bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategies of Translating Martial Arts Fiction
Authors: Mok Olivia
Published: September 2007

The strategies of translating Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain, a martial arts novel by Jin Yong, into English are determined mainly by the skopos of bringing Jin Yong’s work to life for a Western audience, shaped also by the translator’s ideology and the poetics dominant in the receiving culture. It follows that the functions associated with translating this literary text, a major genre in contemporary Chinese literature, would include introducing martial arts fiction as a literary genre; introducing Jin Yong as a master storyteller; and presenting genre-specific devices employed in penning a classic work. An overriding strategy adopted by the translator proved to be extensive rewriting into the target language as the translated work only materialized after serious efforts at recreative translating. The fluent translation strategy, when aptly used, is the one that effects transparency, thereby evoking authorial presence in a literary translation.
Challenges Confronting Translators in Multilingual and Multi-ethnic Singapore
Authors: Seong Teoh Boon , Soon Lim Beng
Published: September 2007

Singapore is a cosmopolitan city in the centre of Southeast Asia. Its population is multiracial and multilingual. The majority of Singaporeans is functionally bilingual, i.e. they know English and a mother tongue of their own; an ethnic Chinese Singaporean thus can speak English and Mandarin Chinese. Translation in Singapore faces certain challenges and in this paper we highlight what some of these problems are, in the specific instance of translating into English from Malay. There is a tendency amongst Malays to write in a pseudo-spoken style and it has generally been acknowledged that spoken Malay is considerably different from written standard Malay. Often the impact of the translation may not be the same as that intended by the original and may be totally misconstrued. The paper describes some of these challenges in translating Malay.
Idiomaticity Between Evasion and Invasion in Translation
Authors: Ghazala Hasan
Published: September 2007

One of the most complicated issues in translation is idioms. Although there are thousands of them and occur in all types of texts and contexts, their translation from English into Arabic has only received cursory attention. This paper is an attempt to fill the gap to some extent in the translation of idioms (English-Arabic). It studies the main problems of translating idiomaticity and the extent to which it is retained or distorted and why.
Two major translation procedures, evasion and invasion, are suggested. They are alleged to be a framework through which translators can translate idiomaticity, in their desperate endeavour to transfer it into the TL to achieve the maximum possible degree of equivalent sense, aestheticity, connotations and effects. Therefore, two main evasion procedures are suggested: (1) dissuaison from idiomaticity (due to (i) the translator’s incompetence, (ii) zero language equivalence, or (iii) avoidance of taboos); and (2) preference of insensible sense.
Also, three invasion procedures are proposed: (1) equivalent idiomaticity; (2) enforced idiomaticity; and (3) abortive idiomaticity. It is claimed that the latter group of procedures, especially (2) is creative and does justice to both texts, the SL and the TL in translation. The article concludes with a summary idiomaticity, and criteria for tracing its equivalence in the TL.
Pragmatic and Linguistic Problems in the Translation of Naguib Mahfouz’s The Thief and the Dogs
Authors: Abdel-Hafiz Ahmed-Sokarno
Published: September 2007

This paper examines the pragmatic and linguistic problems that come into play in the English translation of one of Naguib Mahfouz’s most famous novels The Thief and the Dogs (more than 20 editions in 10 languages). This novel, which was written in 1961, was translated into English in 1984 by Trevor Le Gassick and M.M Badawi.
The paper presents evidence that the translators failed to appreciate the importance of context in determining the meaning of the Source Language Text. The paper also shows that the translators sometimes ignored such pragmatic concepts and principles as speech acts, the maxims of the Politeness Principle, conventional implicature, and presupposition. Moreover, some problems rise at the word level and phrase/clause level.
Since Mahfouz is a Nobel-laureate whose works are demanded and consumed by avid readers everywhere, such translational problems may distort his works and reduce the enjoyment readers expect from them. The study can also be helpful to future translators in a such a way that they will be aware of the difficulties that await them.
Stylistic-semantic and grammatical functions of punctuation in English-Arabic translation
Authors: Ghazala Hasan
Published: September 2007

Punctuation marks are used in English systematically, and in an organised way, to perform certain stylistic, semantic and
grammatical functions and achieve effects that can contribute to and affect meaning in some way and in variable degrees. So
they are not used haphazardly nor regarded as a mere decoration that has nothing to do with the message of the text, be it a
sentence, a paragraph or a long passage. They are meaningful and functional in different types of texts. Hence their
importance in translation. In Arabic, however, the situation is completely different. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly,
punctuation marks almost without exception are ignored, random or misused in all types of texts and contexts, especially in
classical books — let alone translated works into Arabic — for no good reasons. This means that there is a big gap to bridge
in translation from English into Arabic. This article is a modest attempt to do so. It stresses the importance of punctuation
to the message in Arabic, and how to compensate for the loss of meaning incurred by neglecting it, for it entails stylistic,
semantic and grammatical functions that are too significant to drop in translation. The argument in favour of the
functionality of punctuation in writing and, hence, translation, is confirmed by a discussion of the most important and
recurrent punctuation marks, with illustrative examples in both English and Arabic.
The effect of word order differences on English-into-Arabic simultaneous interpreters’ performance
Authors: Al-Rubai'i Alya' M.H. Ahmad
Published: September 2007

