scholarly journals Thematic Analysis in Translating English and Arabic Scientific Texts

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Hamza Ethelb
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Functional Model ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Thematic Structure ◽  
Scientific Texts ◽  
Frequent Type ◽  
Thematic Progression ◽  
Corpus Data

The thematic and information structure of scientific and technical texts are arguably different among languages. This study examines the thematic structure of scientific texts in English and Arabic to see the differences in the hierarchical organization at different thematic levels. It adopts Halliday’s functional model of theme-rheme and applies it to English and Arabic scientific texts. The paper mainly investigates the three levels of theme: textual, interpersonal and experiential with the intention of discussing their translations into Arabic. It uses a corpus data of two scientific texts. The syntactic and textual elements of those texts were compared and contrasted and professional translations were provided to study the Arabic thematic structure. The data provides English and Arabic versions which allow for a comparable analysis of structure, convention and style. The study reveals that the most frequent type of themes and thematic progression is the experiential theme. It shows that those experiential themes are almost always occupying initial positions. The structure of themes has the tendency to be reproduced in the translation. However, the findings of this investigation indicate that position of themes may change as a result of translation, or changed from experiential into textual.

scholarly journals TEXTUAL EQUIVALENCE IN THE TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH TEXTS INTO INDONESIAN

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-83
Author(s):  
Herlyn Triastika
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Thematic Structure ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Scientific Texts ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
New Information ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
The Impact

This research aims to determine textual equivalence in the translation of scientific texts in English into Indonesian in depth. This study used a qualitative approach using the content analysis method. The data to the analysis performed in this study based on the six-step qualitative research developed by Myring. The findings in this study indicate that: (1) The equivalence of thematic structure contained in the translation of textbooks Approaches to Discourse into Indonesian is the equivalence on the pattern/ thematic arrangement of the unmarked theme and a simple theme/topical theme, (2) the information structure equivalence Between source text (ST) and target text (TT) is the equivalence in the form of organization of given and new information. (3) Equivalence in the cohesive devices translation is found in the use of grammatical cohesive devices, (4) The translation method used is the literal translation, (5) The discovered distortion was fully related to the aspects of semantics and linguistic equivalents, (6) The factors causing distortion are the translators’ skills and competencies, (7) The impact inflicted by the various distortion in the target text (TT) is that the translation readersgetdifferent messages from the message of source text (ST).

To study or not to study abroad? students’ decision in perspective of motivations, barriers and attachment

Human Affairs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-193
Author(s):  
Filip Sulejmanov ◽  
Klára Seitlová ◽  
Martin Seitl ◽  
Barbora Kasalová
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Thematic Structure ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Attachment Dimensions ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis

Abstract The aim of this study is to explore the antecedents of studying abroad. First, we explore motivations for and barriers against studying abroad in two groups of students (who had studied abroad, and who had not studied abroad). Second, differences in attachment dimensions and styles are examined in both groups. A deductive thematic analysis supported the thematic structure identified by Krzaklewska (2008) in regard to motivations. Furthermore, five barriers were identified using inductive thematic analysis. Although the same motivational and barrier themes were found in both groups, there were some notable qualitative differences in meaning attached to them. A one-way MANOVA showed non-significant differences between the two groups of students and attachment dimensions. Finnaly, Fisher’s exact test was conducted, and the post hoc comparison showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of students who had studied abroad and had a secure attachment style compared to students who had not studied abroad.

Discourse-organizational patterns in English and Spanish

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-117
Author(s):  
María de los Ángeles Gómez González ◽  
Ana Patricia García Varela
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Thematic Structure ◽  
Functional Linguistics ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Thematic Progression ◽  
Organizational Patterns

Cast within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics, this paper sheds new light on the ‘thematic management’ of discourse and its interaction with ‘rhetorical management’ in particular, by exploring how the interplay between thematic structure and thematic progression is instantiated in a specific genre, news reports, in English and Spanish. The study shows that, even though there exist a number of differences that are language-determined, genre constraints seem to exert a greater influence because, generally speaking, English and Spanish news reports show greater similarities than differences.

