Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi; Isyaku Hassan; Engku Muhammad Tajuddin bin Engku Ali; Ahmad Taufik Hidayah; Mohd Hazli bin Yah@Alias; Muzammir bin Anas; Nur Izzati Suhaimi
Volume 8, Issue 1 , March 2020, , Pages 82-91
Abstract
The relationship between Islamic values and foreign languages in the school environment offers a relatively good example of the challenging aspects of Islamic identity formation amongst the students. Via focused group interviews, this study aimed to explore the teachers’ perceptions with regard ...
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The relationship between Islamic values and foreign languages in the school environment offers a relatively good example of the challenging aspects of Islamic identity formation amongst the students. Via focused group interviews, this study aimed to explore the teachers’ perceptions with regard to the influence of English language learning and the environment in the process of Islamic self-identity formation among religious secondary school students in Terengganu, Malaysia. The study employed a qualitative approach in which 15 religious secondary school teachers in the Terengganu State of Malaysia were selected using purposive sampling technique. The study found that the school environment is influential in the process of Islamic self-identity formation among the students, and English language learning does not have a negative influence on the process. Instead, certain virtues, such as respect, self-confidence, diligence, and decency are inculcated in the students’ self-identity during the English language teaching and learning process. Teachers and educational administrators should put more effort toward the best educational provisions for the students’ religious identity through exposure to the values of self-identity beyond the scope of textbooks.
Mariia I. Andreeva; Ekaterina V. Martynova; Ol'ga D. Vishnyakova; Marina I. Solnyshkina
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2021, , Pages 82-90
Abstract
The generation gap is the disagreement between one generation and another over beliefs, policies, or values. The difference between the generations is a social reality and must be examined from different angles. In this study, we examined young readers’ comprehension along with the purpose of contributing ...
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The generation gap is the disagreement between one generation and another over beliefs, policies, or values. The difference between the generations is a social reality and must be examined from different angles. In this study, we examined young readers’ comprehension along with the purpose of contributing to our understanding of the inventory, as well as the range of the semantic roles reproduced in the immediate oral recalls. The comprehension of an expository 200-word Russian text read by 22 Russian natives, aged nearly 10-11 years, was assessed with free recall. The revealed pattern of the inventory of the semantic roles both in the reading text and its recalls comprised two types, including main propositions and sub-propositions, the latter of which fell into agents, circumstances, and modifiers. The recalls matched the reading text in the inventory of the semantic roles defined. On the whole, the study indicated that respondents reproduce no more than 40% of the propositions in the reading text.
Israa Qari
Volume 7, Issue 1 , March 2019, , Pages 83-95
Abstract
This paper was set out to investigate the main cultural differences between Saudi and British participants making apologies with a focus on the role of the gender of the addressee in the selection of apology strategies in gender-segregated vs. coed societies. Written questionnaires were used to collect ...
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This paper was set out to investigate the main cultural differences between Saudi and British participants making apologies with a focus on the role of the gender of the addressee in the selection of apology strategies in gender-segregated vs. coed societies. Written questionnaires were used to collect data from 80 participants: 20 Saudi males, 20 Saudi females, 20 British males and 20 British females. Three apology situations were presented; in the first two situations the hearer (H) was a male, in the third, the H was a female. Data was analyzed based on Brown and Levinson’s (B & L) politeness theory and according to the Cross Cultural Speech Act Research Project (CCSARP) apology strategy coding system. Generally, the results of this study indicated differences between the Saudi and the British apology strategy selections. Moreover, in particular, there were significant differences between the mean scores of apology situations where the gender of the addressee was a male.
Ainur T. Bayekeyeva; Saule Zh. Tazhibayeva; Aigul A. Shaheen; Zhainagul S. Beisenova; Gulnar Beysenkyzy Mamayeva
Abstract
Industry-specific translation is one of the rapidly developing and highly demanded sectors in Kazakhstan. This paper discusses the theoretical and methodological issues of compiling a controlled multilingual vocabulary or thesaurus for the purposes of industry-specific translation. The proposed multilingual ...