Word order differences between English and Arabic represent one of the problems faced by English-into-Arabic simultaneous
interpreters. This paper investigates this problem by testing the effect of six problematic English linear arrangements on the
accuracy of performance of interpreters in three text types: the expressive, informative and vocative. These constructions are
considered problematic because they contain key words which force the interpreter to lag too far behind the speaker before they
are rendered into Arabic. This lagging behind entails a risk of short-term memory overload and consequently affects
performance.

The assumption has been verified and departures in the form of omissions and errors have been identified in the interpreters’
performance. But the interpreters resorted to a tactic that helped them to stay as close as possible to the speaker, viz.,
tracking, particularly in the rendition of the vocative passage. However, this tactic was not always manipulated successfully due
to inappropriate handling or to the fact that the construction itself did not lend itself to tracking.

It has also been found that departures are higher in the rendition of the expressive and informative passages than the vocative
passage.
The ways Sylvia Plath speaks Macedonian
Authors: Zimbakova Kristina
Published: September 2007

I delved in the original of the American poet Sylvia Plath poems with an ambition to "move" it and give it a new
dimension compatible with Macedonian (a South-Slavic language). Regarding prosody, compared to the iambic in the
original, particularly in the early poems, the translation of the poems uses trochee as a meter natural to modern Macedonian
poetry and the closest one to the standard speech. The translation complies with the Macedonian grammatical and natural
gender, and the noun-verb and adjective-noun agreement in gender, number, and person. Cultural shift is frequently applied,
too. The poems crave for translation as a means of their resurrection, and unraveling of the powerful emotional input and
imagery, in another language. While translating I was tenaciously in pursuing of the light in the lines of Plath’s poetry
hoping to create by means of words a setting within Macedonian where that light will shimmer most intensely. The question is,
what would Sylvia herself say in Macedonian that the translator does not say? Yet she is meant to speak via the translator as
an intermediary, who unavoidably distorts the real picture in the mirror. Although translation of poetry can never fully
satisfy the appetites of the original, it remains to be the original’s sole destiny and way of survival. Poetry itself is a
certain translation of and deviation from the ordinary speech. Thus, the translation into Macedonian is actually translation
of a translation. Everything is Translation: the imaginary Original is a body enveloped in the myriad of garments belonging to
Translation.
A study of antonymous and synonymous couplings in Arabic with reference to translation
Authors: Sahib Mehdi Ali Abdul
Published: September 2007

Abstract

This paper discusses a particular type of Arabic word combinations, where basically two words, either antonyms or synonyms, are coordinated in fixed phrases or ‘coup lings’ that are of frequent occurrence in the language. Depending on whether the semantic relationship between the component parts of a given coupling is one of antonymy or synonymy, the study identifies two subtypes of these phrases, namely ‘Antonymous Couplings’ and ‘Synonymous Couplings’, respectively. Both types of couplings are here subjected to a close examination with a view to pointing out their main characteristics and identifying the various types of constraints governing the positioning of their components in relation to each other. The study also sheds light on some cross-linguistic similarities and differences of these couplings, their relevance to human experience, and their translatability from one language into another. It is concluded: (i) that both types of couplings are characterized by brevity, forcefulness, symbolism, and structural harmony; (ii) that the particular order in which the two components of a given coupling are arranged is not haphazard; rather it is governed by one or more of a number of considerations; (iii) that both types of couplings lend themselves well to functional and dynamic translation due to the fact that the pairing of words in such couplings is a linguistic universal, which in turn is attributable to the similarity of human experience.

Résumé

Cet article traite d’un type particulier de combinaisons de mots en arabe, dans lesquelles deux mots, soit antonymes, soit synonymes, sont associes dans des phrases fixes ou jonctions., qui apparaissent frequemment dans la langue. Selon que la relation semantique entre les composants d’une jonction donnee est du type antonyme ou synonyme, l’etude identifie deux sous-types de phrases, a savoir respectivement, les jonctions d’antonymes. et les .jonctions de synonymes. Les deux types de jonctions font ici l’objet d’un examen approfondi, en vue de montrer leurs caracteristiques principales et d’identifier les differents types de contraintes qui regissent la position de leurs composants les uns par rapport aux autres. L’etude eclaire egalement certaines similitudes et differences inter-linguistiques de ces jonctions, leur rapport avec l’experience humaine et leur traductibilite d’une langue a l’autre. Elle conclut en disant que: (i) les deux types de jonctions se caracterisent par la concision, la vigueur, le symbolisme et l’harmonie structurelle ; (ii) l’ordre particulier dans lequel se trouvent les deux composants d’une jonction donnee n’est pas du au hasard, mais il est plutot determine par une ou plusieurs considerations; (iii) les deux types de jonctions se pretent bien a la traduction fonctionnelle et dynamique, en raison du fait que le groupement de mots dans ces jonctions est un univers linguistique qui, a son tour, est attribuable a la similitude de l’experience humaine.
Translating Proverbs
Authors: El-Yasin Mohammed K. , Al-Shehabat Abdulla K.
Published: September 2007

