regarding data integrity raised during or after the peer review process will be referred to the Editor. The Editor may request (anonymised) underlying study data from the author(s) for inspection or verification. If the original data cannot be produced, the manuscript may be rejected or, in the case of a published article, retracted. Cases of suspected misconduct will be reported to the author(s)' institution(s).

Duplicate publication

Material submitted to Lenguaje  must be original and not published or concurrently submitted for publication elsewhere. 

Authors submitting a contribution to our journal who have related material under consideration or in press elsewhere should upload a clearly marked copy at the time of submission, and draw the editors' attention to it in their presentation letter. Authors must disclose any such information while their contributions are under consideration by our journal- for example, if they submit a related manuscript elsewhere that was not written at the time of the original submission.

If part of a contribution that an author wishes to submit to our journal has appeared or will appear elsewhere, the author must specify the details at the time of the submission. Consideration by our journal is possible if the main result, conclusion, or implications are not apparent from the other work, or if there are other factors.

Lenguaje will consider submissions containing material that has previously formed part of a PhD or other academic thesis which has been published according to the requirements of the institution awarding the qualification. Lenguaje  endorses the policies of the ICMJE in relation to overlapping publications.

If an author of a submission is re-using a figure or figures published elsewhere, or that is copyrighted, the author must provide documentation that the previous publisher or copyright holder has given permission for the figure to be re-published. The journal editor considers all material in good faith that their journals have full permission to publish every part of the submitted material, including illustrations.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is not acceptable in any material published in the  journal Lenguaje. Plagiarized content will not be considered for publication. If plagiarism is identified, we will follow COPE guidelines.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Directly copying text from other sources without attribution.
• Copying ideas, images or data from other sources without attribution.
• Reusing text from one's own previous publications without attribution or agreement of the publisher (see COPE guidelines on text recycling and the text recycling guide published by the Text Recycling Research Project).
• Exception: Reuse of text from the methods section of the author's previous publications is acceptable, with attribution of the source.
• Use an idea from another source with slightly modified language without attribution.

Language journal uses Turnitin to check the originality of submitted content. We will do a follow-up investigation if the software raises any concerns.

If plagiarism is detected during the peer review process, the manuscript may be rejected. If plagiarism is detected after publication, we may issue a correction or retract the article, as appropriate. We reserve the right to inform authors' institutions of plagiarism detected before or after publication.

We expect editors and reviewers to be vigilant when evaluating submissions and to notify the journal of any plagiarism detected.

Confidentiality

We are committed to ensuring the integrity of the peer review process, in accordance with COPE guidelines. All material submitted will be treated as strictly confidential until publication.

The peer review process is confidential to all parties. Correspondence that forms part of the review process must also be treated as confidential by all parties, including the authors.

Authors may provide basic details about the nature of the research presented in manuscripts currently under review.

Editors and reviewers are required to treat all submitted manuscripts in strict confidentiality and should not share information about the articles with any other party unless agreed in advance with the editor. The involvement of a third party in the review must be declared at the time of submission of the review.

We expect that editors and reviewers will not make use of any material or take advantage of any information they obtain through the peer review process.

We will follow up on any and all breaches of confidentiality. If there are any concerns about misconduct during the review process, we will follow COPE guidelines to investigate.

Anonymity

Through the double-blind method, the editor will ensure the objectivity and impartiality of the peer reviewers' concepts, as well as of the authors' comments or products.

Responsibilities of the authors

All authors of publications in the journal Lenguaje are committed to:

Adhere to the editorial guidelines of the journal Lenguaje: the author(s) must be familiar with and fully apply the editorial guidelines of the journal, as set forth on the website and in this Code of Ethics and Good Editorial Practices. By accepting the terms and agreements expressed by our journal, authors guarantee that the article and the materials associated with it are original and do not infringe copyright. Authors must also justify that, in the case of shared authorship, there was a full consensus of all authors involved and that it has not been previously presented or published in another media.

Certification of authorship and authorization for publication of articles: in order to submit a work to be considered for publication in the journal Lenguaje, the author(s) must have participated directly and significantly in the preparation of the work in question. Moreover, he/she must certify the veracity and authenticity of the information and data provided therein. In addition, by submitting their work, authors authorize Lenguaje to publish, edit, reproduce and disseminate their work, partially or in full, nationally and internationally, through printed or electronic media (web, databases, etc.).

Correction of errors: the author(s) is obliged to actively participate in the review process through the corrections requested by the peer reviewers. In addition, once the peer reviewers' evaluations are sent to him/her, he/she will also be asked to prepare, together with the second version of his/her work, a document in which he/she presents a correction-summary sheet informing which corrections were made or not. When a correction is not made, authors must justify this decision in the correction-summary sheet. 

Participation in the evaluation of articles: once a paper is published by the journal Lenguaje, the respective author will be included in the database as a potential peer reviewer of papers in his/her area of expertise. The reciprocal and disinterested collaboration of the author as peer reviewer is expected.