The relation between aspect and inversion in English

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
ASTRID DE WIT
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Functional Explanation ◽  
Time Inversion ◽  
Progressive Aspect ◽  
Reference Time ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Locative Inversion ◽  
And Inversion

This article discusses the peculiar use of the simple present/past in full-verb inversion (i.e. locative inversion, directional inversion, quotative inversion, presentational there), and the corresponding scarcity of progressive aspect in these contexts. While it is normally ungrammatical in English to use the simplex tenses to report events that are ongoing at reference time, inversion seems to defy this restriction. Building on a combination of insights from analyses of aspect and of full-verb inversion in English, this study presents a cognitive-functional explanation for this exceptional characteristic of inversion that has gone largely unnoticed in previous accounts. I argue that there exists a canonical relationship between the preposed ground and the postposed figure in full-verb inversion and that this meaning of canonicity ties in perfectly with the perfective value that I deem constitutive of the English simple tenses. In addition, some cases of directional inversion involve a ‘deictic effect’ (Drubig 1988): in these instances, the conceptualizer's vantage point is anchored within the ground and the denoted (dis)appearance of the figure is construed as inevitable. On the basis of a large sample of corpus data and native-speaker elicitations, I demonstrate that the use of the progressive is disallowed in inverted contexts that involve a deictic effect, while its use is dispreferred but not excluded in other cases of inversion. This study thus brings together insights from the domains of information structure and aspect in English, and merges these into a comprehensive cognitive account.

scholarly journals THE FUNCTIONAL/COGNITIVE PRINCIPLE OF INFORMATION STRUCTURE IN TEXTS: DISCOURSE PRESSURES AND SYNTACTIC DEVICES FOR ENGLISH AS L2 LEARNERS

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-135
Author(s):  
Adriana Maria Tenuta ◽  
Ana Larissa Adorno Marciotto Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Thematic Structure ◽  
Communicative Intent ◽  
Written Text ◽  
English Majors ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a study carried out to investigate the degree of perception of the thematic structure of the clause (theme and rheme) and the informational structure of a text (given and new elements) by Brazilian learners of English, undergraduate students from a Federal University in Brazil. The theoretical background relies on the principles of functional-cognitive linguistics, relative to how discourse impacts linguistic choices ( HALLIDAY 1985 CHAFE 1995 ). The corpus of this research consisted of a series of exercises that were administered to undergraduate students, English majors. The findings shed light to the fact that learners are still unaware of most processes involving grammar arrangements and the discourse flow, as they are not also very conscious of how grammar can impact the communicative intent of a written text.

scholarly journals "A TOT PEROVSKOJ NE DAL VSLAST' POSPAT'": PROSODY AND GRAMMAR OF ANAPHORIC TOT THROUGH THE LENS OF CORPUS DATA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. I. Podlesskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Anaphora Resolution ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Semantic Roles ◽  
Actual Distribution ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
National Corpus

Based on data from the Russian National Corpus and the General InternetCorpus of Russian, the paper addresses syntactic, sematic and prosodic features of constructions with the demonstrative TOT used as an anaphor. These constructions have gained some attention in earlier studies [Paducheva 2016], [Berger, Weiss 1987], [Kibrik 2011], [Podlesskaya 2001], but their analysis (a) covered primarily their prototypical uses; and (b) was based on written data. The data from informal, esp. from spoken discourse show however that the actual use of these constructions may deviate considerably from the known prototype. The paper aims at bridging this gap. I claim (i) that the function of TOT is to temporary promote a referent from a less privileged discourse status to a more privileged one; and (ii) that TOT can be analyzed on a par with switch reference devices in the languages where the latter are grammatically marked (e.g. on verb forms). The following parameters of TOT-constructions are discussed: syntactic and semantic roles of TOT and of its antecedent in their respective clauses, linear and structural distances between TOT and its antecedent, animacy of the maintained referent. Special attention is payed to the information structure of the TOT construction: I give structural and prosodic evidence that TOT never has a rhematic status. The revealed actual distribution of TOT (a) adds to our understanding of cross-linguistic variation of anaphoric functions of demonstratives; and, hopefully, (b) may contribute to further developing computational approaches to coreference and anaphora resolution for Russian, e.g. by improving datasets necessary for this task.