The present paper starts by defining proverbs and discussing their form and meaning. The fixed or fossilized form of proverbs gives
them one of their defining characteristics; their meaning is the standard interpretation their speech community assigns to them,
which may or may not coincide with their literal meaning. The use of proverbs helps enrich the text in which they are used, since
they draw on traditional wisdom and, therefore, carry the weight of popular acceptance as authentic truth. To achieve optimal
translation of such a text, the translator is faced with the problem of maintaining this richness and is required to find an
equally rich text with the compactness a proverb enjoys, a task that is not always possible. This is due to the fact that the kind
of equivalence aimed at in this case can only be achieved when a proverb is found in the target language which can be used in
situations similar to those where the source language proverb is used. The chances of finding such a proverb are not always
available. We conclude that compete equivalence is, more often than otherwise, unattainable where translating proverbs is
concerned.
Training sign language interpreters in Australia
Authors: Napier Jemina
Published: September 2007

This paper describes an innovative approach to training sign language interpreters, through a program established at Macquarie
University in Sydney, Australia. The course is innovative because sign language and spoken language interpreting students jointly
study key subjects, which enables all students to gain insight into the theoretical applications and professional practices of
their respective working experiences. This component is particularly innovative as sign language interpreting programs are
typically provided as language specific courses with little (if any) exposure to interpreting students of other languages. This
paper will provide an overview of the program for both spoken and signed language interpreters, detailing the structure, content
and delivery modes, with the aim of encouraging other interpreter educators to consider combining the teaching of all language
interpreters.
Translation training needs for adult learners
Authors: Lung Rachel
Published: September 2007

A survey on the translation training needs of adult learners in Hong Kong was conducted in February 2002. Quantitative and
qualitative data were collected from 185 applicants of a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation programme through a standard form
(see Appendix I) requesting demographic and education background information, along with a 400-word English essay spelling out the
applicant’s reasons for applying. The Statistical Package for Social Scientists / Window 10.1 version was used to perform gross
statistics. Advanced statistical procedures were deliberately spared in order to have the rudimentary findings presented, without
any technical distortion. These findings provided an objective picture about the nature of translation needs for adult learners in
general. Such feedback from people of the real working arena would also shed light on the nature and direction of university
translation programme provision.
À propos de quelques «dérapages» dans la version espagnole du Cornet à dés de Max
Jacob
Authors: Durand Guiziou Marie-Claire
Published: September 2007

Dans cet article, nous proposons une analyse de la traduction espagnole de quatre poèmes en prose de Max Jacob, extraits de son
recueil Le Cornet à dés (1917). Notre choix s’est porté sur la traduction de “Tableau de la foire”, “Vie et
marée” et, dans la série intitulée ‘Le coq et la perle’ du même recueil, sur “Le soleil est en dentelle” et “Brouillard, étoile
d’araignée”, ces deux derniers poèmes se réduisant à un seul vers. C’est en 1924 que Guillermo de Torre, fervent admirateur de Max
Jacob et contemporain du poète français, donne la version espagnole du Cornet à dés sous le titre El
Cubilete de Dados. Or, il s’agit, à notre connaissance, de la seule traduction espagnole du recueil de poèmes de
l’écrivain français, publiée en Espagne. Il nous a donc semblé intéressant de la commenter. Dans le cadre de cet article, nous
avons choisi de considérer uniquement les quatre poèmes cités, traduits par de Torre, car ils sont représentatifs des “dérapages”
que nous avons détectés dans la traduction espagnole du recueil de poèmes. Notre analyse s’inspire d’une part, des principes
théoriques exposés par Etkind Efind dans un ouvrage qui a fait date en traduction littéraire: Un art en crise. Essai de
poétique de la traduction poétique et d’autre part, de notre expérience en tant que traductrices d’ouvrages
littéraires et enseignantes de traduction. À la lecture des défaillances rencontrées dans les textes traduits que nous commentons
ici, une nouvelle traduction du recueil du Cornet à dés de Max Jacob serait à considérée. Au-delà des
commentaires et de notre travail d’analyse des textes traduits, il nous a paru honnête de proposer, à notre tour, notre propre
traduction des poèmes choisis afin que le lecteur puisse, lui aussi, en faire une lecture critique.
Cumulative difference and catastrophic change
Authors: Dickins James
Published: September 2007