When submitting a manuscript, authors should indicate whether a related manuscript is under study or published elsewhere. If related work has been submitted or published elsewhere, authors should include a copy of it with their submission and describe its relationship to the submitted work.

Previous publication of the research as a thesis, presentation at medical or scientific conferences, or publication in preprint servers will not preclude consideration of your manuscript.

Editor's responsibilities

The editor of the journal Language is responsible for:

Decision-making: the editor, with the collaboration of the Editorial Committee, must make decisions on acceptance or rejection of publications based on the editorial standards of the journal; likewise, he/she must decide on the publication of articles in the issue of the journal he/she deems most appropriate. Under no circumstances may economic, academic, personal or commercial interests prevail in this decision making process.

Integrity of the process and transparency in the information provided: the editor, as well as the members of the editorial and scientific committees, must ensure that the authors comply with the editorial guidelines, and that the peer reviewers issue impartial and objective opinions. If any of the parties involved in the process of review and publication of articles is affected by any conflict of interest, they should refrain from participating in any of these processes.

Promotion of a profitable writing process for authors and peer reviewers: under the premise that writing and knowledge are built and consolidated through a constant dialogue between academic peers, the editor will always take care to provide the author(s) with significant data and indications that attempt to comply with this premise. In addition, he/she should effectively address the concerns, suggestions or comments of the authors and peer reviewers.

Verification of the absence of plagiarism and self-plagiarism: it is up to the editor, using different plagiarism detection mechanisms, to verify that no work contains plagiarism or self-plagiarism. The journal Lenguaje declares its commitment to the respect and integrity of the works published. Plagiarism and self-plagiarism are strictly forbidden and texts that incur in them will not be published. In the event that, in spite of the controls made during the editing process, plagiarism is detected after the publication of a work, a note will be included in the next published issue. The journal Lenguaje declares that the content of the articles is the sole responsibility of the authors; this applies equally in cases of plagiarism and self-plagiarism.

Responsibilities of peer reviewers

The peer reviewers of the journal Lenguaje must commit to:

No conflict of interest with any research, author(s) or other persons or institutions involved in the financing of the research: in case of any conflict of interest with any of the parties involved in the review and publication of articles, the involved party should refrain from participating. Therefore, the entire editorial team, as well as the editor of the journal, will ensure that the peer reviewers issue objective concepts and judgments.

Treat the evaluated articles confidentially: peer reviewers must not share or use information from part or all of a publication for their own benefit or that of third parties.

Evaluate papers once they have confirmed their acceptance: the peer reviewer is expected, as far as possible, to adhere to the established deadlines. The journal Lenguaje does not grant financial remuneration for the evaluation of articles; in return, the peer reviewer is given a certificate for his or her work.

Responsibilities of the editorial committee

The editorial committee is a collegiate body that acts in solidarity with the editor as a consultative and advisory body, and will therefore work jointly with the editor in relation to the following objectives:

- Maintain the integrity of the publication.

- Contribute to full compliance with the journal's editorial standards and guidelines.

- Avoid compromising ethical and intellectual property standards.

- To set aside possible conflicts of interest in relation to published works.

- Identify possible cases of plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and report them in a timely manner for decision making.

Application of the policy

If related content is found to be too similar to the one submitted to the journal Language, or if a duplicate submission is discovered, we will reject the manuscript.

Duplicate content discovered after publication will be handled based on the degree of overlap. The journal may publish a correction or retraction, as appropriate.

Data or Figure Concerns

When preparing figures, images should not be manipulated or adjusted in any way that could lead to misinterpretation of the information present in the original raw image data.

When doubts are raised about reported results, the journal Language requests the original data from the experiment in question. If the original data are not available or are not provided in a timely manner, we may take editorial action on the article based on our review of the materials in question.

We recognize that some institutions and funding agencies only require retention of research data for a limited period after completion or publication of a project. However, no such limits are specified in the Language journal's Data Availability Policy. In addition, in cases of imaging or other data problems, the underlying original data are critical to clarifying the issues raised and the reliability of the reported results. The unavailability of original data in these cases may affect editorial results.

Citing articles in Lenguaje

Articles in Lenguaje should be cited in the same way as articles in a traditional journal. Because articles are not printed, they do not have page numbers; instead, they are given a unique article number.

Article citations follow this format:

Authors. (year). Title. *The journal*, volume (number), [article number]. DOI direction web

 

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Section Policies

RESEARCH ARTICLES

This generic name includes the two types of research articles established by Colciencias, namely: 1) Original research. 2) Review Article

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

TRANSLATIONS

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

LITERATURE REVIEW

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

 

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Peer Review Policy

Lenguaje relies on members of the scientific research community to assess the validity of articles under consideration through peer review.

The primary purpose of peer review is providing the Editor with the information needed to reach a fair, evidence-based decision that adheres to the journal's editorial criteria. Review reports should also help authors revise their paper such that it may be accepted for publication. Reports accompanied by a recommendation to reject the paper should explain the major weaknesses of the research; this will help the authors prepare their manuscript for submission to a different journal. 

