I have a basic question that others have definitely considered.
Often there are papers that originally appeared in a language that one might not understand (and I mean a natural language here). I would like to cite the original paper, because that is where the credit belongs. But on the other hand, doing so violates the golden-rule of read that paper that you cite! What should I do to overcome this dilemma?
So far, I have always cited the original, and if possible some other related work that has appeared in English—but sometimes, reviewers write back that I should not be citing papers written in a language different from English, which is what motivated me to ask this question.
Thanks for any useful advice.
Best Answer
I think a common-sense approach is to cite the original paper (whatever the language) in order to give credit and attribution but only rely on arguments from papers you can understand in your proofs (so you don't violate the golden rule).
Regarding reviewers, the worst that can happen (I think) is that you use a crucial argument from a paper you can understand but that the reviewer cannot understand. In that case, I think the problem is the same whether the reviewer cannot understand it because he is unfamiliar with the math or because he is unfamiliar with the natural language. In both cases, you, as the author, should try to present relatively clear references, and that includes translations when appropriate I guess, but ultimately this is a failure of the reviewer. If I were reviewing a paper and found myself in this situation, I would politely ask the author if there is a translation available. If not, I would tell the editors I am not competent, but wouldn't blame the author.
It is a bad idea to upset reviewers, but banning reference in languages other than English (or any other language) even for attribution purpose is an outrageous suggestion that should not be complied with.