This paper shows how various problematic features of the translation into English of Arabic (??) ??? / bacda
(‘an) “after” may combine, initially incrementally, but ultimately in a “catastrophic” manner (cf.
Woodcock and Davis 1980), at which point the translator is forced to engage in significant TT restructuring. The paper provides a
basic temporal definition of (??) ??? / bacda (‘an) (Section 1). It introduces the notion of
informational incongruity (Section 2), and develops this in relation to the informational pairs: theme/rheme, and
foregrounding/backgrounding. While final adjunct and sentential relative clauses in English cannot be foregrounded, final disjunct
clauses can be (Section 3). Some Arabic final subordinate clauses can be foregrounded, whose obvious English translation
equivalents cannot; direct (literal) translations into English of these Arabic ST structures accordingly result in informational
incongruity (Section 4). The fact that (??) ??? / bacda (‘an) may have a temporal+causal or
temporal+adversative interpretation, unlike the purely temporal English “after” or “following” can also contribute to
informational incongruity in translation (Section 5). In some cases, a final ?? ??? / bacda ‘an in a
temporal+causal sense occurs in a context which requires that the ?? ??? / bacda ‘an clause be backgrounded. A
direct English translation using “since” (a causal with available temporal implications), results in a foregrounded final disjunct
clause in the English TT, as well as yielding other denotative problems. At this point, only a catastrophic translation solution
seems acceptable, involving significant TT restructuring (Section 6).
Censura y traducción
Authors: Pajares Eterio
Published: September 2007

Abstract

Britain’s involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession was such a heavy burden for this country that many essays were written against prolonging the struggle. To this, John Arbuthnot (this satire was wrongly attributed to Swift for many years) contributed with The History of John Bull, a collection of fine satirical pamphlets designed to put and end to the campaign, and advocating a return to peace and common sense. It was soon translated into French and, from this language, Juan Ignacio de Ayestaran tried to produce a Spanish version. However, this version was not authorised by the harsh and voracious Spanish censorship of the period. This essay offers a comparative critical study of the translation and analyses the censors’ reasons for rejecting it. The close reading of this fine satirical work makes the arguments for rebuffing the authorisation so obvious that one wonders to what extent some eighteenth century translators were really aware of the time they were living in and the aesthetic distance between two countries so geographically near but so alien in freedom and tradition.

Résumé

Le rôle de la Grande-Bretagne dans la guerre de succession espagnole a été un tel fardeau pour ce pays que de nombreux essais ont été écrits contre la poursuite de la lutte. John Arbuthnot y a contribué avec L’histoire de John Bull (pendant de nombreuses années, cette satire a été attribuée à tort à Swift). Cette collection de superbes pamphlets satiriques, conçus pour mettre fin à la campagne et préconisant le retour à la paix et au bon sens, a rapidement été traduite en français. En partant de cette langue, Juan Ignacio de Ayestaran a tenté de produire une version espagnole. Toutefois, cette version n’a pas été autorisée par la censure espagnole, dure et dévorante, de l’époque. Cet essai propose une étude critique comparative de la traduction et analyse les raisons pour lesquelles le censeur l’a rejetée. Une lecture attentive de cette belle oeuvre satirique rend tellement évidents les arguments invoqués pour l’interdire qu’on se demande dans quelle mesure certains traducteurs du dix-huitième siècle étaient vraiment conscients de l’époque où ils vivaient et de la distance esthétique entre deux pays, si proches géographiquement parlant et pourtant si distants sur le plan de la liberté et de la tradition.
Translation as metaphor in Meridel Le Sueur
Authors: Núnez Puente Carolina
Published: September 2007

Abstract

This paper was inspired by a line of Julia Kristeva, revealing the virginity attributed to Mary an effect of translation. According to Kristeva, the scribe chose “the Greek [word] parthenos’’ to translate “the Sernitic word denoting the social-legal status of an unmarried girl” ( 1986, 101). My paper deals with the theory and practical effects of translaltion. Taking translation as a metaphor of ‘rewriting,’ I evaluate the version of the biblical Annunciation by the American writer Meridel Le Sueur. The problems of manipulating texts in (non-metaphorical) translations are examined too. Most importantly, I emphasize the role of connections, such as those between the translated text and its source, the baby and its mother, etc. Hopefully, reflecting on both ‘translation’ and ‘rewriting’ will lead us to a (new) conception of the self-in-relations, with all its ethical consequences.

Résumé

Cet article s’inspire d’une ligne de Julia Kristeva, qui révèle que la virginité attribuée à Marie est un effet de la traduction. D’après Kristeva, l’auteur a choisi le terme grec parthenos pour traduire le terme sémite signifiant le statut socio-légal d’une fille célibataire (1986, 101). Mon article traite de la théorie et des effets pratiques de la traduction. Considérant la traduction comme une métaphore de la ‘réécriture’, j’évalue la version de l’Annonciation biblique par l’écrivain américain Meridel Le Sueur. Les problèmes de manipulation des textes dans les traductions (non-métaphoriques) sont également examinés. Plus important, je souligne le rôle des connections, comme celles entre le texte traduit et sa source, ou le bébé et sa mère. Espérons que réfléchir à la fois à la ‘traduction’ et à la réécriture’ nous conduira à une (nouvelle) conception du « soi-même en relation avec l’autre », avec toutes ses conséquences éthiques.
Collocation in English-Arabic Translation
Authors: Bahumaid Showqi
Published: September 2007

