journal of the Institute for Bulgarian Language
pISSN 0005-4283, eISSN 2603-3372

Publication ethics and malpractice statemnet

“Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) is a peer-reviewed academic journal and applies double-blind peer review model. These Research Publishing Ethics Guidelines outline the publishing ethics responsibilities of the Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”). The scientific studies published in the journal are an important part of the development of all areas of Bulgarian linguistics, as well as Slavic linguistics. Consequently, it is important to set standards of expected ethical behavior for all participants involved in the publishing process: authors, peer reviewers, journal editors, publisher. The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) is committed to meeting high international standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publishing process.
Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) observes ethical standards as delineated by the of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), an organisation that provides advice and resources on all aspects of publication ethics and research and publication misconduct. Relevant documents include The Core Practices.
We aim to publish original texts valuable to the the scientific community that are the result of research conducted according to the highest academic standards. Therefore we follow the definition of COPE: “Publication ethics is a key part of keeping research honest and trustworthy. It helps make sure research is reliable and advances knowledge”.
Institute for Bulgarian Language “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences as publisher of the journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing extremely seriously and we recognize our ethical and other responsibilities.
Anyone who believes that the articles and any research published by the Journal “Balgarski ezik” have not been carried out in line with principles presented below should raise their concerns with the editor-in-chief, or email balgarskiezik@mail.bg. Concerns will be addressed by following COPE guidelines.

Publication ethics and ralated editorial policies

Editorial Independence. Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) strive to follow COPE’s Principles of Independence: “Editorial independence ensures that editors make decisions on manuscripts free from outside influence” (COPE Council. COPE position - Editorial independence - English.
We are committed to editorial independence, and strive in all cases to prevent this principle from being compromised through competing interests, or any other financial or political influence.
Editorial independence ensures that editors make decisions on manuscripts free from outside influence. Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, free from bias related to authors' nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion. Our editorial processes reflect this commitment to editorial independence. We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions.

Authorship and contributorship. The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) applies the following accepted authorship criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and/or
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and/or
• Final approval of the version to be published.

In collaborative research publications, it is imperative that all individuals credited as authors fulfill the established criteria for authorship. The corresponding author’s specific responsibilities include:

• Agreeing to and signing the Author Publishing Agreement on behalf of relevant co-authors and/or arranging for any third-party copyright owners’ signature;
• Acting on behalf of all co-authors in responding to queries from all sources post- publication, including questions relating to publishing ethics, reuse of content, or the availability of data, materials, resources etc.

Additional members who are relevant to the study are mentioned in the acknowledgments section. We strive to publish as much information about authors as possible (incl. in the section "About the authors") to increase authorship transparency and to present the participation of all authors. Editors are not responsible for resolving disputes related to authorship. We support our authors and editors in dealing with any authorship disputes, to use the resources of COPE. If authorship is disputed, we refer the case to the authors’ institutions. It is important that all authors reach a consensus regarding the proposed author team. The journal clarify the reasons for adding an author. Changesin the author team will not be made without the full consent of all listed authors.

Authorship Misconduct. Misrepresentation of authorship or affiliation is considered scientific misconduct. Such cases will be investigated following COPE guidelines and may lead to rejection, retraction, or notification to institutions.

Affiliation. Any article affiliations should represent the institution(s) at which the research presented was conducted and/or supported and/or approved.

Conflict of Interests/Competing Interests and Funding. The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) adheres to the of COPE’s position that ”Conflicts of interest are situations that have the potential to influence people’s judgements. Conflicts of interest could influence peer review, editorial decisions and publication management. The Academic Publishing House of the Institute for Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences maintains a policy regarding the disclosure of potential conflicts of interests, which is adhered to by the authors, reviewers, and editors.
We try to ensure that any publication in Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) is free from undue influence. Authors submitting a manuscript, editors and reviewers of the journal publications, are required to declare any potential competing interests that could interfere with the objectivity or integrity of a publication. Competing interests are situations that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on the presentation, review or publication of a piece of work. These may be financial, non-financial, professional, contractual or personal in nature. We also expect that anyone who suspects an undisclosed competing interests regarding a work published or under consideration by “Balgarski ezik” should inform the Editor-in-Chief or email balgarskiezik@mail.bg.
The Editor-in-Chief is prohibited from engaging in decisions concerning articles authored by themselves, those written by family members or colleagues, or articles that pertain to products or services in which the Editor has a financial stake.
The journal may use the disclosures as a basis for editorial decisions and may publish them as essential to the manuscript evaluation by readers. Similarly, the journal may decide not to publish a manuscript because of a declared conflict of interest. Authors are required to provide an appropriate funding statement at the end of their article.