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Industry-specific translation is one of the rapidly developing and highly demanded sectors in Kazakhstan. This paper discusses the theoretical and methodological issues of compiling a controlled multilingual vocabulary or thesaurus for the purposes of industry-specific translation. The proposed multilingual thesaurus addresses the gap of existing online dictionaries with the lack of ability to translate directly from English into Kazakh, and provides relevant equivalents for mining and metal terms in three languages: Kazakh, English, and Russian. The study is interdisciplinary and combines methods of linguistic analysis, machine learning, ontological and corpus-based studies that allow an exhaustive analysis, generalization, comparison, systematization, classification, and formalization of the mining industry terminology through a multilingual parallel corpus based on the Zthez international technical platform. The controlled multilingual thesaurus is designed to promote intercultural communication of professionals and translators in the mining industry. Besides it enables the foundation to be built for a Kazakh language corpus, unifying and systematizing Kazakh industry-specific terms in a multilingual way.
Shazia Kousar
Volume 3, Issue 2 , September 2015, , Pages 85-96
Abstract
The present research is aimed at investigating how the politeness of the speakers of Urdu is influenced by their relative social status in society. The researcher took politeness theory of Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987) as a model. To observe politeness of Urdu speakers, speech act of apology with different ...
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The present research is aimed at investigating how the politeness of the speakers of Urdu is influenced by their relative social status in society. The researcher took politeness theory of Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987) as a model. To observe politeness of Urdu speakers, speech act of apology with different strategies was selected. A Discourse Completion Task (DCT) was used as an instrument to collect data from a sample of 152 participants from different institutes. The analysis of data indicated that the speakers of Urdu employed negative politeness strategies mostly for the addressee of high social status and low social status. The addressee of equal social status was apologized by positive politeness strategies. The results showed that Pakistani society is non-egalitarian. Moreover, this study supports Brown and Levinson’s (1978, 1987) claim for universality of politeness in preferring negative politeness to positive politeness; though, this preference for negative politeness is the outcome of the unequal social status of the addressee.
Reza Abdi; Ali Basarati
Volume 6, Issue 1 , March 2018, , Pages 86-100
Abstract
The various and multifaceted wars in the Middle East have brought about weird complications in the already challenging multifarious international relations and interactions. The media coverage of terroristic threats in the Middle East and the European countries as well as United States has often targeted ...
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The various and multifaceted wars in the Middle East have brought about weird complications in the already challenging multifarious international relations and interactions. The media coverage of terroristic threats in the Middle East and the European countries as well as United States has often targeted Muslim identity. The present study is aimed at analyzing Barack Obama's speech at Baltimore Islamic center which was meant to transform such constructed worldviews about the Muslims by making an attempt to redefine the Muslim identity according to special key identity-bearing terms such as peace and Americanism. Using van Leeuwen's (2007) framework, this study attempts to discuss identity construction as a further analytical lens to van Leeuwen's approach. According to Foucault's (2009) notion of biopower and Greenblatt's (1980) idea of improvisation, it was concluded that Obama struggles to redefine Muslim identity in order to gain control of the society and manage the social subjects in a politically preferred way.
Аlina S. Gaynutdinova; Aliya Mutallimova
Volume 9, Issue 1 , March 2021, , Pages 86-93
Abstract
In connection with the living environment, people have used all kinds of communication. One of the ancient modes of communication is whistling. Many people encoded their messages using this method. However, there are peoples and tribes that have developed this language to the level of communication. ...
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In connection with the living environment, people have used all kinds of communication. One of the ancient modes of communication is whistling. Many people encoded their messages using this method. However, there are peoples and tribes that have developed this language to the level of communication. One of them is the Turkish people. The present study aimed to investigate the language of the whistle of the Turkish people. Owing to globalization and the fear of losing this language, many organizations in Turkey have decided to take control of the language and try to prevent its disappearance. Thus, the language of the whistle has also been taken under the protection of UNESCO. This step has given the language a new lease of life, for many organizers trying to help it survive in the globalization of the world have appeared. Scientists persist in studying this language, and the residents continue to use their traditions and thereby attract new tourists.
María de la O Hernández López
Volume 4, Issue 2 , September 2016, , Pages 87-104
Abstract
This paper examined disagreement in two sets of data in the context of service encounters: problem-solving interactions (doctor-patient communication) and purchase-oriented encounters (pharmacies) from a cross-cultural perspective (Spanish-British English). We proposed assertiveness, a term that refers ...