Abstract

Collocation is considered one of the major ‘trouble spots’ for translators. This may be ascribed to the relative difficulty in predicting the constituent elements of a collocation, the considerag ble variation in collocability across languages and the lack of adequate resources on collocation. However, few empirical studies have been made so far on the types of collocations that are parg ticularly problematic to the translator, the specific sources of the problem and the procedures that translators actually resort to in handling such collocations. This paper investigates the areas just defined with special reference to collocation in English and Arabic. A translation test involving thirty sentencegcontextualized collocations of different types was designed. The test was administered to four Arab university instructors who taught translation and did translation work for different periods of time. The participants’ performance in the test was considerably low. A detailed analysis of the problem was conducted and the findg ings were then reported. It is hoped that a study of this kind would provide essential feedback for translation teachers and syllabus designers.

Résumé

La collocation est considérée comme un des principaux «points névralgiques » pour les traducg teurs. Cela peut s’expliquer par la difficulté relative qu’il y a à prévoir les éléments constitutifs d’une collocation, aux variations considérables de collocabilité entre langues et au manque de ressources adéquates en matière de collocation. Toutefois, peu d’études empiriques ont été efg fectuées jusqu’à présent en ce qui concerne les types de collocations qui s’avèrent particulièreg ment problématiques pour le traducteur, les sources spécifiques du problème et les procédures auxquelles les traducteurs ont effectivement recours pour les traiter. Cet article étudie les domaines que nous venons de définir et se réfère en particulier à la colg location en anglais et en arabe. Un test de traduction a été élaboré, comprenant trente collocag tions de différents types, replacées dans un contexte de phrases. Nous avons fait passer ce test à quatre assistants d’université arabes qui enseignaient la traduction et effectuaient des travaux de traduction à différentes époques. Les résultats obtenus par les participants au test étaient exg trêmement faibles. Une analyse détaillée du problème a été effectuée et les conclusions ont fait l’objet d’un rapport. Nous espérons qu’une étude de ce type fournira des informations esseng tielles aux professeurs de traduction et aux concepteurs de programmes d’ enseignement.
The theatre of Ovonramwen
Authors: Musa Rasheed Abiodun
Published: September 2007

Abstract

The Ovonramwen theatre is a paradigm that necessarily celebrates various theatrical performances and play-texts that reflect on the life and time of Oba Ovonramwen, the former King of the Benin Kingdom, Nigeria. Using the deductive methodology, this paper reflects on the politics of historical reconstruction in the Nigerian theatre and importantly evaluates various play-texts written about Ovonramwen by Nigerian playwrights. We conclude that the international theatre market will benefit from the Ovonramwen theatre and sincerely call on the British Government to tell us their own account about the subjugation of the people of Benin and the deposition of the god-king (Ovonramwen) through the famous revenge mission in 1897. Theatricalising these events through a play-text by a British writer or commissioned by the British Government will further help us to do more comparative study about Ovonramwen all in the Ovonramwen theatre. The ‘incisors’ must be separated from the ‘grinders’ if the truth must be known.

Résumé

Le théâtre d’Ovonramwen est un paradigme de performances théâtrales et des textes qui reflètent la vie du Roi Ovonramwen, l’un des anciens rois de Benin au Nigéria. A travers une méthodologie déductive, cet article traite de la politique de reconstruction historique du théâtre nigérian et évalue surtout les divers textes des pièces théâtrales écrits sur les dramaturges nigérians. Nous concluons que le marché international du théâtre va bénéficier de l’oeuvre théâtrale d’Ovonramwen et va en profiter pour demander au Gouvernement Britannique de donner sa version de la subjugation du Royaume du Benin et de la déposition du Roi-Dieu (Ovonramwen) à travers la fameuse mission de vengeance de 1897. En théâtralisant ces événements au moyen d’une pièce théâtrale d’un dramaturge britannique, approuvée par le Gouvernement Britannique, on arriverait mieux à procéder à une étude comparative sur Ovonramwen dans diverses oeuvres théâtrales. Les “incisives” doivent se séparer des “molaires” si la vérité doit se mettre à nue.
Verb morphology in second language versus third language acquisition
Authors: Leung Yan-kit Ingrid
Published: September 2007