Post-Publication Discussions. The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) allows post-publication debates regarding the published articles. Readers can submit their concerns, opinions, criticism on balgarskiezik@mail.bg. According to COPE guidelines, the Editors require that criticism should be reasonable; not contain libellous or defamatory content and have evidence that support the claims. The editorial board takes into account each comment and, depending on the specific case, takes appropriate action, adhering to the guidelines of COPE. These actions may include: supplementing information, editorial expression of concern, correction.

Post-publication Corrections and Retractions. Should authors find an important error or inaccuracy in their published article, it is their responsibility to promptly inform the journal Editor-in-Chief or publisher at balgarskiezik@mail.bg, and to work with the editor towards removing or updating the manuscript, if required. Depending on the nature of the error, the Editorial Board will decide whether an correction needs to be published. Only for substantial errors the procedure of corrections will be taken. Reports on mistakes in punctuation, mistakes not influencing the meaning of the paper or not affecting the scientific integrity of the paper, will not be processed.
Retraction after publication must be well-reasoned. Retraction may be considered by the editorial board of the journal "Bulgarian Language" in the following cases: if plagiarism is proven, if materials and data have been used without proper permission, if copyrights have been violated, in the case of unethical research practices, or in the case of an undisclosed conflict of interest that could influence the editor's or reviewer's decision.
Authors should cooperate with the editor and provide proof, if necessary, if a third party informs the editor or publisher that a published work includes an error. In such cases, standard retraction processes will be applied in line with COPE’s Retraction Guidelines and a formal notice of the retraction will be posted in the relevant database.
If the journal is found to have made an error, they will issue an erratum. Retractions are usually reserved for articles that are so seriously flawed that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon, or that contain substantial plagiarism.

Plagiarism. The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) strives to prevent plagiarism in all its forms. We do not tolerate plagiarism in any of our publications, and we reserve the right to check all submissions through appropriate software (such as StrikePlagiarism). Submissions containing suspected plagiarism, in whole or part, will be rejected. If plagiarism is discovered postpublication, we will follow our guidance outlined in the Post-publication Corrections and Retractions section of these guidelines. We expect our readers, reviewers and editors to raise any suspicions of plagiarism, either by contacting the relevant editor or by emailing.
Authors must guarantee that they have written and submitted entirely original manuscripts and that they have adequately referred to all sources used in the research, as well as publications by other authors which have had significant impact on the research process. Using others’ work, fully or partially, without accurately and scrupulously citing the course, is strictly prohibited.
The journal ask the reviewer for full documentary evidence and investigate the concerns.If plagiarism is found, the manuscript will be rejected and will not be considered further and the author is informed. The author's institution should be informed, where necessary. We will inform our partners and supported organization for proved plagiarism or self-plagiarism.

Duplicate Submission or Self-Plagiarism. If authors have used their own previously published work, or work that is currently under review, as the basis for a submitted manuscript, they are required to cite the previous work and indicate how their submitted manuscript offers novel contributions beyond those of the previous work. We do not support substantial overlap between publications.

Citation manipulation. The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) supports the understanding of COPE that citation manipulation involves editors or journal affiliates pressuring authors to include citations from their journal to artificially boost citation rates and impact factors. Our journal seeks to curb this unethical practice.
Materials, for which it is confirmed that certain citations were included for the sole purpose of increasing the number of citations of a particular publication or of the articles published in a journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”), will not be accepted for publication and explanations will be sought from the relevant editors with unethical behavior.
The acceptable total percentage of self-citations for our journals is less than 15% of all citations in one volume. All cases of inappropriate self-citations will be examined in a timely and transparent manner and authors may be asked to provide an explanation.

Data Reliability. The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) strives to transparency, correct use and openness around language data, materials, archives, sound record, sociolinguistic surveys used in the research. We expect authors to maintain accurate records of supporting evidence necessary to allow others to understand, verify, and replicate new findings, and to supply or provide access to this supporting evidence, on reasonable request.
The Journal “Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) permit authors to submit and publish supplementary materials that are not essential for inclusion or that cannot be accommodated in the main text, but that would be of benefit to the reader. Materials for which it is discovered that the authors have fabricated or falsified the results, will not be accepted; if such violations are discovered in already published articles, those articles will be retracted.

