International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation
The International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation (ISSN: 2617-0299) is a double-blind peer-reviewed, monthly, open-access journal published by Al-Kindi Center for Research and Development. It publishes high-quality articles across the breadth of linguistics, literature and translation research. With its uniquely broad coverage, all articles are free to access across the globe, allowing authors to share their research and maximise its impact. The journal is led by expert international editorial board members who take an objective approach to peer review, ensuring each research paper is reviewed and evaluated on its own scholarly merits and research integrity. Publishing your work in the International Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Translation means you will receive prompt and reliable publishing and a global platform for your research to reach its full potential. The journal is published in both online and print versions.
Al-Kindi Center for Research and Development
From Noticing to Reuse: Tracing Vocabulary Learning Trajectories in English-Subtitled EFL Classrooms
The use of videos with English subtitles has become increasingly common in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Previous studies have demonstrated that subtitles can support vocabulary learning by making lexical forms more perceptually available. However, most research has examined subtitle effects primarily through post-test outcomes rather than through the classroom processes by which learners encounter, interpret, and later reuse vocabulary during instruction. Consequently, less is known about how vocabulary engagement unfolds over time within subtitle-supported classroom instruction. This qualitative classroom-based study investigates vocabulary learning trajectories during English-subtitled video lessons in three Vietnamese upper-secondary EFL classrooms. Drawing on qualitative data from six classroom observations, learner interviews (n = 9), a teacher interview, and learner reflection forms (n = 60), the study traces how learners’ engagement with vocabulary developed across different stages of the lesson. Using thematic analysis, the study identifies recurring patterns in how learners noticed lexical items in subtitles, interpreted their meanings through classroom interaction, and later reused them in post-viewing activities. The findings reveal that vocabulary learning in subtitled video lessons unfolded through a trajectory consisting of three interconnected stages: noticing, interpretive engagement, and reuse. Subtitles increased the visibility of lexical forms, but noticing alone rarely led to sustained engagement. Instead, classroom dialogue and teacher prompts supported meaning construction, while post-viewing tasks created opportunities for learners to retrieve and apply vocabulary in communicative contexts. The study argues that vocabulary development in subtitle-supported classrooms emerges through a temporally distributed learning trajectory rather than through exposure alone. By tracing how vocabulary moves from initial noticing to later reuse, the study contributes to research on multimodal input and classroom-based vocabulary learning. It also highlights the importance of instructional sequencing in turning subtitle exposure into usable lexical knowledge.
Vocabulary learning trajectories; subtitled video; noticing; multimodal learning; EFL classrooms; classroom interaction
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Richardson’s Pamela: A critical analysis from feminist and narrative perspectives
Narratology is the primary lens that shapes the reader’s experience of the plot in a novel. In Pamela, Richardson uses the epistolary structure for the protagonist to represent herself as a paragon of virtue, gender performance, albeit with undertones of social ambition. This study uses feminist and narratology perspectives to explore how Pamela constructs her identity through selective storytelling, rhetorical self-presentation, and emotional persuasion. It also examines the critical conflict in her portrayal either as a moral exemplar or as a strategically unreliable narrator shaped by desire for upward mobility. Textual analysis indicates that the epistolary voice functions not only as a confessional space but also as a strategic tool through which the protagonist negotiates power within a patriarchal social order. By analyzing the narrative against the historical context of eighteenth-century female servitude, the research highlights how the character’s literacy, autonomy, and eventual social mobility deviate from the typical experiences of domestic servants, emphasizing her exceptional skills. Key themes examined here include narrative unreliability, gendered performance, social aspiration, and class mobility through visibly moral discourse. Findings suggest that the novel’s apparent celebration of virtue is complicated by the protagonist’s calculated self-projection and narrative control. The study concludes that Pamela is a complex exploration of identity formation, agency, and power dynamics, contributing to broader debates on female authorship, narrative authority, and cultural construction of virtue in early English fiction.
Feminist literary theory; gender performance; social mobility; domestic fiction; class identity; narratology
Representation and Role of Women in the Recent Film Narratives of the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971: A Critical Study
The paper deals with the heroic-patriotic roles and daring encounters of women captured in the cinematic tales and narratives during the 9-month long War of Liberation in 1971 in Bangladesh. It focuses on the movies depicting the barbarity meted out inhumanly to the innocent people of Bangladesh and genocide in 1971 and how women sacrificed immeasurably and contributed significantly to the collective efforts for freedom by combating and resisting the West Pakistani brutality and violence in numerous ways, thus the paper seeks to explore the 1971 Liberation War-based movie productions made in the 90s and in recent times to revisit and relocate the gallant portrayal of women as fundamental and inseparable instrument of resistance that led to our hard-earned victory and independence. The movie narrative and representation of their selfless sacrifice, dominating and undaunted visual presence and performance regenerate and reclaim their roles far removed from the stereotyped gendered status.