This paper reports an experimental study on L2 vs. L3 Spanish morphological representation. A total of 19 Spanish learners (10 Chinese native speakers who are upper intermediate to advanced L2 English users as well as 9 English native speakers who do not speak a prior language without overt morphology) participated in the study. A written production task using Spanish nonce verbs was used to elicit regular and irregular forms of Spanish past participles. The study revealed differences between native and non-native Spanish speakers but ones that are still compatible with an approach which posits a dual mechanism for morphological processing. In addition, no principal difference between the L2 and the L3 Spanish learners was identified. A follow-up experiment on L2 English was therefore carried out testing 26 native speakers of Chinese and 17 native speakers of English using a written production task eliciting English regular and irregular past tense forms for both real verbs and nonce verbs. The findings suggested that native and non-native English speakers’ performances pattern similarly. It seems that L2 English plays a crucial role in Chinese speakers’ L3 Spanish morphological representation and in their similar performance to the L1 English-L2 Spanish speakers.
Specificity in Spanish
Authors: Borgonovo Claudia , Bruhn de Garavito Joyce , Guijarro-Fuentes Pedro , Prévost Philippe , Valenzuela Elena
Published: September 2007

Recent proposals argue that interface areas such as syntax/semantics and syntax/pragmatics are particularly difficult for adult learners, in comparison to purely syntactic phenomena (Sorace 2003, 2004). In contrast, other research shows that L2 learners are able to acquire target representations even when the interpretation is not readily available in the input (Borgonovo, Bruhn de Garavito and Prévost 2005, Dekydtspotter and Sprouse 2001). In this paper we add to the growing literature on the acquisition of interpretational properties by showing that adult L2 learners can acquire knowledge of the syntactic correlates of the semantic notion of specificity in constructions involving topicalisation and null objects in Spanish. The learners’ first language (L1) is Brazilian Portuguese, where specificity does not play the role in these constructions that it plays in Spanish. Results show that learners can go beyond their L1 with respect to the acquisition of interface phenomena, suggesting that native-like grammars are attainable in L2 acquisition.
Advanced grammars and pragmatic processes
Authors: Liszka Sarah Ann
Published: September 2007

This study starts by testing the assumption that with access to the full range of properties of the language faculty, L2 learners are ultimately successful in assigning target-like meanings to overt forms. A further assumption that can be (implicitly) drawn from this assumption is that L2 pragmatic processes are native-like at Logical Form (in Relevance-theoretic terms, Sperber and Wilson 1986/95). The study focuses on the L2 acquisition of the distributional and interpretational properties of the English present simple (e.g. I cycle to work) and the English present progressive (e.g. I’m cycling to work). Data from advanced L1 French speakers, under varying task conditions, are presented to evaluate these assumptions. In light of any evidence indicating persistent form-meaning mismatches, the results are used to (i) discuss a permanent syntactic deficit as the possible source of difficulty in acquiring target-like form-meaning relationships and (ii) consider the potential implications for pragmatic processes resulting from this deficit.
The lexical decision task as a measure of L2 lexical proficiency
Authors: Harrington Michael
Published: September 2007

Prior applications of the lexical decision task in second language research have either examined performance accuracy (Meara and Buxton 1987) or speed of response to familiar items (Segalowitz and Segalowitz 1993). This paper examines how well the two measures together serve to discriminate among between-group levels of proficiency and within-group levels of difficulty on an English lexical decision task. Performance was compared across three levels of English proficiency (Intermediate L2, Advanced L2 and English L1 control) and four levels of item difficulty, as defined by frequency of occurrence (words from the 2000, 3000, 5000 and 10,000 most frequently occurring words). Accuracy and reaction time measures systematically decreased as a function of increasing proficiency and frequency level. Response variability, as measured by the coefficient of variance, also decreased as performance improved. The implications of the findings for the use of lexical decision tasks in second language research are discussed.
The effect of extraversion on oral L2 proficiency
Authors: van Daele Siska , Housen Alex , Pierrard Michel , De Bruyn Luc
Published: September 2007

This study investigates the commonly-held belief in the SLA community that second language acquisition is somehow influenced by the learner’s personality. It builds on previous research on the relation between one personality variable, extraversion, and second language acquisition but is innovative in three ways. First, it examines L2 learners’ speech production in two rather than one L2 and thus puts to the test the hypothesis that the effect of extraversion is stable across different target languages (Dewaele and Furnham 2000). Secondly, whereas most previous studies have investigated the effect of extraversion on fluency (e.g. Rossier 1976, Tapasak, Roodin and Vaught 1978, Busch 1982, Dewaele 1998) this study also looks at the potential effect of this variable on the linguistic accuracy and complexity of learners’ L2 speech production. Thirdly, whereas previous studies were mostly cross-sectional in design, this study adds a longitudinal perspective by considering to what extent the effect of the extraversion–introversion dimension on the fluency, complexity and accuracy of learners’ L2 production remains stable over time. Participants were 25 Dutch-speaking secondary school students learning both English and French as foreign languages in Flanders, Belgium.
The socio-educational model of Second Language Acquisition
Authors: Gardner Robert C.
Published: September 2007

In this paper I discuss our socio-educational model of second language acquisition and demonstrate how it provides a fundamental research paradigm to investigate the role of attitudes and motivation in learning another language. This is a general theoretical model designed explicitly for the language learning situation, and is applicable to both foreign and second language learning contexts. It has three important features. First, it satisfies the scientific requirement of parsimony in that it involves a limited number of operationally defined constructs. Second, it has associated with it the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) that yields reliable assessments of its major constructs, permitting empirical tests of the model. Third, it is concerned with the motivation to learn and become fluent in another language, and not simply with task and/or classroom motivation.
Atlantic, Pacific, and world-wide features in English-lexicon contact languages
Authors: Baker Philip , Huber Magnus
Published: September 2007