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This paper examined disagreement in two sets of data in the context of service encounters: problem-solving interactions (doctor-patient communication) and purchase-oriented encounters (pharmacies) from a cross-cultural perspective (Spanish-British English). We proposed assertiveness, a term that refers to both socio-psychological and linguistic features of communication, as a concept that may help understand disagreement. To this end, this study explored, on the one hand, frequency and types of disagreement in 160 British and Spanish service encounter interactions (SEIs, henceforth), in order to understand degrees of assertiveness, as well as the difficulty to grasp motivations for disagreement. On the other hand, five case studies were examined to unravel the social meanings attached to disagreement. The results showed that not in all cases Spanish interlocutors are more assertive than British interlocutors, that social meanings are not stable within the same genre and that linguistic choices may be linked to psychosocial motivations, such as assertiveness.
Rahman Sahragard; Ehsan Ansaripour
Volume 2, Issue 1 , March 2014, , Pages 88-105
Abstract
The present study sought to investigate demotivating and remotivating factors among Iranian MA students of TEFL. The participants included 170 male and female (Male= 97, Female= 73) Iranian MA students of TEFL randomly chosen among the students of 10 most well-known state universities of Iran. To collect ...
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The present study sought to investigate demotivating and remotivating factors among Iranian MA students of TEFL. The participants included 170 male and female (Male= 97, Female= 73) Iranian MA students of TEFL randomly chosen among the students of 10 most well-known state universities of Iran. To collect the qualitative data, interviews were conducted on 20 students, two from each university. Subsequently, a 40-item demotivating questionnaire was constructed and administered to 150 students, 15 from each university. The findings indicated that ‘economic problems’wasthe most salient demotivating factor for the participants of this study. The second important demotivating factor was ‘future pessimism’. The third and the fourth demotivating factors were ‘professors’ characteristics’ and ‘syllabus design’, respectively. The order of importance of other demotivating factors was as the following: ‘curriculum decisions’, ‘scoring system’, ‘administrative decisions’, ‘facilities’ and ‘classroom environment’. Furthermore, remotivating strategies were investigated based on what students proposed as ways to get rid of the existing demotivating factors.
Azizullah Mirzaee; Maryam Esmaeili
Volume 1, Issue 1 , March 2013, , Pages 89-100
Abstract
L2 research has shown that instruction in L2 pragmatics is necessary. The current study evaluated the impact of explicit instruction on EFL learner's awareness and production of three speech acts of request, apology, and complaint. It also probed whether learners’ language proficiency plays any ...
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L2 research has shown that instruction in L2 pragmatics is necessary. The current study evaluated the impact of explicit instruction on EFL learner's awareness and production of three speech acts of request, apology, and complaint. It also probed whether learners’ language proficiency plays any role in incorporating pragmatic instruction into the L2 classroom. Iranian undergraduate students majoring in English with low and high levels of proficiency participated in the study. The instruction lasted for about 12 weeks. Achievement in L2 pragmatics was assessed based on a pretest-posttest plan using Multiple-Choice Discourse Comprehension Test (MDCT) and Written Discourse Completion Test (WDCT). The significant gains made by the experimental groups receiving instruction support the claim recently made by instructional pragmatics that explicit instruction does facilitate the development of pragmatically appropriate use of language. Yet, learners’ level of language proficiency had no significant role in the incorporation of the instruction. Further theoretical issues are also discussed.
Hayder Al Hamdany; Michelle Picard
Abstract
Language and culture are inextricably linked. Consequently, the teaching of cultural awareness as part of additional language instruction is crucial to increasing language proficiency. This paper examines how literature circles are utilized and actively modelled in the teaching and learning of the Arabic ...
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Language and culture are inextricably linked. Consequently, the teaching of cultural awareness as part of additional language instruction is crucial to increasing language proficiency. This paper examines how literature circles are utilized and actively modelled in the teaching and learning of the Arabic language and its culture in an adult Arabic as an Additional Language classroom in Iraq with beginner, intermediate and advanced learners. The impact of the literature circles pedagogy is explored through the analysis of audio transcripts of the interactions during the class, student journals reflections on their experiences participating in the study, and the researcher’s field notes recording their observations during the literature circle activities. Eight participants from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds were divided into two multi-level groups. The data revealed that the literature circle methodology increased student-to-student interaction and collaborative learning and understanding of Arabic culture. These outcomes resulted in enhanced confidence in using the language and, consequently language proficiency in the Arabic language.
