Über die Zeitschrift

Focus and Scope

Studies in African Linguistics (SAL) publishes in-depth empirically supported linguistic articles on African languages

Peer Review Process

Studies in African Linguistics publishes 2 issues per year each of which has 6 journal-length papers. The time it takes to publish a paper after it is accepted depends on the number of papers we have in the queue.

When Studies in African Linguistics receives submissions, editors spend up to 4 weeks to conduct a desk review and determine whether it should be sent out for external review. If the paper is acceptable for review, 2 potential reviewers are consulted. People who are contacted have 2 weeks to accept the request for review. If after 2 weeks we haven’t heard from them, we send a reminder. If after 2 more weeks we still don’t hear from them, then we contact a different person. This means that the time that reviewers take to react to requests can substantially increase the duration of the reviewing process. Reviewers are given up to 6 weeks to review a paper. They are gently reminded of their invitations and due dates for reviews. A paper could therefore take up to 16 weeks to get reviewed. Editors take 2 weeks, once the reviews are in to go through the report and inform the author on our decision.

Reviews are double-blind: reviewers do not have access to the identity of authors and authors do not know who the reviewers are. However, if reviewers happen to know or guess the identity of an author, this does not disqualify them as a reviewer. When a paper is submitted through the website, the metadata page collects information about the abstract and keywords while a separate page collects information about the author’s name and affiliation.

Reviewers are asked to choose one of the following:

  1. Accept without any changes
  2. Accept with minor revisions
  3. Accept with major revisions
  4. Revise and resubmit
  5. Reject

When reviews are in, the editorial team makes an editorial decision with the Editor in Chief having the final say. If the decision is ‘revise and resubmit’ or ‘accept with revisions,’ authors are asked to provide a detailed document explaining how their revisions have taken reviewer’s comments into account. That document is used by the editors and also passed on the reviewer. A revised manuscript is sent to original reviewers or assigned to new reviewers if the former are not available and at the discretion of the editors. The review process then repeats. SAL allows for a maximum of three rounds of submission for a paper after which a final publish or reject decision is made by the editors.

When reviews of a paper do not agree or if an author sufficiently defends their paper from changes requested by reviews, the editors have the right to invite a third reviewer or make an editorial decision on their own.

Publication Frequency

Studies in African Linguistics is published twice a year.

Open Access Policy

Studies in African Linguistics provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. There are no publication charges, and all content is freely available without charge to the user or their institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author for non-commercial purposes. Nonetheless, reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein requires credit to the original publication source with a link to both the article and the license. This open access policy is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative's (BOAI) definition of open access.

Copyright to Your Publication

As described in the author agreement, authors retain copyright to their publications. As an open access journal, Studies in African Linguistics disseminates all content under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

Studies in African Linguistics adopted a CC BY-NC 4.0 license to publish all articles beginning with Volume 50, No. 1. Authors of all articles published prior to the official adoption of the license retain copyright to their work, granting Studies in African Linguistics right of first publication.

Self-Archiving Policy

This journal permits and encourages authors to post items submitted to the journal on personal websites or institutional repositories both prior to and after publication, while providing bibliographic details that credit, if applicable, its publication in this journal.

Preservation Policy

Content published in Studies in African Linguistics will be preserved by the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The Libraries are committed to long-term digital preservation of all materials in UF-supported collaborative projects. Redundant digital archives, adherence to proven standards, and rigorous quality control methods protect digital objects. The UF Digital Collections provide a comprehensive approach to digital preservation, including technical supports, reference services for both online and offline archived files, and support services by providing training and consultation for digitization standards for long-term digital preservation.

Content will be preserved indefinitely, unless a specific request for removal of a specific item is directed to the journal managers. If you believe that your copyrighted material has been deposited into this journal without consent, please contact the administrators at sal@lin.ufl.edu.

Content is also preserved in the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) and CLOCKSS.

Correction, Retraction, and Removal of Articles

Correction. Despite the best of efforts, errors occur and their timely and effective remedy are considered the mark of responsible authors and editors. Studies in African Linguistics will publish a correction if the scholarly record is seriously affected (e.g., if accuracy/intended meaning, scientific reproducibility, author reputation, or journal reputation is judged to be compromised). Corrections that do not affect the contribution in a material way or significantly alter the reader's understanding of the contribution, such as misspellings or grammatical errors, will not be published. When a correction is published, it will link to and from the work. The correction will be added to the original work so that readers will receive the original work and the correction. All corrections will be as concise as possible

Retraction. Studies in African Linguistics reserves the right to retract items, with a retraction defined as a public disavowal, not an erasure or removal. Retractions will occur if the editors and editorial board finds that the main conclusion of the work is undermined or if subsequent information about the work comes to light of which the authors or the editors were not aware at the time of publication. Infringements of professional ethical codes such as multiple submissions, inaccurate claims of authorship, plagiarism, and fraudulent use of data will also result in retraction of the work.

Removal. Some circumstances may necessitate removal of a work from Studies in African Linguistics. This will occur when the article is judged by the editors and editorial board to be defamatory, if it infringes on legal rights, or if there is a reasonable expectation that it will be subject to a court order. The bibliographic information about the work will be retained online, but the work will no longer be available through Studies in African Linguistics. A note will be added to indicate that the item was removed for legal reasons.

Name Changes

The LibraryPress@UF is committed to supporting requests for author name changes and/or pronoun changes, with as few barriers as possible. Name changes and/or pronoun changes are available to authors upon request, with no legal documentation required. Upon receiving a name change request, the LibraryPress@UF will update all metadata, published content, and associated records under our control to reflect the requested name change. The LibraryPress@UF will not issue a notice of correction for the name change or notify co-authors or editors. While the LibraryPress@UF cannot control the use or appearance of an author’s name for external systems and publications administered by other editorial boards, and changes made to prior publications may not propagate to downstream environments, the LibraryPress@UF is committed to collaborating with other groups to support systemic changes to ensure name changes are fully supported.

Authors who wish to update or change their name should contact Kat Nguyen, Publications Editorial Coordinator, at knguyen1@ufl.edu. Requests will be treated with respect and confidentiality, and addressed as quickly as possible.