Nationalism, gender, representation, independence, stereotyping, resistance, male-gaze
A Pragmatic Study of Impoliteness in the 2020 Endsars Protest in Nigeria
The study examined impoliteness as contained in protest discourse in Nigeria with emphasis on the 2020 Endsars protest across Nigeria. Previous studies on protest discourse had concentrated on the nature of speech acts and the interactional strategies employed in protest communication. The current study investigates the nature of impoliteness employed in protest-centred communication. Data for the study were obtained from different newspaper reports published during and immediately after the 2020 Endsars protest. The study of impoliteness seeks to shed more light on our knowledge of rapport and communication management. The paper employs Culpeper’s model of impoliteness. This is because the impoliteness model points out the inherent affront, which further enlightens us on the communicative intention in protest discourse. The data for the study were obtained from various social media platforms in the heat of the endsars protest in Nigeria. The study notes that protesters in the 2020 Endsars protest in Nigeria deliberately avoided the withheld politeness approach. This is premised on the fact that the context of the discourse under study provides no affrdances for this impoliteness method. Furthermore, the study finds that protesters often deviate from the main cause of a particular protest due to the need to commit intentinal face threatening acts. This is done by exploring situational context of a particular protest.
Protest; Endsars; Impoliteness; Pragmatics; Language; Context
From Victim to Perpetrator: A Study of Robin’s Trauma in Babel
The novel Babel: Or, The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators’ Revolution has garnered significant acclaim since its publication, praised for its intricate exploration of colonialism, language, and identity. This paper employs postcolonial trauma theory, with a particular focus on Frantz Fanon’s research on the psychological effects of colonialism, as the theoretical framework to analyze the text. The study zeroes in on the character Robin, examining the trauma symptoms associated with his fractured identity and psychological struggles within the colonial context depicted in the novel. The analysis begins by elucidating the various manifestations of Robin’s trauma, followed by an in-depth exploration of the causes rooted in the systemic discrimination imposed by colonizers, the emotional scars from family-related traumas, and the compounded grief from the successive deaths of those close to him. The paper reveals that Robin’s trauma, rather than being alleviated through acts of resistance, becomes increasingly entrenched, culminating in his tragic demise. This exploration not only underscores the destructive impact of colonial oppression on individual identity but also contributes to the broader discourse on postcolonial trauma in literature.
trauma, Babel, Rebecca F. Kuang, Frantz Fanon, postcolonial literature, colonial identity
Copyright (c) 2026 Xinyi Cao https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
African-American Literature and Slavery in Saudi Arabia: A Literary-Historical Analysis Using Critical Race Theory
Literature and life influence and mirror each other so profoundly that the line between fact and fiction is often blurred. This study examines how the anti-slavery literary tradition of mid-twentieth century shared a complimentary relationship with international slavery abolitionist efforts, most notably the transnational efforts of the British Anti-Slavery Society to abolish Saudi slave trade during the 1950s taking vantage of Bell’s Critical Race Theory. Decolonization of Saudi Arabia at this time led to sustained tensions between human rights advocacy and assertions of national sovereignty which sparked a global humanitarian debate. The primary data in the study comes from two narrative sources: One, archival texts including Saudi diplomatic correspondence, United Nations records, consular reports, and contemporaneous government statements. Two, three contemporary novels viz., Native Son, Invisible Man, and Black Boy are included as samples of a parallel literary tradition in African-American literature within which these political efforts are mirrored. With articulations on racism, bondage, and morality, these texts are treated not merely as socio-cultural artifacts but also as theoretical interventions that informed social and political interpretations of slavery. Analyses indicate collapse of anti-slavery mechanisms despite freedom of Saudi Arabia until transnational and inter-racial coalitions mediated through literary imagination to construct human rights narratives that influenced policy debates on abolitionism an eventually enforced abolition of slavery.
Critical Race Theory, Saudi Arabia, African-American literature, Critical narrative, British Anti-Slavery Society, Transnational activism, Human rights
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Psychological Constructs to Socio- Cultural Dynamics: Moroccan EFL Students’ Communication Apprehension
Communication apprehension is one of the communicative problems and psychological variables that interfere with Moroccan EFL communicative competence and performance. Although the causes of communication apprehension are well established in literature, they are attributed much more to psychological constructs such as the fear of negative evaluation and low self-esteem rather than to the socio-cultural constructs. From this perspective, the present paper aims at reconceptualizing the construct of speaking anxiety from a socio-cultural dimension. To this end, this study aimed at exploring 78 Moroccan EFL students’ perceptions at the faculty of languages, Art and humanities, Ibn Tofail through the use of a five-point Likert scale and semi-structured interviews. Results showed that both psycholinguistic and socio-cultural factors are two major causes of students’ communication apprehension.
