International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation
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Improved Yorùbá Language Option of the Automated Teller Machine using Translation Equivalence Model
Full text linkThe introduction of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) by financial institutions has changed the face of banking globally, Nigeria inclusive. The mechanism has provided a kind of collective sigh-of-relief to both the bank and their customers, offering convenient, speedy and round the clock services. However, it is not without some inherent challenges as many bank customers who are not proficient in English language found the ATM cumbersome and unfriendly. Attempting to provide solution to these challenges, some banks in Nigeria have developed and introduced the indigenous language version of the Automated Teller Machine options. Yet, user’s response did not reflect the anticipated level of enthusiasm as a result of operational complexities and translation equivalence challenges especially for the Yoruba menu option. In view of this, this work makes an attempt to present an improved translation model introducing Yoruba tone marking to assist those who do not understand the English language, but are monolingual only in Yoruba language to effectively interact with the system. Specifically, an attempt is made to translate the menu option of Automated Teller Machine in conformity with the phonological and morphological processes in Yorùbá, following the natural strategy of lexical expansion in the Yorùbá language itself. Phrases and sentences of translation were conducted, employing equivalent model. The data (content) considered were arranged bearing in mind the principle of relatedness for proper reference and analysis. During translation, the strategies of morphological processes of semantic extension, borrowing, nominalization, indigenization and composition were used. The system framework designed to test the model was found to reflect the anticipated level of user’s enthusiasm. The research work does not only assist those who are not proficient in English language to effectively interact with the system, but also overcomes the challenges of the present design and consequently widens the scope of ATM usage in the interior parts of the country.
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The Impact of Using Small Group Discussion Technique on Enhancing Students’ Performance in Speaking Skill: A Case Study of Benghazi University
No full textThis study aims to investigate the impact of using small group discussion technique on enhancing students’ speaking skill in English language department at Faculty of Arts and Science Kufrah –Benghazi University. The review of relevant literature revealed that previous researchers presented the advantages of small group discussion technique in teaching English around the world. So, the researcher believed that the use of small group discussion technique might promote students’ performance in speaking skill. The review of literature undeniably revealed that large group discussion technique mostly used by EFL lecturers to teach speaking skill were not solid enough. The advantage of the small group discussion technique over the large group discussion technique was investigated by testing the hypotheses and research questions set after conducting the literature review. The quasi-experimental research design as used in this study. English language department at Faculty of Arts and Science Kufrah was chosen for experimental study with 30 students. A teacher- made task was used as an instrument of the study. The results proved that, the mean performance of the students exposed to small group discussion technique is higher than that of those exposed to the large group discussion. Based on the results, recommendations were made on the need to adopt small group discussion to ameliorate students’ performance in speaking skill in Libyan universities.
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Communication Challenges Facing Soran University Students in Speaking English as a Foreign Language
Full text linkThe aim of the current study is to identify the reasons behind students’ weakness in
speaking and determine the challenges of oral communication that some students face in
English Department of the Faculty of Arts at Soran University. Quantitative research was
used as a method of data collection of this case study to achieve the goal. The population
of the study was undergraduate students at Soran University. A five-level Likert-scale
questionnaire with closed-ended items was distributed among 121 English Foreign
Language students to investigate participants’ views on this issue. The instrument
comprised twenty-eight items classified into three main domains of linguistic,
psychological, and sociocultural factors with different sub-aspects in each domain. The
data were analysed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS, version 24). The
findings showed that linguistic factors were the primary cause for English speaking
difficulties with 36.42%, followed by affective and sociocultural factors with 35.63% and
27.95 % respectively
A Pragmatic Analysis of the Interior Monologue in Layla Al-Atrash’s “La Toshboh Thatoha”
Full text linkThe present study aims at addressing the issue of self in Layla AlAtrash ‘s ‘La Toshboho Thatoha” through applying a pragmatic analysis of her interior monologue relying on the personal deictic expressions of an Arabic discourse used to understand the authorial intentions of the writer. The pragmatic analysis particularly will shed some light on how the protagonist of the novel deployed the personal deictic expressions in her interior monologue to represent her love story and how her husband has his plan and intention of marrying her. In literature, an interior monologue is a type of monologue that exhibits the thoughts, feelings, and associations passing through a character’s mind. In other words, the interior monologue is the expression of a character's thoughts, feelings, and impressions in a narrative. In the selected novel, Al Atrash creatively deployed the personal deictic expressions through employing a unique approach in presenting her novel’s protagonist depending on the interior monologue in which there is one dominant voice, the voice of the narrator ‘the protagonist’ depending on using the singular pronoun (I) was used to represent her issue. The use of (I) leads to the presentation of the narrative imitatively where we hear her voice from her perspectives. Doubtlessly, there are other conversations between the novel’s characters presented by the protagonist within the interior monologue. The researcher will rely on the model of Fillmore (1997) who argued that deixis is the reflection of the relationship between language and context. Deictic expressions fall into the following categories: person deixis, spatial deixis and temporal deixis, consequently, the study aims to analyze the pragmatic features of Arabic narrative discourse used by Layla Alatrash in the selected novel to represent her love story through utilizing the person deictic expressions. The results showed that the writer was an innovator in deploying the personal deictic expressions to represent the image of women who are utilized because of their heroic ancestors and their magnified attributions