Hisham M. Ali
Volume 6, Issue 2 , September 2018, , Pages 90-101
Abstract
While Bourdieu’s theory of practice provides an ensemble of conceptual tools which analyze patterns of social life that are irreducible to the limiting view of individuals as free-acting agents, Genette’s paratextual theory offers the metalanguage necessary to account for the microcosm of ...
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While Bourdieu’s theory of practice provides an ensemble of conceptual tools which analyze patterns of social life that are irreducible to the limiting view of individuals as free-acting agents, Genette’s paratextual theory offers the metalanguage necessary to account for the microcosm of paratext as a linguistic space. This study takes issue with unidirectional approaches to researching paratexts in terms of linguistic or sociological accounts, and argues for a bidirectional understanding of paratext to unearth the interplay between structure and agency. Drawing on Genette’s paratextual features and Bourdieu’s sociology, this interactive approach is explored in a series of analyses of paratexts enveloping two Arabic translations of Gibran’s The Earth Gods. Through a discussion of the linguistic manifestations and the socio-historical backdrops of paratexts, the paper argues that the preface with its attendant micro features has the potential to exhibit the translation illusio which epistemologically foregrounds the stakes and investments that motivate the production of translation.
Tugba Toprak; Yasemin Aksoyalp
Volume 3, Issue 1 , March 2015, , Pages 91-104
Abstract
Increasingly intercultural dimension of communication in the 21st century has brought about challenging aims in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pedagogy, such as ascertaining the enhancement of the learners' intercultural awareness and promoting their ability to communicate in intercultural settings. ...
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Increasingly intercultural dimension of communication in the 21st century has brought about challenging aims in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pedagogy, such as ascertaining the enhancement of the learners' intercultural awareness and promoting their ability to communicate in intercultural settings. Taking the disadvantage of EFL environment in terms of intercultural input into account, course books can be considered as one of the most crucial tools used in these settings. Thus, the links between culture, language teaching, and course books deserve a closer investigation carried out with a critical eye. Hence, the present study was conducted: (1) to explore the extent and number of the cultural representations present in course books (2) the distribution of cultural representations across different English-speaking countries (i.e., the UK, the USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand). To this end, 17 English course books written by international publishers and used at preparatory English schools of universities in an EFL setting were examined by using a quantitative content analysis. The results were discussed and implications were made.
Raazia Sajid Taqi; Sara Khazai; Rajabali Askarzadeh Torghabeh; Kaveh Azodi
Abstract
The present research applies game theory to Austen’s Sanditon (Austen, 1817b) by analyzing the novel’s characters in the light of games, choices, and rational thinking. The application of game theory is especially relevant, considering Austen’s particular focus on interactions and choices ...
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The present research applies game theory to Austen’s Sanditon (Austen, 1817b) by analyzing the novel’s characters in the light of games, choices, and rational thinking. The application of game theory is especially relevant, considering Austen’s particular focus on interactions and choices within society in her work. Moreover, a lack of incorporation of rational and mathematical models of decision-making in the field of literature, along with the shortage of academic studies on Austen’s Sanditon (1817b) prompts the present study. In the present paper, the major characters in Austen’s original novel fragment are divided into strategic and non-strategic (or clueless) characters. Some characters (Lady Denham, Charlotte Heywood, and Mary Parker) are found to be strategic, while others (Tom Parker, Sir Edward Denham, and Diana Parker) are established as clueless. On a larger scale, the study’s concentration on rational decision-making and the prediction of character decisions in Sanditon (1817b) creates an opportunity to incorporate empirical evidence while studying works of literature.
Abobo Kumbalonah
Volume 1, Issue 2 , September 2013, , Pages 104-116
Abstract
Drawing largely on Aidoo’s (1970) play, Anowa, as well as lived experiences, I argue on the philosophical flaws of Ashcroft’s (2009) claim that there is no inherent link between language and culture. This essay subsequently explores the implication of my argument on some transformational ...