Communicative competence, students’ perceptions, communication apprehension, psyvhological, socio-cultural
The Pragmatic Functions of Bass in Jordanian Spoken Arabic: A Function-Based Translation Model
This study investigates the multifunctional discourse marker bass in Jordanian Spoken Arabic (JSA), proposing a function-based translation model grounded in systematic corpus analysis. Building on the foundational taxonomy established by Al Rousan, Al Harahsheh, and Huwari (2020), who identified sixteen pragmatic functions of bass in JSA, the present study extends this work by examining how these functions map onto optimal English translation equivalents. Through analyzing 109 annotated instances drawn from 96 minutes of natural conversations in Roya TV's Caravan program, the research confirms and refines the existing functional taxonomy while establishing explicit links between discourse function and translation strategy. The methodology employs dual validation: linguistic experts classified each occurrence with contextualized analysis, while professional translators verified functional accuracy to ensure reliable identification of pragmatic functions and their optimal English equivalents. Findings reveal that the choice of English translation—whether 'but,' 'just,' 'only,' 'so,' 'well,' or phrasal equivalents—is determined not by lexical substitution but by the specific pragmatic role bass plays in context. This study makes three primary contributions: (1) validation and refinement of Al Rousan et al.'s (2020) functional taxonomy through independent corpus analysis; (2) development of a systematic framework linking each discourse function to optimal translation strategies; and (3) practical guidelines for Arabic-English translation of multifunctional particles.
Discourse markers, Jordanian Arabic, Pragmatics, Translation equivalence, Corpus linguistics, Bass
The Effectiveness of Task-Based Language Teaching on Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention in EFL Contexts: A Systematic Review
Vocabulary knowledge is central to EFL proficiency and academic success. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has been proposed as an effective approach to enhancing vocabulary acquisition and retention, yet its efficacy varies across contexts. This systematic review synthesizes empirical studies published between 2000 and 2025 to examine how TBLT impacts vocabulary learning in EFL settings, including Moroccan universities. Following PRISMA guidelines, the review identifies effective instructional strategies, highlights limitations, and provides pedagogical recommendations. Findings indicate that task-based, contextualized, and strategy-oriented instruction consistently improves vocabulary retention and meaningful use, while isolated or rote-based methods are insufficient. The study underscores the importance of integrated, research-informed models for higher education EFL instruction.
Vocabulary knowledge is central to EFL proficiency and academic success. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has been proposed as an effective approach to enhancing vocabulary acquisition and retention, yet its efficacy varies across contexts. This systematic review synthesizes empirical studies published between 2000 and 2025 to examine how TBLT impacts vocabulary learning in EFL settings, including Moroccan universities. Following PRISMA guidelines, the review identifies effective instructional strategies, highlights limitations, and provides pedagogical recommendations. Findings indicate that task-based, contextualized, and strategy-oriented instruction consistently improves vocabulary retention and meaningful use, while isolated or rote-based methods are insufficient. The study underscores the importance of integrated, research-informed models for higher education EFL instruction
Self-regulated Writing: Strategies and Mediators for Chinese Students in UK
This qualitative study explores the specific self-regulated writing (SRW) strategies and their mediating factors among high-achieving Chinese international students in UK higher education contexts, a group that constitutes one of the largest international student populations yet remains largely underexplored in SRW research. Guided by an integrated theoretical framework of social cognitive theory and sociocultural theory, the study adopted semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis with six participants. Results identified three core SRW strategies: outline-making and planning with self-created files, logic-prioritized self-proofreading, and individualized motivational regulation including self-talk, meditation, and self-consequencing. Further analysis revealed that SRW practice is dynamically shaped by the interaction of two categories of factors: sociocultural contextual factors (including feedback quality, in-class writing guidance, and adaptation to UK academic norms) and personal cognitive factors (including self-efficacy and motivational beliefs, with task utility and topic interest emerging as key motivational drivers). The findings verify the integrated theoretical framework’s explanatory power in cross-cultural settings, address the research gap in qualitative investigations of high-achieving Chinese learners’ SRW processes, and further provide targeted pedagogical implications.
higher education; cross-cultural academic adaptation; L2 academic writing; self-regulated writing process; teacher support; self-efficacy; motivational beliefs
Religion, Power, and Social Discipline in Joyce’s The Dead and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
This study investigates the representation of religion as a mechanism of social control in James Joyce’s The Dead and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts of power, discipline, and institutional authority, the paper explores how religious discourse regulates individual behaviour and shapes moral life within distinct historical and cultural contexts. Although the two texts emerge from different periods and geographical settings, both depict religion as deeply embedded in everyday practices and social structures. Through close textual analysis, the study demonstrates that Joyce presents religious power in subtle forms, through ritual, silence, internalized guilt, and emotional paralysis, whereas Hawthorne portrays religious authority through overt mechanisms of public shaming, surveillance, and fear of divine punishment. In both narratives, religion functions as a disciplinary system that legitimizes control and normalizes obedience. The paper argues that the relationship between individuals and religious institutions, represented by the church and its clergy, is founded primarily on fear rather than spiritual devotion. By comparing these works, the study reveals how literary texts critique religion not as a transcendent spiritual force, but as a historically situated institution aligned with political authority and systems of power.
