Literature, Language, and Linguistics Studies
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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRAGIC IN O. HENRY'S SHORT STORIES
Full text linkThis article focuses on analyzing the tragic in O. Henry's short stories, a prominent characteristic of his artistic style. By exploring elements such as plot situations, characters, and story endings, the research clarifies how O. Henry expresses tragedy not merely as suffering or loss, but also as the struggle between dreams and reality, hope and disillusionment. Simultaneously, the results also indicate that, even in tragic situations, O. Henry's short stories still contain profound humanistic values concerning love, compassion, and sacrifice. Thus, the research contributes to highlighting the aesthetic value and social significance of the tragic element in O. Henry's short stories. Article visualizations
POSTHUMANIST INTERACTION AND CERAMIC ART LANGUAGE
Full text linkThis study aims to examine how posthumanist thought redefines the concept of creativity and its impact on ceramic art. Conventional notions of creativity position the artist as a central and singular subject; however, this approach has proven insufficient in material- and process-oriented disciplines such as ceramics. The research problem is based on the premise that considering material and technology as merely passive elements in the creative process is an inadequate perspective within contemporary production practices. The study employs a qualitative analysis method, conducting a literature review on the fundamental principles of posthumanist thought and the concept of creativity, followed by an examination of creative processes in ceramic art where humans, materials, and technology coexist (coexistence). The findings indicate that with the increasing role of AI-driven algorithms and robotic systems in artistic production, the creative process in ceramic art has shifted from a human-centered approach to a multi-layered and relational production model. This transformation repositions material and technology as active, creative agents, fostering the development of new aesthetic approaches and production techniques. Article visualizations
SENTENCE COMPLEXITY IN EFL LEARNERS’ WRITING: A SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ COMPOSITIONS
Full text linkThis quasi-experimental study investigates the impact of explicit instruction in critical thinking (CT) on the syntactic complexity of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' argumentative writing. Specifically, it explores whether teaching CT enhances the use of complex sentence types, namely compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, as indicators of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). Intact EFL classes (N = 100), randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, participated in a pre-test and post-test design. The experimental group received CT instruction embedded within their writing course, while the control group followed a standard curriculum. Syntactic complexity was measured using metrics such as Mean Length of Sentence (MLS), number of clauses per sentence, and frequency of complex sentence types (compound, complex, and compound-complex). Post-test results revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in all complexity measures. Specifically, the experimental group demonstrated higher mean sentence length, t(98) = 8.87, p < .001, d = 1.78; more clauses per sentence, t(98) = 10.12, p < .001, d = 2.03; greater use of complex sentences, t(98) = 7.21, p < .001; and compound-complex sentences, t(98) = 6.47, p < .001. These findings suggest that explicit CT instruction fosters not only higher-order thinking but also measurable syntactic development, highlighting a strong link between cognitive and linguistic complexity in EFL writing. Article visualizations
TRANSLATING THE OPENING AND CLOSING FORMULAE OF MOROCCAN FOLKTALES INTO ENGLISH
Full text linkWhen storytellers tell a folktale, they usually initiate their performance with opening lines to catch their audience’s attention and mark the end of the folktale by other rhythmic lines this time to hint the end to their listeners. Similar to folktales, the opening and closing formulae are dynamic. Their dynamicity is controlled by the audience and their cultural background. The present article investigates the translation of the opening and closing formulae of Moroccan folktales translated by Moroccan and non-Moroccan translators. Therefore, the article will be devoted to informing the translation strategies applied when it comes to rendering the opening and closing formulae. This is going to be implemented through the analysis of folktales translated by Richard Hamilton which are “The King and His Prime Minister” and “The Girl from Fez”, and folktales translated by Malika El Ouali Alami “Beautiful Almond”, and ‘The Merchant’s Daughter”. The findings prove that the different translation methods adopted by Hamilton involve omitting these formulae to be replaced by titles to catch readers’ attention while Alami tries to switch between the two methods, i.e. (a) translating these formulae and getting target readers closer to the source culture, and (b) replacing the opening formulae with the ones familiar to the western readers. عندما يروي الحكواتيون حكاية شعبية، فإنهم يستفتحون أداءهم بالصيغ التقديمية لجذب انتباه الجمهور. وللإشارة إلى نهاية القصة يختتم الحكواتيون الأداء بعبارات اختتامية إيقاعية. على غرار الحكايات نفسها، فإن الصيغ الافتتاحية والختامية للحكايات الشعبية متغيرة ومتجددة حيث