English for Research Publication Purposes (ERPP) is a sub‐field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), itself a sub‐field of applied linguistics. This article considers ERPP from a world Englishes perspective, considering the question as to what sort of English is appropriate for ERPP: the standardised model, as preferred at present, or a varietal, world Englishes, model, which would take more account of the fact that the majority of scholars publishing their work in English are no longer Anglophones, but use English as an additional language (EAL). The article is in two parts. In the first part, the case for ‘Standard English’ is presented, while the second part presents the case for a varietal model. In spite of some limited evidence of world Englishes encroaching into international journals, the latter remain fundamentally conservative and anchored in Standard English. Factors which might increase the use of world Englishes are outlined.