English-language requirement and translations

Research happens in every language, and arXiv serves readers all over the world. In 2026 arXiv changed how it handles papers written in languages other than English. If English is not your first language, or you'd like to share your paper in two languages, this article explains the rule in plain terms.

ResearchGuild is independent and not affiliated with arXiv. arXiv's Non-English submissions page is the authoritative source.

The rule in one sentence

Beginning in February 2026, per arXiv, all submissions must have a full English-language version, either because the paper is written in English or because a complete English translation is included.

arXiv's announcements describe this as a change from the earlier requirement, under which non-English papers only needed an English abstractAbstractA short summary of a paper: the problem, what you did and what you found. On ResearchGuild, only the abstract is shown until you choose who reads the full paper.. Now the whole paper needs to be available in English.

Why arXiv made the change

arXiv gave two main reasons in its blog posts:

• ModerationModerationarXiv's check of every submission for fit and basic quality before it is announced. It is separate from endorsement and from peer review.. arXiv does not have moderators fluent in every language submitted to it. A full English version helps them screen papers.
• Readership. arXiv says it wants to encourage a bilingual or multilingual model that broadens the availability of papers to a global readership.

So the policy does not ask you to abandon your own language. You can still share the original, as long as an English version sits alongside it.

How to include both versions

arXiv's guidance covers a few practical points:

Order matters

Prepare your submission so that the English version appears first, followed by the non-English version.

PDF submissions

For multilingual papers submitted as PDFs, arXiv says you may include all language versions in a single PDF file. That fits with arXiv's broader PDF rule that a PDF submission is one PDF file containing all text and figures (see TeX or PDF?).

TeX submissions

If you submit TeXTeX / LaTeXA typesetting system widely used for scientific papers. arXiv accepts TeX/LaTeX source as well as PDFs; the linked article explains which to use. source, the same principle applies: the compiled output should present the English version first. The details of structuring a bilingual TeX project are not spelled out in the snippets we reviewed, so check the arXiv non-English submissions page for current instructions.

Is machine translation allowed?

arXiv's guidelines say that versions produced with automated translation are acceptable, as long as their content is faithful to the original paper.

That "faithful" condition is important. Automated tools can mistranslate technical terms, reverse the meaning of a negation, or garble equations and variable names. Before you submit:

• read the English version end to end yourself;
• check every technical term against how the English-language literature uses it;
• make sure figures, tables and captions match between versions;
• ask a colleague who reads both languages to spot-check key sections.

Remember that arXiv also says authors take full responsibility for their paper's contents, irrespective of how the contents were generated.

Translations of existing papers

arXiv has a separate help page on translations. If you want to post a translation of a paper that already exists (on arXiv or elsewhere), read the Translations page to see how arXiv handles that case, since we have not summarised its details here.

Tips for writing clearly in English

You don't need perfect English to be understood. Moderators and readers care most about clarity:

• Use short sentences for key claims.
• Define abbreviations the first time you use them.
• Make your title and abstract say concretely what you did.
• Keep terminology consistent throughout.

How ResearchGuild can help

Reviewers on ResearchGuild can read your English version and tell you where it is unclear. That feedback is especially useful when you have used a translation tool. When you're ready, start a paper, and see What to send an endorser for how to share bilingual drafts.