James Joyce; Nathaniel Hawthorne; religion; power; discipline; The Dead; The Scarlet Letter
Level, Relationship and Predictive Capacity of Grammatical and Discourse Competence to Communicative Competence of Pre-service Teachers
This study investigated the levels, relationships, and predictive capacity of grammatical, discourse, and communicative competence among pre-service teachers. The descriptive statistics indicated the pre-service teachers were rated moderately competent in overall communicative competence (M=3.50) and grammatical competence (M=3.18). The pre-service teachers were rated competent in discourse competence (M=3.69). The correlation analyses indicated that pre-service teachers showed a strong positive relationship between grammatical competence and overall communicative competence (r = 0.551, p < 0.001), suggesting that an understanding of grammar is a prerequisite for effective communication across various social contexts. A strong positive correlation between discourse competence and overall competence was observed (r = 0.531, p < 0.001), underscoring the need to organize longer stretches of language for effective communication. The linear regression findings presented that grammatical competence and discourse competence were statistically significant positive predictors of overall communicative competence. Grammatical competence predicted a unique variance of 30.3%, and discourse competence was also a unique predictor of 28.2%. Therefore, the study's findings suggest that grammatical competence and discourse competence are both significant, foundational, and vital contributors to a pre-service teacher's overall communicative competence. The researcher recommends that teacher education programs integrate grammar instruction with discourse-based tasks to better prepare pre-service teachers for classroom communication challenges.
Communicative Competence, Discourse Competence, Grammatical Competence, Pre-service Teachers, Philippines
Verbal Humor in The King of Stand-up Comedy from the Perspective of the Cooperative Principle
Humor has long attracted scholarly attention as an important aspect of language and social interaction. Verbal humor is frequently employed by communicators in various contexts to implicitly convey intentions and ease tension, thereby facilitating smooth communication. Recent research on verbal humor has shifted focus from static, isolated words or sentences to dynamic, multimodal texts, such as talk shows, movies, plays, advertisements, and sitcoms. This study adopts the Cooperative Principle as its theoretical framework, using concepts from Incongruity Theory to analyze the processes underlying humor generation in the Chinese stand-up comedy show The King of Stand-up Comedy. The analysis shows that violating the four maxims of the Cooperative Principle is a common pragmatic strategy for producing verbal humor. The stand-up comedians often employ rhetorical devices such as metaphor, personification, pun, and hyperbole to flout the four maxims, thereby creating incongruities and generating humorous effects.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yunrong Li https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Judging Indifference: Social Norms, Emotional Discipline, and Cultural Violence in Camus’s The Stranger
Albert Camus’s The Stranger has long been read as a paradigmatic text of absurdist philosophy, with critical attention primarily directed toward Meursault’s emotional indifference and existential detachment. Such interpretations, however, tend to approach indifference as an individual psychological or philosophical condition, thereby overlooking the cultural mechanisms through which it is rendered socially intolerable. Drawing on perspectives from cultural studies, this article re-examines The Stranger as a narrative of cultural judgment in which emotional norms function as instruments of social regulation. The article argues that Meursault is condemned not for the act of murder itself but for his failure to conform to culturally sanctioned modes of emotional expression. Through a close reading of key episodes—including the funeral, the courtroom proceedings, and Meursault’s narrative restraint—the study demonstrates how emotional discipline operates as a form of cultural power that distinguishes the “normal” subject from the deviant one. The courtroom is thus interpreted not merely as a legal space but as a cultural theater in which moral legitimacy is publicly constructed and enforced. By foregrounding emotional normativity as a mechanism of exclusion, this study reframes Meursault’s indifference as a site where cultural authority, social conformity, and symbolic violence intersect, thereby offering a culturally grounded reinterpretation of Camus’s canonical text.
Camus; The Stranger; cultural normativity; emotional discipline; cultural violence; judgment
Conceptual Metaphor in Kumail Supplication
This paper endeavors to explore how conceptual metaphor can influence the meaning of theology and moral ideology in Imam Ali’s Kumail supplication. Adopting the model of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), the study analyses the systematic structure of abstract religious notions of divinity, sin, suffering, authority, and faith embodied, spatially, politically and materially by metaphors. Outcomes of the analysis reveal that Kumail supplication recurrently utilize the conceptualization of the divine attributes via the scheme of containment, force, light and sovereignty, making such abstract attributes cognitively available and experience based. Not only are these metaphorical arrangements accommodative to cognition, but they also carry an ideological role of naturalizing obedience, internalizing responsibility and redefining themselves as spiritual strength. As such, conceptual metaphor is a key organizing principle in the religious discourse of supplication incorporating thought, feeling, and ideology and providing a whole worldview where human life is placed within a comprehensive divine order.
