Reappraising blankness: semiotic roots of the “deficit” look of Chinese academic prose

Abstract To English readers, Chinese academic prose can appear insubstantial, a perception that scholarly discussion has often reduced to impressionistic views of interlingual difference. This perception fuels a “deficit” view prevalent in language pedagogy, which persistently characterizes Chinese academic authors without identifying a root cause beyond intercultural rhetorical patterns. This article argues that this “deficit” view rests on biased epistemological foundations that prioritize center languages over peripheral ones. Through a semiotic reappraisal of blankness – using examples from scholarly translation and cross-linguistic writing – this study recasts features typically deemed deficient as strategic omissions. Deconstructing disciplinary meaning-making with blank-sign theory, the analysis demonstrates that these features function as polysemantic relational markers whose interpretation depends on discursive norms and the reader’s situated knowledge. The study concludes that such a reappraisal is crucial for situating academic authors within the authentic socio-cultural context that shapes their choices. Integrating output features with authors’ linguistic backgrounds, this approach enables a more just and informed understanding of multilingual academic writing. The discussion offers an alternative to mainstream approaches, providing a linguistically neutral perspective to support pedagogical innovations aimed at fostering mutual understanding and reciprocal learning in intercultural scholarly communication.