Allegations of misconduct All reports and allegations of misconduct by authors, editors and reviewers should be sent in writing to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal by email balgarskiezik@mail.bg.
All reports and allegations are considered at a meeting of the Editorial board. At the meeting, a decision is made to form a commission for an objective and confidential investigation of the specific case. The Editorial Board makes a decision depending on the conclusions of the commission and in compliance with ethical rules.

Publisher's responsibilities

The Institute of Bulgarian Language "Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, as the publisher of the journal “Balgarski ezik” ("Bulgarian Language"), has a supporting role in the work of the Editorial Board, authors and reviewers in the fulfillment of their professional duties and ethical responsibilities.
The publisher strives to adhere to the best publishing practices.
The publisher guarantees that its commercial and advertising policy will not influence the independence of editorial decisions.
The publisher undertakes to store the digital archive of the journal.
The publisher is ready to provide the journal with legal assistance and consultations, if necessary.
The publisher facilitates communication with other journals and/or publishers in order to improve the publication activity.

Editors's responsibilities

The Editor-in-chief organizes all publication processes in the journal “Balgarski ezik” ("Bulgarian Language"), striving to apply the best modern publishing practices to meet the needs of readers and authors. (See a detailed description of the Procedure for submitting and accepting manuscripts.
The Editor-in-chief ensures that the peer review process is fair, impartial and timely. Before sending the received manuscript for review, he assesses whether the article meets the profile and scope of the journal and whether all requirements for the formation of a scientific publication have been met. In case it does not meet the relevant requirements, the manuscript is returned to the author(s).
Editorial decisions should be based solely on the scientific merits of the article, without bias related to the nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, sexual orientation, or religion of the authors.
The Editors ensure the integrity of the publication process and make the decision on the publication of a manuscript based on the opinion of the reviewers. The Editorial Board informs the authors of the decision made. It may return the material to the author for corrections or revisions. In the event of refusal to publish, the Editorial Board undertakes not to provide the material to a third party.
Editors, along with the Publisher, are responsible for ensuring the independence of editorial decisions, for promoting accessibility, diversity, equality and inclusion in every aspect of the publishing process.
Editors should declare any potential conflicts of interest that could influence their work. They should not accept to edit manuscripts in which a conflict of interest is identified arising from competitive and/or other relationships or connections with any of the authors and/or institutions associated with the publication. If a conflict of interest is identified, the editor is excluded from the process of working on the respective manuscript.
If a member of the Editorial Board proposes his/her own research for publication in the journal "Bulgarian Language", he/she must disclose the conflict of interest and, in order to maintain objectivity, is excluded from further review and editing processes.
The editor, together with the publisher, establishes a transparent mechanism for appealing editorial decisions. All complaints should be addressed to the editor-in-chief at balgarskiezik@mail.bg. He may decide to request the opinion of the editor-in-chief or the Editorial Board.
The Editor-in-chief is responsible for investigating cases of alleged misconduct, observing the principles of civility and fairness. If allegations or doubts arise or ethical complaints are filed, editors should implement appropriate procedures, which are developed by the Editorial Board in accordance with COPE guidelines. Editors provide the author with an opportunity to respond to allegations while adhering to ethical standards. All allegations should be considered regardless of when the publication was approved for publication. In administering such issues, the Editor-in-chief adheres to the COPE guidelines.
The Editor-in-chief and the Editorial Board declare their readiness, always under appropriate circumstances, to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies, whenever this proves necessary.
The editors are committed to promoting academic debate. Substantive criticisms of published work will be published if the author of the criticism wishes publication, unless the editors have compelling reasons why such criticisms cannot find a place in the issue.
Editors are required to maintain the confidentiality of information related to the anonymous peer review processes. They guarantee that they will not use for their own benefit or provide to third parties unpublished information about a manuscript without the written consent of the authors.
The Editors are responsible for familiarizing all parties in the publication process with the journal's ethical rules.

Authors's responsibilities

Authorship. Authors should ensure that the authorship (as represented in the byline for the paper) accurately reflects the individuals’ contributions to the work and its reporting’. The corresponding author strives to ensure that there is a full consensus of all co-authors in approving the final version of the paper and its submission for publication. The publication of any part of a collective research work without prior consent of all contributing authors may lead to retraction of the paper.

Responsible research publication. The research being reported should have been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner. Researchers should present their results clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation. False or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior. Researchers should strive to describe their methods clearly and unambiguously so that their findings can be confirmed by others.
Authors must correctly cite all sources used in their publication including their own previously published articles and research material. They should indicate if there is a use of any AI tool in the research process.