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Drawing largely on Aidoo’s (1970) play, Anowa, as well as lived experiences, I argue on the philosophical flaws of Ashcroft’s (2009) claim that there is no inherent link between language and culture. This essay subsequently explores the implication of my argument on some transformational domains of English in particular though it has obvious applicability to the role of colonial languages in general. As one of the foremost postcolonial theorists, Ashcroft’s seeming departure from the postcolonial agenda he has pursued in his academic practice is striking to read. I consider as philosophically frail his claim in Caliban’s Voice that language has no intrinsic connections to the way of life of its speakers. Consequently, I find his succeeding position on the transformational value of English, in the postcolonial context, as equally requiring reassessment.
Munmun Gupta; Katharina Sukamto
Volume 8, Issue 2 , September 2020, , Pages 105-120
Abstract
The present study highlights a number of similarities and differences among cultural communicative styles used in India versus Indonesia. The analysis is based on Hall’s theory (1959, 1966, 1976, 1983) of high-context (HC) and low-context (LC) cultures, and Hofstede’s (2008) cultural dimension ...
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The present study highlights a number of similarities and differences among cultural communicative styles used in India versus Indonesia. The analysis is based on Hall’s theory (1959, 1966, 1976, 1983) of high-context (HC) and low-context (LC) cultures, and Hofstede’s (2008) cultural dimension of collectivism versus individualism. When viewed through the lens of Hall’s theory, India and Indonesia can both be classified as HC cultures, although India appears to be moving in the direction of LC culture. When both cultures are observed via Hofstede’s account of collectivism versus individualism, it is evident that Indonesia belongs to a collectivist culture, whereas India can be considered as both individualistic and collectivistic. There are marked differences in the ways that Indians and Indonesians interact, yet they also share a number of similarities, including respecting their elders and persevering in the accomplishment of tasks. This study also suggests how potential gaps between members of different cultures can be bridged by promoting intercultural acceptance.
Albina Fanilevna Mukhamadiarova; Mariya Alexandrovna Kulkova; Yuriy Viktorovich Kobenko; Alina Eduardovna Rakhimova
Volume 8, 3 (Special Issue on Russian Culture and Language) , December 2020, , Pages 63-71
Abstract
This article deals with a comparative analysis of phraseological and paroemiological units with the component coloronym black / Schwarz, черный, кара in German, Russian, and Tatar. We have analyzed 85 phraseological units and paroemias in German, 50 in Russian, and 99 in Tatar, extracted by ...
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This article deals with a comparative analysis of phraseological and paroemiological units with the component coloronym black / Schwarz, черный, кара in German, Russian, and Tatar. We have analyzed 85 phraseological units and paroemias in German, 50 in Russian, and 99 in Tatar, extracted by a continuous selection from etymological, lexical, and phraseological dictionaries. The paper exposes similarities and differences in the perception of the coloronyms black / Schwarz, черный, кара by representatives of different cultures. As a result of the analysis, we have found eight symbolic meanings of the coloronyms, which coincide in all three languages. The explication of the meanings ‘bad, evil, insidious, malicious, dishonest, untruthful’ is of high frequency in German, Russian, and Tatar. The second and third places are occupied by symbolic meanings ‘unhappy, unsuccessful, sad; heavy, difficult’ and ‘shameful’, respectively. In the linguistic world-image, the three symbolic meanings of the coloronym Schwarz are lacunar for the German language.
Agnur Khalel; Altnay Zhaitapova; Fatima Mamedova; Elnara Dulayeva
Volume 9, 2 (Themed Issue on Modern Realities of National Languages of CIS Countries) , August 2021, , Pages 74-84
Abstract
The topic of discursive foreign language skills is a major problem that needs to be studied in the context of a new educational paradigm. On the basis of analysis, the authors allocated the component of foreign language professionally discursive competence of future diplomats. Based on communicative ...