scholarly journals Thematic Progression in Saudi Postgraduate Business Students’ Multimodal Texts: An SF-MDA of Accounting Discourse

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Hesham Suleiman Alyousef ◽  
Amerah Abdullah Alsharif
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Multimodal Texts ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Thematic Progression ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistic

Thematic progression plays a vital role in organizing the information in a text and in enabling it to be understood and communicated effectively. Studies of multimodal business discourse have been confined to workplace contexts, and across the fields of management accounting, marketing, and finance. Based on Halliday’s (2014) analytical tools of systemic functional linguistic (SFL) and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) analysis of images, an Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) was conducted to explore THEME and INFORMATION structure in five international students’ texts in a key topic in accounting, namely financial statements. The participants are first-year Master of Commerce Accounting Saudi students enrolled in the Accounting Concepts and Methods module at an Australian university. The findings of the SF-MDA revealed the frequency of Theme reiteration and the linear Theme pattern in financial statements. The first pattern is employed in accounting tables to list the corresponding numerical values. The SF-MDA findings of the balance sheet corresponded with Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) approach to the analysis of grammar of visual design in terms of compositional zones.

Functional Approaches

2019 ◽  
pp. 179-200
Author(s):  
J. Lachlan Mackenzie
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Language Typology ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Grammatical Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Spatio Temporal

All functional approaches share the conviction that the structure of languages and their historical development are strongly impacted by the cognitive properties of language users, the social relations between them, and the spatio-temporal and socio-cultural contexts in which they operate. This chapter describes how functionalism has impinged on the study of English grammar and covers the interrelations of discourse and grammar, various corpus- and usage-based approaches, the influence of processing considerations, the hierarchical organization of the clause, information structure, the noun phrase, and the contributions of language typology. The grammatical analysis of English has been enriched by the insight that its structures are bound up with our ability to participate in dialogues, to construct written texts, to surmize the state of mind of our conversational partner, to modulate our formulations to maximize politeness, and to use different registers or dialects in different social contexts.

scholarly journals Problematising the Official Athens Mosque: Between Mere Place of Worship and 21st Century ‘Trojan Horse’

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Christina Verousi ◽  
Chris Allen
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Thematic Structure ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Global Terrorism ◽  
A Site ◽  
The City ◽  
Original Approach

This article investigates the ‘problematisation’ of the recently inaugurated mosque in the city of Athens, the capital’s first ‘official’ mosque since the country was liberated from the Ottoman Empire almost two centuries ago. Building on and developing the existing scholarly literature on the problematisation of mosques in the contemporary European setting, this article generates new knowledge by focusing on the Greco-specific context of that same problematisation: an amalgam of history, geography, religion and culture, that asymmetrically shape and inform how and why the new Athens mosque is—and indeed continues to be—a site of conflict and opposition. Presenting new empirical data, this article uses an innovative and original approach to bring together two separate pieces of fieldwork undertaken first-hand by the authors in 2001/2 and 2019/20. Analysing the two sets of data, a threefold thematic structure is employed that focuses on Greece’s history, Christian Orthodoxy and global terrorism. This article first explores the existing scholarly canon relating to the contemporary problematisation of mosques through a focused overview of Greece’s history, religion and culture appropriate to mosques and in part, Muslims and Islam. From there it sets out the findings from the two periods of fieldwork to illustrate and evidence discourses of opposition towards the mosque and how these serve to function both symbolically and tangibly. Using the thematic analysis, theories relating to the ideological processes of Islamophobia are deployed to elucidate a better understanding of the Athens mosque. In doing so, this article makes a timely contribution.

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