Supplication, religious discourse, cognitive linguistic, conceptual metaphor, domain
Transmutation, Motivations, and Normative Construction of Transliteration Strategies for Chinese Food Specialties from the Perspective of Cultural Confidence
The English translation of names for Chinese food specialties serves as a critical interface for cross-cultural communication and the development of national soft power. Using “cultural confidence” as a theoretical lens and employing a combined diachronic and synchronic research methodology, this paper systematically examines the phased transmutation of transliteration strategies for Chinese food specialties—moving from “domestication-led” to “hybrid exploration” and finally to the “rise of transliteration.” The study finds that this evolution is not an isolated linguistic phenomenon but a result of the combined forces of national strategic guidance, shifts in social psychology, the revolution in communication media, and the internal laws of linguistics. It marks a shift in China’s external cultural discourse practice from “self-adjustment” to “subjective construction.” The popularization of transliteration strategies is essentially a discourse power practice that anchors Chinese phonetic symbols and their underlying cultural systems directly into the global cognitive landscape. Addressing current issues such as inconsistent standards, over-transliteration, and a lack of interior interpretation, this paper innovatively constructs a “pyramid-style three-level normative model” based on cognitive load and stages of cultural dissemination. Furthermore, it proposes specific implementation plans, such as establishing a dynamic translation database and advocating for multi-modal presentation, aiming to provide theoretical support and practical paths for building an external translation system for Chinese food culture that balances cultural fidelity with communicative effectiveness.
Cultural confidence; Chinese food specialties; Transliteration; Transmutation; Normalization; Cross-cultural communication; Translation discourse
Re-evaluating Overseas Readers’ Acceptability from a Postcolonial Perspective
Grounded in postcolonial theory, this study examines the annotations in Diary of a Madman and Other Stories translated by William A. Lyell, in conjunction with reader reviews of the translation on Goodreads, to investigate the overseas reception of a translated text that preserves cultural heterogeneity. By analyzing how foreign readers respond to culture-specific elements retained through annotation, the paper reflects on the prevailing tendency in the outward translation of Chinese literature to overemphasize fluency and naturalness as a result of underestimating target readers’ acceptability. The study aims to offer insights for the practice of translating Chinese literature for overseas readerships, re-evaluate their capacity for engaging with cultural difference, and thereby contribute to more effective global dissemination of Chinese literature.
postcolonial theory, Diary of a Madman and Other Stories, William A. Lyell; reader reception; outward translation of Chinese literature
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Between Visibility and Silencing: Gendered Epistemologies in Colonial and Postcolonial Travel Narratives
This article examines the gendered epistemologies embedded in colonial and postcolonial travel narratives, highlighting how women are simultaneously hyper-visible and epistemically silenced. While women frequently appear in travel writing through detailed descriptions of dress, domestic labour, and social roles, they are rarely granted narrative agency or credibility, functioning as objects rather than producers of knowledge. Drawing on postcolonial feminist theory and Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice, the study frames women’s representation as a structural question of knowledge production, authority, and exclusion, rather than merely a matter of stereotype or distortion. Using a qualitative, theory-driven approach, the article analyses canonical texts such as Mary Kingsley’s Travels in West Africa (1897) and Isabella Bird’s Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880), alongside postcolonial and feminist travel writings. Key insights include: (1) women’s visibility is systematically decoupled from epistemic authority; (2) travel writing operates through a masculinized epistemology, privileging observation, mobility, and interpretive mastery; and (3) postcolonial and feminist rewritings reclaim voice, reflexivity, and epistemic agency, challenging traditional hierarchies of knowledge. By situating women’s marginalization within broader structures of power and representation, the study contributes to debates in literary, gender, and postcolonial studies, offering a conceptual framework for understanding the politics and ethics of knowledge production in travel literature.
Travel writing, Gendered epistemology, Postcolonial literature, Feminist epistemology, Epistemic injustice
Fallacies and Ideological Arguments in Ammar Bendjama’s Speech at the UN Security Council’s Meeting for the Adoption of Resolution 2797 (2025) on the Moroccan Sahara Dispute: A Synergy of Critical Discourse Studies and Pragma-dialectical Theory
This paper analyzes and evaluates the argumentative discourse of Ammar Bendjama, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations, during his speech at the United Nations Security Council’s meeting for the adoption of Resolution 2797 (2025) concerning the Moroccan Sahara dispute. Using a synergy of Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) and Pragma-dialectical Theory, the study examines how fallacies in argumentative discourse stem from Ammar Bendjama’s ideopolitical background, the antagonist, which distorts reasonable and effective argumentation as both a process and a practice. It argues that, instead of providing a constructive contribution to resolving the dispute, Ammar Bendjama’s argumentation represents a derailment of strategic maneuvering. The paper identifies multiple fallacies, including the red herring fallacy, the violation of the standpoint and relevance rules of ideal critical discussion’s ten commandments, and the use of ethos to amplify Algeria’s egocentric political narrative. In addition to pathos, which manipulates the audience’s mental models through an appeal to emotions, Ammar Bendjama’s reliance on ideological arguments structured around empty and floating signifiers, such as ‘decolonization,’ leads to deep disagreement and renders a meaningful exchange impossible. Moreover, the speaker’s contribution flouts Grice’s Cooperative Principle, especially the Maxims of Quantity and Quality, in addition to the sincerity condition of his speech act of argumentation. His contribution to the vote on Resolution 2797 was more destructive than constructive, further obstructing progress towards a resolution. Bendjama commits the appeal to authority fallacy by invoking Woodrow Wilson’s statement on self-determination, implying that his authority on the matter legitimizes the argument. Additionally, his argument is further weakened by the begging the question fallacy, assuming the truth of the point he seeks to prove when he speaks about ‘resistance,’ without providing evidence to support this claim, misleading the audience by promoting a conspiratorial inference. Ultimately, this research is part of a broader and ambitious doctoral thesis about disinformation discourse and deceptive narratives in Algerian electronic news stories on the Moroccan Sahara issue. The study is situated within the transdisciplinary school of Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) and calls for further research into the role of disinformation and propaganda in international discourse, particularly in the context of the Moroccan Sahara issue, emphasizing the power of words, language, and semiotics as the foundation of any discourse involving conflict and controversy.