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The topic of discursive foreign language skills is a major problem that needs to be studied in the context of a new educational paradigm. On the basis of analysis, the authors allocated the component of foreign language professionally discursive competence of future diplomats. Based on communicative tasks and project-based activities, the principles of future diplomats’ foreign language professionally discursive competence formation were developed. A cognitive approach in pedagogics is aimed at the development of the entire set of intellectual abilities and skills and impacts the tuition process along with the ability to be adapted to the new conditions. The survey that allowed to check the effectiveness of this model was conducted. As a result of implementing this model, the structure of the foreign language professionally discursive competence of future diplomats was being formed. The project-based activities and communicative tasks had promoted the necessary conditions for an increase in the levels of readiness for the realization of future diplomats’ professional activities.
Haitham Y. Adarbah; Haniyeh Jajarmi
Abstract
In recent decades, content-based instruction (CBI) has been increasingly used worldwide with the aim of developing students’ English language competency, particularly in their area of specialization. However, its implementation has not been without problems, and researchers have been seeking and ...
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In recent decades, content-based instruction (CBI) has been increasingly used worldwide with the aim of developing students’ English language competency, particularly in their area of specialization. However, its implementation has not been without problems, and researchers have been seeking and suggesting ways to solve them. In this vein, this research describes the development and implementation of restructuring the teaching materials of General Foundation Programme courses (basic and applied mathematics modules) in Oman by using active learning through educational technology. The suggested restructuring of the teaching materials has two elements: 1) reorder the presentation of the course content for teaching specific learning outcomes within the context of broad conceptual themes; 2) incorporate active learning through technology and collaborative learning into every lecture. The new instructional design was assessed by a student survey and the comparison of their exam performance across three semesters in the academic years 2018-2020. The restructured courses significantly improved at-risk student engagement and satisfaction and increased academic performance.
Omid Azadibougar
Volume 2, Issue 2 (Special Issue on Translation, Society and Culture) , September 2014, , Pages 89-102
Abstract
The exportation of modern novel from European languages to other literatures has long been the object of study and has been, most recently, evoked in discussions of World Literature. The introduction of modern novel into the Persian literary system through translation occurred about the turn of the twentieth ...
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The exportation of modern novel from European languages to other literatures has long been the object of study and has been, most recently, evoked in discussions of World Literature. The introduction of modern novel into the Persian literary system through translation occurred about the turn of the twentieth century. The genre was unprecedented in Persian and the concept of adabiyat was specific to its literary tradition. As a result, the genre had to negotiate its position with literary and cultural norms to legitimize itself in the literary system. This negotiation was partly formal, i.e., accepted forms of literary expression, and partly conceptual, i.e., what the literary should express. The present paper focuses on the channels that introduced the genre into the literary system: first, explicit and implicit norms that regulated the transfer of the genre into Persian are outlined; then, the implications of form, literariness, and genre in inter-cultural transfer are discussed to elaborate on how the incoming novelistic discourse was appropriated. In the end, in view of the way the novelistic was transplanted into the Persian literary system, a number of hypotheses about the location of the novelistic in the Persian literary system are developed.
Amani Lusekelo
Volume 4, 1 (Special Issue on African Cultures and Languages) , March 2016, , Pages 89-102
Abstract
The existing literature on Bantu verbal semantics demonstrated that inherent semantic content of verbs pairs directly with the selection of tense, aspect and modality formatives in Bantu languages like Chasu, Lucazi, Lusamia, and Shiyeyi. Thus, the gist of this paper is the articulation of semantic classification ...
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The existing literature on Bantu verbal semantics demonstrated that inherent semantic content of verbs pairs directly with the selection of tense, aspect and modality formatives in Bantu languages like Chasu, Lucazi, Lusamia, and Shiyeyi. Thus, the gist of this paper is the articulation of semantic classification of verbs in Kiswahili based on the selection of TAM types. This is because the semantics and morphology of Kiswahili verbs have been extensively and intensively researched but the semantic classification of verbs has not been fully provided. Findings for the current research point towards the fact that, based on the realizations of three important sections of the verbal semantics, namely, onset, nucleus, and coda, Kiswahili verbs are divided into three major categories: activity (durative), achievement (inchoative), and stative verbs. A clear TAM-selection is provided for in achievement verbs whose semantic contents prohibit co-occurrence with progressive aspect, habituality, and futurity. This behaviour is attested in other Bantu languages though Kiswahili has no -ile formative.