This article analyzes the earliest known attestations of 302 lexical, functional, and grammatical features in 13 English-lexicon contact languages in the Atlantic and the Pacific. The main aims are (i) to shed light on the historical relationships between the individual varieties, (ii) to learn about the mechanisms at work in their genesis and development, and (iii) to examine the significance of features common to both geographical regions. Overall, our intention is to demonstrate that a statistical feature-based approach as proposed here can yield valuable insights into the development and interrelationships between Pidgins and Creoles.
The Atlantic edge
Authors: Hickey Raymond
Published: September 2007

The intention of the present article is to examine the linguistic features typical of the Irish-derived community in contemporary Newfoundland and to relate these to the varieties of Irish English in the south-east of Ireland, the region from which most of the Irish settlers emigrated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The nature of South-West English  the second area of the British Isles which provided input to Newfoundland  is also considered and contrasted with south-east Irish English. The body of the article consists of a description of key features from phonology, morphology, syntax and lexis which are suspected of occurring in both Ireland and Newfoundland. In addition, the possibility of identifying retentions and independent developments in Canada, respectively, is also considered.
The formation of regional and national features in African English pronunciation
Authors: Simo Bobda Augustin
Published: September 2007

Serious studies on English pronunciation in Africa, which are only beginning, have so far highlighted the regional and sociolinguistic distribution of some features on the continent. The present paper revisits some aspects of these studies and presents a sort of pronunciation atlas on the basis of some selected features. But more importantly, the paper examines how these features are formed. It considers, but goes beyond, the over-used theory of mother-tongue interference, and analyses a wide range of other factors: colonial input, shared historical experience, movement of populations, colonial and post-colonial opening to other continents, the psychological factor, speakers’ attitudes towards the various models of pronunciation in their community, etc. For example, the Krio connection accounts for some striking similarities between Nigerian, Sierra Leonean and Gambian Englishes despite the wide geographical distance between them. The positive perception of their accent, which they judge superior to the other West African accents, has, in the past three decades, shaped the English pronunciation of Ghanaians in a particular way. The northward movements of populations have disseminated to East Africa some typically Southern African features. Links between Southern and East Africa, and Asia, are reflected in the presence of some Asian features in East and Southern African Englishes. The paper shows how African accents of English result from the interaction between the influence of indigenous languages and Africans’ exposure to several colonial and post-colonial Englishes.
The spread of English in two parts of the Northern Area of Pakistan, 1980–2002
Authors: Harlech-Jones Brian , Sajid Shamshad , ur-Rahman Shams
Published: September 2007

This article investigates the widespread conviction that during the period on which the study is based, 1980 to 2002, English spread faster and much more widely in Hunza than in Chilas, two political sub-districts of the Northern Area of Pakistan that have many similarities. In the absence of data, it was decided to study the expansion of formal education during the period 1980–2002, cross-referenced against the changing language content of curricula. Based on the data, a number of propositions were formulated for each area. Finally, the propositions were checked by means of a survey.

The conclusion is that the proposition is correct. In Hunza there is convincing evidence of more widespread use of, and more favourable attitudes towards, English. The main reason for the differences between Chilas and Hunza seems to be the different expressions of Islam that pertain in each area.
Moribund English
Authors: Decker Ken
Published: September 2007

In this day of ever-expanding influence of English it is rare to find a people who are shifting away from the use of English. Such is the case of the speakers of a variety of English spoken in the port town of Gustavia, St. Barthélemy in the French West Indies. The varieties of French and French Creole on St. Barths have been well documented, but there has been only passing mention of the variety of English spoken on the island. While the presence of this English variety in the Caribbean may not seem to be an anomaly, there are interesting questions to investigate regarding its origin and the shift to French. I consider some historical and linguistic evidence that may help to explain the presence of an English variety on this French island. I also investigate the origins of some non-standard English features and whether or not there is evidence of creolization. Finally, I describe some of the sociolinguistic factors relevant to the remaining English speakers in Gustavia and factors involved in their shift from English to French.
Expressing levels of intensity in Xhosa English
Authors: de Klerk Vivian
Published: September 2007

This article reports on patterns of adverbial usage in a 550 000-word corpus of informal spoken English collected from mother tongue (MT) Xhosa speakers for whom English is a second language. The focus is on the subset of intensifiers which accompany gradable adverbs and adjectives that allow comparison and modification (e.g. rather hard) and the benchmark used for comparison with so-called natural MT English usage is the spoken component of the International Corpus of New Zealand English (Holmes 1995; 1996). Results reveal that patterns of usage vary enormously between Xhosa English (XhE) and New Zealand English (NZE). Not only do they vary in overall frequency of use in all categories, with XhE speakers using fewer intensifiers, but the XhE speakers also draw from a smaller lexical range, which suggests a process of lexical focusing. Other characteristic patterns of intensifier usage include differences in adverbial placement as well as formulaic phrasing.
Pragmatic and historical aspects of Definite Article Reduction in northern English dialects
Authors: Rupp Laura , Page-Verhoeff Hanne
Published: September 2007