Listening Comprehension for “Business English” Students: Obstacles, Needs, and Strategies
Full text linkThis study is carried out with business English freshmen at the faculty of Economics in Meknes, Morocco, with the aim of exploring their needs as regards listening. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to 153 first-year “business English” students. The study reveals that listening still remains a neglected skill in the Moroccan formal learning context. As a result, students face many difficulties to get the proper meaning of the listening input. Accordingly, the paper puts forward some teaching strategies and stresses the importance of authentic materials that would help boost students’ listening skills. It also underscores the importance of the listening skill during academic learning as well as in professional career, especially in relation to international business. Ultimately, an intercultural listening course is highly recommended to help students communicate with English-speaking people from different cultures
Translator’s Creation in Language Style and Illocutionary Shift: Gender Utterance in Romance
Full text linkThe aim of this study is to identify and describe the translator’s creation in shifting the language style and illocutionary type of different gender speech in romantic speech event of literary object. This research is a descriptive qualitative study that describes the translation shift in pragmatic and sociolinguistic domain as the impact of certain translation technique used. The data were obtained from the translation utterances of male and female characters on romantic speech events and validated by three raters through FGD (Focus Group Discussion) before then being analyzed through domain, taxonomy, componential and cultural themes analysis. The results of this study indicate that the translator made four types of shift; illocutionary shift, sub-illocutionary shift, language style in the form of intensifier and empty adjective shift. Besides, there are five translation techniques affecting those shift types, those are reduction, modulation, established equivalent, amplification (addition), and discursive creation. Subsequent findings indicate that reduction technique is the most influencing technique to the translation shift made, especially in the shift of language style in the form of intensifier which gave an impact to the characteristics of different gender speech
Moroccan High School Students’ Perceptions of a Good Teacher
Full text linkTeachers usually take for granted that only their perceived pedagogical agendas are likely to bring about the positive outcomes they look for. However, as it has been confirmed by many studies, their effectiveness and success in their careers are highly determined by the way they are perceived by their students. This exploratory study outlines the major views Moroccan high school students hold towards a good teacher. The study was carried out through a questionnaire that was administered to 100 Moroccan high school students using convenience sampling. The obtained data were analyzed with the help of the statistical package for social sciences. The findings of this research indicated that most Moroccan high school students prioritize the affective side while they evaluate their teachers. There were also other features that evolved throughout the study
An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Medical Discourse of Obesity: Analyzing Patients’ Speech
Full text linkThis paper argues for an interdisciplinary approach to the medical discourse of obesity and at-tempts to build bridges between the disciplines of medicine and linguistics. The article aims to highlight the anthropological significance of medical discourse by investigating expressions of suffering. The paper analyzes patients’ speech and how they describe obesity and its complications. It is suggested that the use of figurative language (by means of metaphor and metonymy) in order to describe this disease is shaped by environmental and physical factors
Ethical Criticism: Standing for Ethical Arts
Full text linkThis paper deals with the importance of ethical criticism to a work of art. It focuses on analyzing both schools of ethical criticism which are autonomism and moralism. While autonomists see that art’s value relies exclusively on its form, moralists believe that there is more into art than form, for the moral content’s importance can affect the aestheticism of a work of art. Narratives, especially, strongly rely on morality in compassing a sustainable aesthetic whole because in many times a moral defect leads to an aesthetic one; if there exists a failure in communicating a sound moral value to the audience, the latter fails to see the art’s form, which is its main value. The wrong ethical response devalues the art’s aesthetics, which devalues its purpose. Thus, ethical criticism does not deny the formal values of art as much as it advocates morality in case it interferes with art’s aestheticis
Fostering Multiliteracies through Blended EFL Learning
Full text linkA multiliteracies pedagogy has been gaining momentum in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching and learning. Modern educational technologies integrated in EFL course design hold promising potential to foster students’ multiliteracies. The present study aims to examine the effectiveness of a blended EFL course design and investigate to what extent blended learning enhances students’ multiliteracies. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to 94 first-year Chinese college students in their English class. Online posts by students were collected and interviews with the teacher and the students were conducted with the aim of triangulating the questionnaire results. The study shows that a blended EFL course designed in accordance with the framework of Community of Inquiry is well received by students and has improved students’ multiliteracies significantly. The cognitive and teacher-related aspects of the framework are particularly facilitative towards the development of multiliteracies. The significance and implications of the findings are also discussed