Chin-Hui Chen
Volume 5, Issue 2 , September 2017, , Pages 91-104
Abstract
Outside of Western contexts, natural-conversation-based research on intergenerational communication is relatively rare. To help redress this imbalance, this paper explores the conversational styles of first-encounter talks between five pairs of college students and older adults in Taiwan, and infers ...
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Outside of Western contexts, natural-conversation-based research on intergenerational communication is relatively rare. To help redress this imbalance, this paper explores the conversational styles of first-encounter talks between five pairs of college students and older adults in Taiwan, and infers the interactional norms that underlie them. It is found that younger Taiwanese adults tend to exhibit great formality in their conversational styles, manifested as frequent appeals to older people’s positive face, and a preference for quick question-asking especially at the opening of the talks. Older adults, in contrast, exhibited lower levels of commitment to eliciting information from their interlocutors and were more likely to interrupt them. Younger adults appeared uneasy when hearing older adults’ painful self-disclosures, as reflected in the former’s minimal responses or quick shifts to other topics. The conversational styles pinpointed by this research are discussed in terms of how the observed intergenerational communication could be problematic.
Gulshat Ahmathanovna Hayrutdinova; Xiaoxu Wang; Xinxin Zhang
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2021, , Pages 91-100
Abstract
It is obvious that investigating a text or a poem, regardless of the culture of the period in which the writer or poet lived, is futile. The current study explores the conceptual metaphors formed by culture in the functioning of the autumn word in the works of Russian poetry. The relevance of the work ...
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It is obvious that investigating a text or a poem, regardless of the culture of the period in which the writer or poet lived, is futile. The current study explores the conceptual metaphors formed by culture in the functioning of the autumn word in the works of Russian poetry. The relevance of the work is due to the need for a comprehensive study of those language units that play an essential role in the embodiment of the author’s intention. At the same time, not all words expressing a temporary meaning have received comprehensive coverage in the scientific literature. Among these, lexemes are the word “autumn”. The purpose of the study is to analyze the functioning of the “autumn” lexeme in poetic works of the XX-XXI centuries. Considerable attention is paid to the realization of the creative potential of the temporal lexeme. The material for the study was poetry texts extracted from the “National Corpus of the Russian Language”.
Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Othman
Volume 8, Issue 1 , March 2020, , Pages 92-110
Abstract
This paper investigates service provisions in community languages offered by Manchester City Council and agencies working alongside to find out whether there is an explicit language policy in Manchester, how such a policy is formulated, how it functions, and how it is reflected in education. Data was ...
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This paper investigates service provisions in community languages offered by Manchester City Council and agencies working alongside to find out whether there is an explicit language policy in Manchester, how such a policy is formulated, how it functions, and how it is reflected in education. Data was collected through interviews with different personnel in MCC, focus group discussions with community language speakers, and the websites of various government agencies. The results show that there is an implicit rather than explicit language policy in Manchester. There exists also a language hierarchy in Manchester’s language policy whereby some community languages are given precedence over others, depending on the numerical strength of speakers. The results also show that there is usually a sort of articulation between the micro and macro-levels of language policy in multilingual contexts, which is evident in Manchester, particularly in the role that supplementary schools play in filling the gap in teaching community languages in mainstream schools.
Debalina Maitra
Volume 5, Issue 1 , March 2017, , Pages 94-102
Abstract
This chief aim of this paper is to explore the concept of Funds of Knowledge (FOK) in relation to Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). This study unveils the basic tenets of FOK from the lens of activity theory and analyzes pertinent discoveries, key concepts, and scholars’ arguments relating ...
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This chief aim of this paper is to explore the concept of Funds of Knowledge (FOK) in relation to Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). This study unveils the basic tenets of FOK from the lens of activity theory and analyzes pertinent discoveries, key concepts, and scholars’ arguments relating to FOK and literacy development over time. The major purpose of this study is to expand the perspective of FOK and make an argument that cultural identity has a great potential to promote school literacy. The literature review done on some education journals explicitly reveals that FOK is a concept embedded in one’s cultural identity, and that the various aspects of cultural identity – such as ethnicity, language, and customs – are all linked to student engagement. This article illuminates the diverse cultural resources of different ethnic groups and proposes that academic institutions connect those resources with education.