Peer reviewers should adhere to the principles of COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers.

Invitation to review

Lenguaje editor selects potential reviewers based on their expertise in research areas relevant to the manuscript under consideration. Reviewer invitations are sent by email from the journal's Editorial Manager submission system (OJS). Use the links in the invitation email to accept or decline. Accept an invitation only if you have the knowledge, time and objectivity necessary to provide an unbiased assessment of the research. 

Our peer review model

Double-Blind review

Lenguaje uses double-blind review, which means that both the reviewer and author identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process.  

To facilitate this, authors need to ensure that their manuscripts are prepared in a way that does not give away their identity.  

Best Practices for Reviewers

Declaring Competing interests

A competing interest is anything that interferes with or could be perceived as potentially interfering with, a thorough and objective assessment of a manuscript. Common examples of competing interests may include:

• - A recent or current collaboration with any of the authors.
• - Direct competition or a history of scientific conflict with any of the authors.
• - An opportunity to profit financially from the work.

Do not accept a review assignment if you have a competing interest, or don't feel able to give an objective assessment. If you're unsure whether your relationship qualifies as a competing interest, contact the journal for advice. If we ask you to complete the review anyway, be sure to declare the competing interest when you submit your review.

Confidentiality

Keep manuscripts and correspondence confidential and do not share information about submissions with anyone else unless previously agreed with the Editor. We expect that reviewers will not make use of any material or take advantage of any information they gain through the peer review process.

Read Lenguaje Confidentiality Policy.

Reviewing a manuscript you've previously reviewed

If you reviewed the article at another journal, consider the manuscript as a new submission unless instructed otherwise. Keep in mind that it may have been revised since the last time you evaluated it, and Lenguaje's criteria for publication may differ from those of the other journal. When you submit your review, let the Editor know that you reviewed a previous version of the manuscript at another journal.

Time to review

Aim to complete your review within 28 days. If you need more time to perform the review, please email us as soon as possible. 

Peer Review Recognition

Lenguaje is committed to recognizing the invaluable service performed by our dedicated peer reviewers. As part of our appreciation program, we 

offer our peer reviewers the opportunity to credit their ORCID profile with verified peer review data transmitted directly from the submission system at the time of report submission.

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Peer Review Process 

Article Review Process

Step 1: manuscripts received are submitted to a plagiarism detection process through different tools devoted to this end. Subsequently, the editorial committee is in charge of the pre-evaluation, which will take two weeks at most. Depending on the result it is either rejected or the process continues sending the text to two external peer reviewers under the double-blind modality. The peer reviewers are given four weeks to send their opinion.

Step 2: For the evaluation, peer reviewers are chosen according to editorial criteria required by the bibliographic bases and indexes: active researchers in the discipline with scientific publications that show appropriate knowledge on the subject to evaluate the manuscript. The editorial team ensures that the evaluators respect the conditions of the evaluation process in the double-blind modality, that they adjust to the evaluation parameters in a critical, ethical and respectful manner.

The evaluation criteria can be consulted here.

Peer-reviewers have four weeks to submit their evaluations. 

Step 3: If the results of the evaluations are positive and do not involve changes, the paper is approved for publication. If the evaluations are positive, but changes are suggested, the manuscript is sent back to the author for the corresponding adjustments to be made. If the evaluations are negative, the paper is rejected. If there is a disparity in the evaluations, one positive and one negative, a third peer reviewer is requested, who will have four weeks to issue his/her evaluation.

Step 4: Once the peer reviewers' evaluation has been received, the suggestions are forwarded to the author, who will have two weeks from the date of reception to send a new version of the paper. When the second version is received, it is sent again to the peer reviewers for them to issue a final decision on the status of the work (for which they will have two weeks).

The times established in this process may vary taking into account different circumstances: some reviewers request additional time for evaluation; several revisions with modifications may be required; some adjustments and their verification require longer than the set time; and, in some cases, a third reviewer is needed. For these reasons, the journal has determined eight months as the average time between submission of articles and acceptance for publication.

In summary, the average times for the evaluation process are:

Pre-evaluation: 4 weeks.
Evaluation: 12 weeks.
Adjustments: 4 weeks.
Verification: 4 weeks.
Average time between receipt and acceptance for publication: 8 months.

 

2022 rejection rate

 50(1): Articles received: 17
Rejected articles in pre-evaluation: 7
Rejected articles in evaluation: 2
Rejection rate: 52.9 %.

 

50(2): Articles received: 18
Articles rejected in pre-evaluation: 6
Articles rejected in evaluation: 4
Percentage of rejection: 55.6 %.

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Sponsorship of the journal

Publisher 

Universidad del Valle 

Sponsors

• Escuela de Ciencias del Lenguaje
• Editorial Program
• Vice Rector's office of Research of Universidad del Valle