Journal of Communication, Language and Culture

Submission of a manuscript to JCLC implies that it has not been published elsewhere, is not under consideration by another publisher, and will not be submitted to another outlet until a decision is received from JCLC. Manuscripts that do not conform to these guidelines will not be considered. All manuscripts are subject to double-blind peer review; both author and reviewer identities are concealed throughout. JCLC is an open-access journal.

Title Page

Submit a separate title page. It must include the full title of the paper, all authors’ names with family names in capitals, institutional affiliations and designations, academic qualifications, ORCID iD, postal address, email addresses and telephone numbers, a brief biodata of approximately 50 words, and acknowledgements where relevant, including funding or sponsorship. In multi-authored papers, identify the corresponding author. All authors must have approved the final version prior to submission.

Blinded Manuscript

Ensure the main manuscript contains no author names, affiliations, or acknowledgements, and ensure the filename and file metadata/properties does not reveal author identity and affiliation.

Abstract and Keywords

Each manuscript must include an abstract written in English, between 200 and 250 words, that provides a concise summary of the paper’s objectives, methodology, key arguments, findings, and conclusions. The abstract should be written in a single paragraph, without subheadings, citations, tables, or figures.

Immediately after the abstract, authors must provide four to six keywords that capture the main topics and themes of the manuscript. Keywords should be specific, relevant, and aid in indexing and discoverability.

For manuscripts submitted in Bahasa Malaysia, authors are required to provide an English title and abstract of similar content and length, in addition to the abstract in Bahasa Malaysia.

Length

The manuscript for research articles should be at least 4000 words, including illustrations, figures and references.

Formatting

Submit manuscripts in Microsoft Word (.doc or docx) format. Use Times New Roman 12-point font and standard margins (1" on the top and bottom, 1.25" on the left and right). Number pages consecutively. Headings should be clear and consistent, with first-level headings in capitals and bold, aligned left, and second-level headings in bold, aligned left, with only the first word and proper nouns capitalised. The title of the paper should be concise and appealing and should not include mathematical symbols. Authors are encouraged to use the JCLC manuscript template when preparing submissions.

Language and Style

JCLC accepts manuscripts in English and Bahasa Malaysia. Use British English spelling; –ize variants are permissible. Quotations shorter than 30 words should appear in quotation marks, while quotations longer than 30 words should be set as indented blocks without quotation marks. Follow British usage for abbreviations with full points, for example Dr., Ph.D. and Ltd. Authors should ensure accuracy and clarity of language prior to submission.

Non-English Text

Non-English terms should be italicised, but English plural endings added to such terms should not be italicised. Names of institutions, movements and currencies should not be italicised. Quotations in languages other than English should appear in quotation marks and be followed by an English translation in square brackets. If the author has provided the translation, indicate this accordingly.

Numbers and Dates

Spell out numbers from one to nine and use numerals from 10 onwards. Use commas for thousands. Use the word percent rather than the symbol except within tables and figures. Write dates in day–month–year format, for example 1 January 2025. Do not use apostrophes for decades, for example 1990s, and write page ranges and years in full, for example 245–246 and 1999–2012.

Tables and Figures

Number tables and figures consecutively in the order they appear. Provide concise captions and cite sources. Authors are responsible for securing permission for copyrighted materials to be published in JCLC.

Notes and Referencing

JCLC requires American Psychological Association style, 7th edition to be used.  Refer to APA Style – Reference Examples at https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples for guidance on the required format for in-text citation and references.

 Ethics, Declarations and Compliance

Author Contributions

Authors must clearly identify the specific contributions of each author in the current submission, from the design and conceptualisation of the study to data collection, analysis, writing, and preparation for final publication. Statements should allow editors and readers to understand the distinct role played by each contributor.

Conflict of Interest

All authors are obligated to disclose any potentially relevant conflicts of interest. This includes, but is not limited to, financial relationships, funding sources, advisory or investor connections, and personal, political, or collaborative relationships that may influence the research. Conflicts of interest should be stated explicitly. If there are none, please state: “The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest.” For more detailed information, see the Journal Conflict of Interest guidelines.

Data Availability Statement

Authors must provide a Data Availability Statement describing the accessibility of the data and materials used in the study. This statement should include where and how the data can be accessed, any restrictions on its use, and conditions for access if not publicly available. If the data cannot be shared, the reasons must be explained.

 Funding

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research. The full name of the funding agency, grant number, and the author(s) associated with the funding should be provided. If no financial support was received, this must be clearly stated, for example: “The authors received no funding for this research and publication.”

Acknowledgement

The acknowledgement section may be used to thank individuals, organisations, or institutions that contributed to the work, offered feedback, or provided technical or administrative support. It may also be used to acknowledge funding sources not directly tied to the research.

Ethics Statement

All authors must provide an ethics statement in their manuscript, referring to the JCLC manuscript template for correct formatting. The statement must either indicate that ethical approval was obtained from the relevant committee or institutional review board (with approval number) or explain why approval was not required. Acceptable reasons include that the research did not involve human participants, relied on publicly available data, used anonymised surveys without sensitive data, analysed retrospective anonymised records, or received prior exemption from an institutional ethics board.

Similarity and AI-Writing Checks

All manuscripts must be screened with plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin to identify significant textual overlap and AI-generated content. Each submission must record a similarity index below 20 percent and an AI-writing detection result below 20 percent to be eligible for acceptance. Submissions that exceed these thresholds will not be considered.

Peer-Review Policy

All submissions undergo initial editorial appraisal and, if found suitable for further consideration, to double-blind review by at least two independent and anonymous experts in the field. The reviewer’s recommendations are taken into consideration by the Editors in arriving at publication and revision decisions. Comments and feedback from the external reviewers are sent to the authors and they are notified of the journal's decision (accept, accept with revisions, or reject). The Chief Editor makes the final decision upon receipt of the revised manuscript and reviewers’ recommendations. The typical review cycle ranges from three to five months. All accepted manuscripts may be subject to additional checks for originality at any stage.

Publication Ethics and Prior Publication

JCLC will not publish material that has appeared elsewhere or in conference proceedings. Submissions must be original and not under review with another journal. All manuscripts are screened for originality using appropriate similarity checking software.

Copyright

Upon acceptance, the corresponding author must submit a copyright form signed by all authors and co-authors. The signed form should accompany the final accepted version of the paper.

Open Access Policy

JCLC is an open-access journal. Articles are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY licence, allowing unrestricted access, distribution and reuse with proper attribution. JCLC does not charge fees for submission, processing or publication, and no charges are imposed on readers.

Submission and Contact

All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission system. For enquiries, contact the Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Communication, Language and Culture (JCLC), including institutional details, email address and the journal website URL.