Moroccan Sahara - Resolution 2797 (2025) - Pragma-dialectical Theory - Critical Discourse Studie - Argumentative discourse – Fallacies - Ideological Arguments
Innovative GPT-Powered Adaptive Assessment for Mobile Language Learning: A Path to Real-Time Personalization and Enhanced Engagement
The fast development of mobile learning has revolutionized the field of language education as we know it today, but conventional formative assessment practices are still rigid and not adaptive to individual learning trajectories. This research put forth a new GPT-based formative assessment model for mobile-based English language studies that is heir to static evaluation paradigms due to incorporating a real-time, intuitive feedback feature. Different from the rigid classes of rule-based and ML approaches that are dependent on static assessment structures, the suggested GPT model adapts dynamically to inputs from students and gives personalized results based on ongoing language growth. With the incorporation of GPT, mobile learning applications can provide instant assessment and situational recommendations thereby increasing learner involvement and the feat of a language. The model attunement was performed on the English Language Learning Dataset from Kaggle and there showed the impressive precision and effectiveness in personalized evaluations compared to such traditional models as rule-based systems and SVMs. This real-time adaptability does not only create more interactive learning scenarios but also timely Addresses challenges, ensures perpetual growth and long-term retention. Comparative assessment from reference models emphasizes on the advantages of the proposed solution over the comparative precision, recall, and F1-score, which creates a new paradigm for mobile-assisted language learning. This research represents a major step forward in the mobile learning applications with its demonstration of the revolutionizing potential of AI-based personalized assessment in language education. Future studies will try to expand this model into different linguistic scenarios, proving its efficiency in unmodified real-life scenarios.
Mobile learning, formative assessment, GPT, personalized feedback, language development
Correlation between Verb Extensions and Object Marking in Kiswahili: Patterns and Implications for Argument Structure
This study investigates the intricate nexus between verb extensions and object marking in Kiswahili, with particular emphasis on morphological and syntactic patterns and their implications for argument structure. Data were collected through documentary review from Kivuli Kinaishi (Mohamed, 1990), Nagona (Kezilahabi, 1990), and Mzingile (Kezilahabi, 1991). The data were analysed using the mapping principle of Lexical Mapping Theory as proposed by Falk (2001). This principle accounts for the alternation or retention of object marking in relation to verb extensions. The findings reveal two major patterns in the interaction between verb extensions and object marking in Kiswahili. First, some single, pairwise, and triplewise verb extensions suppress object marking. Single verb extensions that suppress object marking include the stative, reciprocal, and passive. Pairwise extensions include applicative + passive, applicative + reciprocal, causative + passive, causative + reciprocal, reversive + stative, and stative + reciprocal. Triplewise extensions that suppress object marking include applicative + causative + passive, reciprocal + stative + applicative, and reciprocal + applicative + passive. Second, some single, pairwise, and triplewise verb extensions retain and, in some cases, require object marking in Kiswahili. These include the single verb extensions applicative, causative, and reversive, as well as pairwise extensions such as applicative + causative and reversive + applicative. Among triplewise extensions, only the reversive + applicative + causative pattern was found to retain object marking. These phenomena occur across single, pairwise, and triplewise extensions but differ with respect to the types of derivational suffixes involved and the nature of their combinations. The study is delimited to syntactic (productive) verb extensions. Future research may focus on lexical (non-productive) or non-voice verb extensions and their interaction with object marking in Kiswahili and other Bantu languages.
Verb extension, object marking, syntax extension, lexical extension, mapping
Translation Analysis of Hadil Assayeda Alhora by Al Bashir Damoun
This study is carried out to scrutinize the concept of gender, particularly; women’s imperious role in Moroccan history through the process of translating the work of Al Bashir Damoun entitled “Assayeda Alhora” and to explain the roots of this subject using the English Language. This translating study is set up based on approaching this work within literary and feminist frameworks generally and draws on different linguistic theories and other language-related disciplines. This paper investigates the idea of refuting women’s subordination and subjugation while forgetting about her imperious touch in Moroccan History. This research methodology adopts a qualitative approach to describe the subjective study of translation. Furthermore, it seeks to examine, analyze, and present the challenges, strategies, and approaches adopted in the translation of the historical reply against the stagnation and the subordination of women in history. The analysis of this study contributes to deepening the understanding of the issue of women, as well as enlightening readers about the challenges the translators confront during the process of translation.
