[Ura-list] MDPI Journal "Languages"

[Michael Rießler]

Dear all,

I got invited publish with this journal several times, most recently in a special issue closer to Uralic Studies. I hadn't previously regarded "Languages" or the publisher MDPI as particularly reputable. But perhaps I must revise my opinion?


The relevant national board in Finland has published this report: https://julkaisufoorumi.fi/fi/ajankohtaista/mdpi-predatory-reports-ja-julkaisutoiminnan-harmaa-alue.


I can also share some notes on my earlier experience with this publisher. My first encounters with them were 10 years ago, when I was repeatedly invited—quite aggressively, through spam emails—to act as a peer reviewer for topics that were far removed from my area of expertise.


A couple of years ago, I contacted several linguists who I know personally and who were listed on the journal’s editorial board (none of them are still listed there today). They told me that their involvement had been purely passive and limited to an earlier special issue. After that, they no longer had any real function, but their names continued to appear on the board—apparently to signal credibility. Pieter Muysken, for example, was still listed there a year after his death.


Looking at their list of different journals, it is obvious that they are a factory not an academic publisher. And looking through the journal Languages’s publications, I also notice a large number of rather trivial contributions. The more interesting work tends to appear mainly in special issues edited by well-established colleagues, although many other special issues also seem fairly trivial. My impression, therefore, has been that the publisher’s model prioritizes quantity rather than quality.

It would be interesting to hear about your experience.

Best regards,
Micha

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