Originality and lack of plagiarism. The authors should take collective responsibility that the submitted work is original, is not plagiarised, and has not been published or submited elsewhere. By submitting the paper, authors declare the all data used for the purposes of their research are genuine, authentic and not manipulated. Any form of plagiarism is treated as unethical behavior. The submitted materials are checked with an anti-plagiarism software.

Funding. Funding sources should be disclosed: internal funding by a university, an institute, etc., or any form of external funding.

Disclosure of conflicts of interest. All authors should disclose any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. This is done together with the submission of the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, honoraria, paid expert testimony, and grants or other funding.

Relationships with editors. Authors are required to respond promptly to editors' inquiries regarding primary data, textual clarifications, or copyright issues. Authors should revise their manuscript in accordance with the reviewers' guidelines and recommendations. If the authors disagree with the reviewers' recommendations, they present their arguments in writing. The final decision is made by the editorial board. After receiving a confirmation for publication of the paper, the author (corresponding author) fill in Publication Agreement.

Fundamental errors in the text of the article. In case significant errors are discovered, authors shall duly notify the Editorial Board so that publication could be withdrawn and revised accordingly in due time. If the editor learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper.
Authors must respond to the editor-in-chief's questions if a complaint has been received regarding their publication.

Copyrights. Authors who publish in the ”Balgarski ezik” (“Bulgarian Language”) retain the copyright on their works without restrictions. After approval of the manuscript, the authors sign a Publishing Agreement, agreeing to have their material published under the Creative Commons Attribution license (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International – CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Peer reviwers' responsibilities

The journal “Balgarski ezik” ("Bulgarian Language") applies double-blind peer review model (линк към Peer Review). The Editor-in-chief organizes the double-blind peer review process, and guarantees the anonymity of both peer reviewers and authors. External reviewers who are not members of the Editorial Board are selected. The reviewers are experts in the scientific field to which the manuscript belongs.
Reviewers fill out an Evaluation Card.
Reviewers must uphold the highest ethical standards in their evaluations.

Responsibility and professionalism. Reviewers are expected to treat their work responsibly by providing the publisher with complete and accurate information about their professional experience, as well as contact information.The ethical obligations of reviewers, include avoiding bias, respecting intellectual property rights, and recognising the contributions of others. The reviewer' recommendations are based solely on the significance and scientific value of the manuscript. Reviewers are kindly asked to be polite and constructive in their reports. Reviewer notify the journal as soon as possible if he find he do not have the necessary expertise to assess the relevant aspects of a manuscript.

Supporting editorial decisions. The evaluation of the reviewers is crucial for the attestation and improvement of the quality of any and all materials submitted for publication in the journal. The review assists the editors in taking editorial decisions and, through communication between the editors and authors, may help the authors improve their manuscripts.

Objectivity. Reviewers are expected to provide an unbiased, constructive critique of the manuscript. Reviews must ensure that the feedback is clear and helpful to authors. The conclusion must be supported by arguments. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. A reviewer should refrain from suggesting that authors include citations to his publication merely to increase citation counts or to enhance the visibility of his work; suggestions must be based on valid academic reason.

Confidentiality. Reviewers should respect the confidentiality of the manuscripts they evaluate. They should not disclose any information about the work or use it for personal advantage, ensuring the integrity of the review process.

Conflicts of interest. Reviewers should declare any potential conflicts of interest. This includes financial, personal relationships, or academic rivalries that could affect impartiality. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors or institutions connected to the papers. If the reviewer discover a competing/conflict of interest that might prevent him from providing a fair and unbiased review, he notify the Editorial board and withdraws. If the reviewer suspect the identity of the author(s) he notify the journal if this knowledge raises any potential competing or conflict of interest.

Timeliness. Reviewers must complete their work within a reasonable time frame to assist in the publication process.

Suspicion of ethics violations. Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. If the reviewer notices a violation of ethical rules by the authors (e.g., significant similarity between the reviewed manuscript and a simultaneously submitted article in another journal or a published article, plagiarism, incorrect use of someone else's publication or falsification of data), he/she notifies the editorial board, which takes appropriate action. Reviewers should be asked to address ethical aspect such as: Is there any indication that the data have been fabricated or inappropriately manipulated? Have the authors declared all relevant competing interests?
Detailed guidelines for the work of reviewers, as well as discussion of various case studies are contained in COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.