Women- Gender- Translation- History- Challenges- Techniques
Accusative Nouns as Textual Intentions in the Structure of the Verbal Sentence
In Arabic grammar, a sentence is essentially a predication to which adjuncts are regarded as surplus that can be dispensed with; however, in actuality, the sentence is built syntactically that has a meaning partially associated with the text in which it is placed, and adjuncts are the means through which the sentence is linked to its text—this is where the issue arises: is the core construction of a sentence predication alone or predication plus adjuncts? Old grammarians and most contemporary linguists still argue that predication is the sentence and that anything past that is simply non-compulsory adjuncts, which leads to the scenario of sentence-text separation and the profiling of Arabic grammar as sentence-bound instead of text-oriented. This study addresses this issue through a detailed explanation of the position of accusative nouns in sentences and texts, highlighting them as adjuncts: indispensable for sentence structure and the main textual element connecting sentence to text—particularly the absolute object, which is the foundation of sentence building and its deep semantic structure. Other accusative nouns and prepositional phrases function as textual modals; the subject commences text and sentence, while the verb has two components: the event (absolute object) and time, which are characteristic of both verbal and nominal sentences.
Accusative nouns, sentence, text, adjunct, structure
Copyright (c) 2026 Mahmoud Sulaiman Al-Hawashah, Adnan Bataineh, Sabra Muradjan Al Balushi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Investigating the Role of Using Palindromes in Developing Our Daily Life Activities
The study aims to identify how Palindromes (P)s can affect and enrich our daily life activities?”?. To highlight that using Palindromes (P)s can affect and enrich our daily life activities. Therefore, the analysis concentrates on observation and Fairclough’s Method of Constraints. These means have been chosen as secondary tools for the analysis because they are closely related to the non-linguistic features that are taken as samples in this study. These non-linguistic features are set to clarify the positive perspective of Palindromes (P)s. The study is concerned with analyzing how Palindromes (P)s can affect and enrich our daily life activities as a form of development. The analysis has shown that using Palindromes (P)s to enrich and enhance our daily life activities as a form of development is highly recommended.
A Study on Human-AI Collaboration Modes in Lyric Translation from a Translator-Centered Perspective
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, machine translation has become an important tool for translators to enhance productivity. However, lyric translation, which demands high levels of musicality, poetic sensibility, and cultural adaptability, represents a complex act of artistic recreation. At present, translators lack systematic methodological guidance for using AI in translation, making it difficult to effectively leverage artificial intelligence to improve translation quality. To address this, this study adopts a translator-oriented perspective to construct a human-computer collaborative workflow led by the translator, consisting of three stages: “pre-translation planning and prompting—critical screening during translation—post-translation precise editing and artistic refinement.” The paper emphasizes that translators should guide AI in generating draft translations through structured instructions while reinforcing their dual roles as translation project managers and artistic decision-makers during the interaction. By applying this model to the translation practice of the lyrics 《爱在》 its comprehensive effectiveness in coordinating rhythm, transforming imagery, and preserving poetic meaning was validated. The study concludes that the key to improving lyric translation quality in the era of artificial intelligence lies in the translator's mastery of the tool. It provides an actionable methodological framework for lyric translation and offers theoretical reference and practical insights for translation teaching and translator competence development.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jiaying Lai, Li Gao https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Language Attitudes and Reported Practices of Parents of Preschool Children in Cyprus
This paper examines the language attitudes and reported language practices of parents of children at the kindergarten level in the Greek-Cypriot community of Cyprus. The two varieties spoken in this community are in a diglossic relationship: the high variety, Standard Modern Greek (henceforth SMG), which is also the official language of Cyprus, and the low variety, the Greek-Cypriot dialect (henceforth GC), which is the non-standardised native variety. Examining the parental attitudes and reported practices of diglossic speakers in the home is crucial for the vitality of both varieties as well as for the speakers’ confidence and sense of identity. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. The results from the questionnaires, which are discussed in this paper, show that although most parents consider both SMG and GC to be part of their national and cultural heritage and linguistic identity and express positive attitudes towards both varieties, they encourage their children to use the standard variety from a preschool age. This could be due to the fact that the official language of education in Cyprus is SMG, parents, as diglossic speakers, wish for their children to express themselves fluently in writing in the high variety (SMG), and generally to succeed at school. These language attitudes and reported practices reveal how strong the ideology of the standard language (Milroy, 2007) is in diglossic settings such as Cyprus.