We inquire into Definite Article Reduction (DAR), a phenomenon known to characterize northern English dialects. For this research we collected data from speakers at the North Yorkshire/Lancashire border. While previous studies have largely addressed DAR from a phonological perspective, we examine whether DAR is conditioned by other linguistic factors. The pattern we identify is that speakers show DAR most frequently when they refer to something (i) that is in their immediate environment (situational reference), (ii) that was just mentioned in the conversation (anaphoric reference), or (iii) that is known to the hearer (shared knowledge). We note that these uses correspond to the pragmatic category of “givenness/familiarity”, and may also be associated with the notions “near/close”. We speculate on the emergence of DAR in the North of England, drawing on evidence from the historical record regarding the development of the definite article from the demonstrative paradigm and the contact situation with Scandinavian.
Grammatical features of Kenyan English and the extent of their acceptability
Authors: Buregeya Alfred
Published: September 2007

This study sought to provide evidence for the existence of specific grammatical features which one could definitely say are characteristic of Kenyan English. Using a questionnaire, it gauged the extent of acceptability of twenty-six features by between 75 and 188 respondents. The twenty-six features appeared in sentences that would be considered as deviant in standard international English, and informants were instructed to correct errors in them. The sample of respondents was drawn, over a two-year period, from eight classes of students specializing in either linguistics or communication at the University of Nairobi. The target features covered “grammar” in its widest sense: from punctuation marks and spelling to morphological, syntactic and lexical aspects. The results showed that fourteen (i.e. 54%) of the twenty-six structures scored acceptability ratings of at least 60%. These could be argued to be indeed characteristic of at least written Kenyan English. But, with acceptability ratings for some other structures being as low as only two and eighteen percent, the results equally suggest that some apparently very common features of Kenyan English would only be accepted in spoken, rather than written language.
Causativity reduction in Singaporean English
Authors: Ziegeler Debra , Lee Sarah
Published: September 2007

A common feature of Singaporean English, and found to a lesser extent in British and US English, is the “conventionalised scenario” (Goldberg 1995); i.e. a causative construction in which an intermediate causee is neither expressed nor necessarily recoverable from context and common ground, e.g. You cut your hair, in which the action is normally attributed to another, unexpressed participant. The present study provides written data on the use of conventionalised scenarios in Singapore English and explains their link with competing resultative constructions (e.g. You had/got your hair cut) in terms of an ACTION FOR RESULT grammatical metonymy. In this metonymy, the passival resultative construction is substituted with an active‑voice construction and the causer now stands for both the causer and causee together. Contact features in the Singaporean dialect, relating particularly to local Chinese languages and/or Malay, may influence the distributional extent of conventionalised scenarios, as may the overgeneralisation of the semantic constraints on its usage.
The morphology and syntax of Ulster Scots
Authors: Montgomery Michael
Published: September 2007

Ulster differs from the other three historical provinces of Ireland in the presence of Ulster Scots, an off-shoot of Lowland Scots brought principally from the Western and Central Lowlands of Scotland in the 17th century through a plantation established by King James I and through periodic migrations, especially in times of economic duress in Scotland. Since that time Ulster Scots has been spoken in rural parts of Counties Antrim, Donegal, Down, and Londonderry/Derry, where it was mapped by Robert Gregg in the 1960s mainly on the basis of phonological features. The present article, based on eight years of fieldwork with native speakers in Antrim, analyzes a range of pronominal, verbal, and syntactic features, seeking to identify general patterns as well as variation within Ulster Scots. When possible, comparisons are made to Lowland Scots and Irish English in order to situate structural features of Ulster Scots within the larger linguistic landscape of the British Isles.
The modals of obligation/necessity in Canadian perspective
Authors: Tagliamonte Sali A. , D'Arcy Alexandra
Published: September 2007

The modal verbs of English have been undergoing change since the Late Old English and Early Middle English periods. Recent research suggests dramatic recent developments, particularly in American English. In this paper, we focus on the encoding of obligation/necessity, which involves the layering of must, have (got) to, got to, and need to. Building on a longitudinal research program on (spoken) English dialect corpora, the present investigation examines data from a 1.5 million word corpus of the indigenous population of Toronto, Canada, the country’s largest urban centre. Variation analysis reveals that the system of obligation/necessity in this community has undergone nearly complete specialization to have to. Moreover, a comparison of these results with earlier studies suggests that the underlying system is organized differently than elsewhere. We argue that while change is sensitive to the social evaluation of forms, internal (grammatical) constraints may differ across major varieties. Canadian English appears to be on the forefront of change.