تتماشى مع الجمهور وخلفيته الثقافية. يتناول هذا المقال دراسة تقنيات الترجمة المستعملة لنقل الصيغ الإفتتاحية والختامية للحكايات الشعبية المغربية من قبل مترجمين مغاربة وأجانب إلى اللغة الإنجليزية وذلك من خلال تحليل ترجمة ريتشارد هاملتون للحكايتين"الملك والوزير" و"فتاة فاس" وكذلك ترجمة مليكة الوالي علمي للحكايتين "اللوزه البهية" و" لاله عيشه بنت التاجر". خلصت نتائج البحث إلى أن مختلف تقنيات الترجمة المعتمدة من طرف هاملتون تقوم على حذف هذه المقدمات والخواتم ليستبدلها بالعناوين من أجل جذب انتباه القارئ في حين تحاول علمي إلى المزج بين الطريقتين (أ) ترجمه هذه المقدمات لتقريب القارئ المستقبل من الثقافة الأصل، (ب) استبدال المقدمات بتلك التي يعتادها القراء الغربيين.Lorsque les conteurs racontent un conte populaire, ils commencent généralement leur performance par des lignes d'ouverture pour attirer l'attention de leur public et marquent la fin du conte populaire par d'autres lignes rythmiques, cette fois pour suggérer la fin à leurs auditeurs. Semblables aux contes populaires, les formules d’ouverture et de clôture sont dynamiques. Leur dynamisme est contrôlé́ par le public et son origine culturelle. Le présent article étudie la traduction des formules d’ouverture et de clôture des contes populaires marocains traduits par des traducteurs marocains et non marocains. Par conséquent, l'article sera consacré à informer sur les stratégies de traduction appliquées lorsqu'il s'agit de rendre les formules d'ouverture et de fermeture. Cela va être mis en œuvre à travers l’analyse des contes populaires traduits par Richard Hamilton qui sont « Le roi et son premier ministre » et « La Fille de Fès », et des contes populaires traduits par Malika El Ouali Alami « Belle Amande » et « La Fille du Marchand ». Les résultats prouvent que les différentes méthodes de traduction adoptées par Hamilton impliquent d’omettre ces formules pour les remplacer par des titres afin d’attirer l’attention des lecteurs, tandis qu’Alami tente de basculer entre les deux méthodes, c’est-à-dire (a) traduire ces formules et rapprocher les lecteurs ciblés de la culture source, et (b) remplacer les formules d’ouverture par celles familières aux lecteurs occidentaux. Article visualizations
EVOLUTION OF LOCAL, NATIONAL OR REGIONAL LITERATURE INTO WORLD LITERATURE: THINGS FALL APART, SO LONG A LETTER AND WIZARD OF THE CROW IN PERSPECTIVE
Full text linkWorld literature has become an important area of enquiry. This is because it projects human interaction through literature across the world to make humans think broadly. The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of world literature from local, national or regional literatures employing Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Wizard of the Crow as paradigms. The three novels selected here have not been combined before by scholars for studies of this nature, which makes this paper imperative. The paper is qualitative research, and it dwells on a discourse approach. It discovers that world literature is literature that is massively read across cultural divides, either in its original language of production or translation to foreign languages. The conditions that make literary texts enter world literature include their widespread (that is, circulation) across the world, translation to multiple foreign languages, use of the English language as a creative tool and universal relatability of its themes. Thus, it is seen that these factors facilitated Things Fall Apart, So Long a Letter and Wizard of the Crow, entry into world literature, emanating from their local, national or regional boundaries. Article visualizations
PETIT PAYS DE GAEL FAYE : POÉTIQUE DU TRAGIQUE ET FLOTTABILITÉ IDENTITAIRE
Full text linkPetit pays permet à Gael Faye d’évoquer le génocide rwandais dont les tribulations alimentent encore la mémoire tragique de l’Afrique post-indépendante. À travers le regard d’un personnage enfant qui rompt rapidement avec le narratif idyllique propre au pays des merveilles, l’auteur présente un imaginaire romanesque spécifique. La nostalgie du pays natal, espace des origines, laisse progressivement place à l’impermanence identitaire. L’identité originelle devient évanescente sous le poids de l’exil. Les nouvelles étiquettes acquises quant à elles, restent insaisissables. La démarche sociocritique de Claude Duchet permettra alors d’explorer l’imaginaire social du roman de Gael Faye qui s’écroule sous le poids des violences ethno-politiques. Ainsi, la poétique du tragique permet à l’auteur de mettre en scène le bouleversement de l’ordre social ayant conduit inexorablement à la déconstruction de soi, et d’exprimer une identité inconstante.Petit pays allows Gael Faye to raise the Rwandan genocide, whose tribulations still feed the tragic memory of post-independent Africa. Through the eyes of a child character who becomes distinct from the idyllic narrative typical of Wonderland, the author presents a specific imaginary novel. Nostalgia for home, the place of origins, gradually gives way to the identity inconstancy. The original identity becomes evanescent due to exile. Newly acquired labels remain elusive. Claude Duchet's sociocritical method allows us to explore the social imaginary of Gael Faye's novel, which is crumbling under the impact of ethno-political violence. In this manner, the poetics of tragedy enable the author to stage the upheaval of the social order leading to stainless stell self dismaintly, and to express an uncertain identity. Article visualizations
EXPLORING MOROCCAN EFL STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF FORMULAIC LANGUAGE EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION: INSIGHTS INTO ENGAGEMENT, RETENTION, AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPACT
Full text linkThe present paper reports on a quantitative study that explored Moroccan EFL high school students’ attitudes and perceptions of explicit vocabulary instruction of formulaic language (FcL). A survey with 12 closed-ended items was sent to 51 students via Google Forms. The aim of the survey was to elicit the students’ perceptions of explicit instruction, vocabulary retention, language proficiency, motivation, and engagement. The overall findings revealed that the participants have positive perceptions of explicit instruction and explained that the treatment increased their vocabulary repertoire and language proficiency. This study offers comprehensive results of EFL learners’ perceptions of the explicit instruction of FcL and its effects on their language development, motivation, and engagement. These findings can yield important insights for better and more effective teaching practices in EFL contexts. تتناول هذه الورقة دراسة كمية استكشفت مواقف وتصورات طلاب المدارس الثانوية المغربية من دارسي اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية تجاه التدريس الصريح للمفردات الاصطلاحية. تم إرسال استبيان يحتوي على 12 سؤال مغلق إلى 51 طالبًا عبر برنامج جوجل فورم. كان الهدف من هذا الاستبيان هو استقصاء تصورات الطلاب بشأن التدريس الصريح، وتثبيت المفردات، والكفاءة اللغوية، والتحفيز، والمشاركة. أظهرت النتائج العامة أن المشاركين لديهم تصورات إيجابية حول التدريس الصريح، وأفادوا بأن هذا النهج ساعدهم على توسيع مفرداتهم وتحسين كفاءتهم اللغوية. تقدم هذه الدراسة نتائج شاملة حول تصورات متعلمي اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية بشأن التدريس الصريح للعبارات الاصطلاحية وتأثيره على تطورهم اللغوي، وتحفيزهم، ومشاركتهم. ويمكن أن تسهم هذه النتائج في تقديم رؤى قيّمة نحو ممارسات تدريسية أكثر فاعلية في سياقات تعليم اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية
COMPARATIVE CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESSES OF FORMAL PRESIDENT JOHN AGYEKUM KUFFOUR AND JOHN EVANS ATTA MILLS
Full text linkThis paper seeks to do a comparative critical discourse analysis of the State of the Nation Addresses (SONA) delivered by Ghanaian former presidents John Agyekum Kuffour and John Evans Atta Mills. Using Halliday and Hasan's (1976) cohesive devices and van Dijk’s (2004) ideological discourse structure as the underpinning theory, the study seeks to identify cohesive devices and ideological underpinnings of the two addresses, that is how these formal presidents tried to rationalize their government’s ideas and strategically persuade their onlookers by employing cohesive devices and subtle ideological discourse structures in their speeches. The text used in the study contains the addresses from 2008 and 2009 of the State of the Nation, obtained from www.myjoy.com. Article visualizations
ALTERNATIVE MODERNITY AND THE RISE OF THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Full text linkThis paper explores the emergence of alternative modernity in the Global South through the lens of Moroccan philosopher Taha Abdurrahman’s ethical and spiritual critique of Western modernity. Challenging the dominant narrative that equates modernity with secularization, material progress, and Western epistemology, Abdurrahman advocates a model of modernity grounded in ethical responsibility, spiritual renewal, and indigenous cultural values. The paper argues that many societies in the Global South are actively reimagining modernity not as a wholesale adoption of Western norms but as a plural, situated process shaped by historical memory, communal identity, and moral obligation. This paper suggests a translation of the Moroccan philosopher's book, which investigates the extent to which modernity offers an alternative perspective, as proposed by the Moroccan intellectual Taha Abdurrahman in his book The Spirit of Modernity: A Prolegomenon to Laying the Foundations of Islamic Modernity. The research employs a decolonial framework in translation and discourse analysis to investigate the critiques presented by Taha Abdurrahman in his book. The translation reveals the fundamental principles and ideals that the Moroccan philosopher used to establish an Islamic alternative modernity that challenges the Western perception of Muslim civilization. Article visualizations
FLEETING MOMENTS, TIMELESS LOVE: AN AESTHETIC ANALYSIS OF THE ROMANTIC PARADOX IN JOHN KEATS’ “BRIGHT STAR”
Full text linkThis study presents an aesthetic analysis of John Keats’ “Bright Star”, focusing on the romantic paradox between the longing for permanence and the transient nature of human experience. The research aimed to explore how Keats employed symbolism, rhythm, and figurative language to express this tension. Utilizing a qualitative method grounded in aesthetic theory and guided by Mambrol’s framework, the study closely examined the poem’s artistic elements to uncover its thematic intricacies. The findings revealed that Keats effectively juxtaposed the eternal stillness of the star with the warmth and temporality of human intimacy, using rhythmic variation and vivid imagery to emphasize this contrast. The poem ultimately suggests a preference for fleeting emotional connection over unchanging solitude. This analysis contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 4 by highlighting the role of literary studies in developing critical thinking, interpretative skills, and appreciation for poetic craft. The study recommends further research into the digital pedagogical applications of Romantic poetry in contemporary classrooms. Article visualizations