Latex using foreign language results in error in citations

Question

When including LaTeX foreign language packages:

\usepackage[utf8x]{inputenc}
\usepackage[english,hebrew]{babel}
\usepackage[top=2cm,bottom=2cm,left=2.5cm,right=2cm]{geometry}

I get an error for the citations:

Example:

Missing number, treated as zero.

<to be read again> 
                   \afterassignment 
l.19 ...{example1}}}{\@@number {27}}

A number should have been here; I inserted `0'.
(If you can't figure out why I needed to see a number,
look up `weird error' in the index to The TeXbook.)

Another Example:

Improper alphabetic constant.

<to be read again> 
                   \afterassignment 
l.86 ...15normalized}. \citet{example2}
                                                   further improved the resu...
A one-character control sequence belongs after a ` mark.
So I'm essentially inserting \0 here.

! Missing = inserted for \ifnum.
<to be read again> 
                   \afterassignment 
l.86 ...15normalized}. \citet{example2}
                                                   further improved the resu...
I was expecting to see `<', `=', or `>'. Didn't.

And the citations are empty. When I don't include the foreign language packages I don't get the error and the citations are great.

The format I used for citations is \usepackage{natbib} and for the document \documentclass[12pt,twoside]{mitthesis}.

I also tried other formats and get the same error.

bibliography.bib is traditional:

@article{example1,
  title={Title1},
  author={Author},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.04902},
  year={2019}
}

@article{example2,
  title={Title2},
  author={Author},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.04902},
  year={2019}
}

Minimal Working Example is super basic, (the minimal Not-Working Example is when you uncomment the Hebrew part):

\documentclass{report}
%\documentclass[12pt,twoside]{mitthesis}
\usepackage{natbib}

% Hebrew
% \usepackage[utf8x]{inputenc}
% \usepackage[english,hebrew]{babel}
% \usepackage[top=2cm,bottom=2cm,left=2.5cm,right=2cm]{geometry}

\begin{document}
%\selectlanguage{english}
\include{introduction} %some text with \cite{example1} and so on...


% bibliography
\bibliography{bibliography}
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}

\end{document}

Can you please complete your code snippet to be compilable? And can you please add the bib entries example1 and example2 to your question? — Mensch
@NoaYehezkel Can you please add a minimal working example with bibliography (MWEB)? — samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
@NoaYehezkel Unfortunately my crystal ball is missing. Can you please make a MWEB that does not rely on external files we don't have? E.g. what is the content of bibliography.tex? — samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
Please also note that the class you are using is considered obsolete — samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
when using \documentclass{report} I get the same errors.... I edited the MWEB to make it simpler. — Noa Yehezkel

samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz · Accepted Answer · 2019-07-01T13:01:23

To avoid the problems load natbib after babel:

\documentclass{report}
%\documentclass[12pt,twoside]{mitthesis}


% Hebrew
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[english,hebrew]{babel}
\usepackage[top=2cm,bottom=2cm,left=2.5cm,right=2cm]{geometry}
\usepackage{natbib}

\begin{filecontents}{bibliography.bib}
@article{example1,
  title={Title1},
  author={Author},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.04902},
  year={2019}
}

@article{example2,
  title={Title2},
  author={Author},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.04902},
  year={2019}
}
\end{filecontents}

\begin{document}
% \selectlanguage{english}
\cite{example1,example2}

{
\selectlanguage{english}
\cite{example1,example2}
}

% bibliography
% \selectlanguage{english}
\bibliography{bibliography}
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}

 \selectlanguage{english}
\bibliography{bibliography}
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}

\end{document}

https://www.overleaf.com/read/kgrzpznmzjcz

Latex using foreign language results in error in citations

1 Answers