Language Attitudes; Language Practices; Dialect; Diglossia; Language Ideology
Human vs Machine Translation: A Comparative Study of Contextual Accuracy
Translation has a significant impact on the process of intercultural communication, international business, and transfer of knowledge. In recent decades, major advancements in machine translations (MT) have been experienced especially with the emergence of neural machine translations (NMT), which has significantly enhanced significantly the levels of fluency, grammar, and accessibility. Whether or not MT can maintain contextual accuracy, particularly in areas where subtlety and idiomatic phrasing, emotional appeal and cultural sensitivity are more important, still hangs. In this paper, a comparative analysis of human and machine translation is provided mainly on the contextual fidelity. A combination of the mixed-methods development process included a corpus of legal texts, literary texts, medical texts and marketing texts in Arabic, French and Japanese, which were translated by professional human translators, and the most popular systems of machine translators (Google Translate, DeepL, Microsoft Translator). A five-criterion evaluation system, that is, semantic fidelity, cultural appropriateness, idiomatic accuracy, emotional tone, and grammatical correctness, was used to evaluate translations. Objective data also reveal that, although MT scores close to human functional levels of grammar and fundamental semantics faithfulness, it perpetually performs poorly when it comes to the expression of idioms, tonality, and cultural subtext. Qualitative results also support the fact that MT cannot process light contextual clues, including irony, formality hierarchies, and culturally associated metaphors. In comparison, human translators are better at cultural adaptation as well as cost-effective and scalable. The research finds that hybrid systems in which MT delivers initial translations that are further processed with the assistance of human post-editing are the way to go. The implications of these findings for the research of translation, AI ethics, and professional training are immense, as they can confirm that there is ongoing relevance of human judgment in a translation field that is becoming more automated.
Human translation, machine translation, contextual accuracy, neural machine translation, cultural nuance, idiomatic expressions
Constructing the International Business Image of Guangzhou: A Corpus-driven Discourse Analysis of Business News on Government Website
In the context of globalization, cities serve as pivotal actors in international competition, where their international image and business environment play decisive roles in attracting investments, talents, and fostering economic growth. Guangzhou, as southern China’s economic nucleus, strategically constructs its international business persona and disseminates business environment information through official platforms like government portals. This study conducts a comprehensive discourse analysis of business news on Guangzhou’s government website, aiming to reveal linguistic characteristics, rhetorical strategies, and their impact on the city's commercial identity. Employing a corpus-driven discourse analysis framework, this research collected and analyzed English business news published on Guangzhou Municipal Government’s official portal (gz.gov.cn) from August 2023 to June 2024. The theoretical framework includes LDA topic modeling, Sinclair’s extended meaning unit theory, and Wodak’s discourse strategies, exploring the construction mechanism and optimization pathways of Guangzhou’s international business image. The research identifies four core business images: a global trade hub, an innovation-led tech hub, a highly attractive investment destination, and a dynamic and livable metropolis. It reveals the synergistic application of four key discursive strategies: nomination, predication, argumentation, and intensification/mitigation. Furthermore, specific enhancement pathways are proposed from three dimensions: linguistic optimization, government website upgrading, and cross-dimensional collaboration. This study provides a theoretical framework and practical reference for the international communication of urban business images.
Guangzhou; International Business Image; Government Website; corpus-driven discourse analysis
Copyright (c) 2026 Fangyuan Yan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Application of Specification in the Translation of Three Hundred Tang Poems——Cases Study of the Xu Yuanchong’s Version and Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-Hu’s
Three Hundred Tang Poems is a treasure trove of ancient Chinese wisdom that has become a world treasure through skillful translation. In rendering these poems for international readers, the translator must not only accurately convey their artistic conception and bridge emotional nuances, but also reconstruct their cultural connotations. To achieve such a translation effect, the proper application of specification—a strategy of representing the original ideas or concept in a more concrete or explicit way—becomes quite necessary. This paper, taking the English translation of Three Hundred Tang Poems made by Xu Yuanchong and Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-Hu as examples, makes a comparative analysis of their application of specification in poetry translation, focusing on three dimensions: context, emotion and culture. It tends to reveal the use of different degrees and types of specification on the effect of translation, with a view to offer some insights for the translation of Chinese poems.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yujie Luo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Creative Catalyst or Cognitive Crutch? Moroccan EFL University Students’ Perceptions of AI in Guided Reading
This paper explores the perceptions of Moroccan EFL university students regarding the adoption of AI as a cognitive partner in guided reading classes. The researcher examines whether AI tools, particularly ChatGPT, enhance or erode student’s divergent thinking skills. A qualitative methodology was employed, using semi-structured interviews, to gather in-depth insights of 60 Moroccan EFL university students who have attended guided reading classes at the Faculty of Languages, Lettres and Art in Kenitra, Morocco. Following the survey, the researcher invited voluntary students for further exploration. 08 volunteers took part in a focus group interview to discuss their perceptions and perspectives in detail. The findings of the study indicate that students' perceptions regarding AI tools were favourable in terms of Creativity and Idea Generation, and Cognitive Support and Metacognition. However, some challenges are unavoidable when employing these tools, resulting from factors like Cultural and Literary Interpretation, and Ethical Awareness and Trust. In sum, this study contributes to the growing discourse on AI in EFL higher education by highlighting how AI can function as a cognitive partner in guided reading when its use is pedagogically guided, culturally sensitive, and critically framed.
Artificial Intelligence; Guided Reading; Literary Analysis; Divergent Thinking; EFL Learners; Student Perceptions