International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies

Exploring the Effectiveness of Pedagogical Orientation of Generative AI Models on Enhancing University Students' Translation Skills: An Experimental Study

2025-12-15T17:41:45-05:00

This study attempted to bridge the research gap in AI-driven pedagogy for translation training in the Arab context, focusing on the potential of generative AI models to improve the translation proficiency of university translation majors. The research explored the effectiveness of pedagogically oriented generative AI tools in enhancing students’ skills across linguistic, cultural, and text-level dimensions in English-Arabic translation, using a true experimental pre-test-post-test control group design. While both groups used identical training materials, the experimental group received AI-guided training, and the control group was taught through traditional instruction. Through a random sampling (n = 37 per group), participants were recruited from four universities in Yemen and Oman, ensuring a comparable educational background. The findings revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in translation achievement in all targeted translation skills due to the impact of guided integration of AI. The study underscored the multifaceted pedagogical applications of AI in translation education when grounded in a systematic pedagogical framework under instructor guidance. Through highlighting practical pedagogical implications and offering an evidence-based framework for integrating AI into translation programs, the research opens new avenues for innovative practices in AI-assisted translation pedagogy for instructors and curriculum designers.

From Representation to Responsibility: Paul Bowles’s Moroccan Translations and the Ethics of Listening

2025-12-03T15:42:03-05:00

This article re-examines Paul Bowles’s translations of Moroccan oral narratives through an ethical and hermeneutic lens. Moving beyond charges of Orientalism and exploitation, it argues that Bowles’s work constitutes a form of linguistic hospitality—an act of listening that welcomes the foreign without erasing its difference. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Antoine Berman, Lawrence Venuti, Paul Ricoeur, and Gayatri Spivak, the paper situates Bowles’s collaborations with Mohamed Choukri, Mohammed Mrabet, and Larbi Layachi as negotiations between fidelity, authority, and affection. His insistence on rereading translations with storytellers, his preservation of Moroccan idioms and oral rhythms, and his refusal to domesticate difference reveal a translator attentive to the rhetoricity of the original rather than to fluency alone. The conflict with Choukri, as documented in Paul Bowles wa ʿUzlat Ṭanja Ṭanja and Al-Ḥiwār al-Ākhir, is reinterpreted as a moral dialogue revealing both the vulnerability and endurance of cross-cultural trust. Ultimately, Bowles’s translations emerge as ethical experiments in coexistence—attempts to sustain conversation across inequality and language itself. Translation, in this view, is not the resolution of difference but its preservation through care, humility, and the courage to keep listening.

Between Bilingualism and Profession: The Unregulated State of Escort Interpreting in Ngazidja, Comoros

2025-11-14T08:35:17-05:00

This study looks at the practice of escort interpreting in the Comoros Islands, using data collected in Ngazidja. The research objectives sought to describe and explain how escort interpreting is practiced in Comoros, find out those who serve as escort interpreters in Comoros and investigate the status of escort interpreting in Comoros. The findings, which are guided by Trait Theory, Control Theory, Practitioners’ Competition Theory, and Tseng Model, show that escort interpreting is primarily performed by bilingual citizens who do not treat it as full-time employment and frequently see it as a transitional activity. The field is distinguished by the absence of professional associations, a disorganized market, uncertain compensation, and a lack of formal education. Although training emerges as a key solution, the study contends that a broader three-pillar strategy which entails professional education, market regulation, and increased policy and public awareness is required to move the sector towards professionalization. Further research is needed on the quality of escort interpreting in the Comoros

Demystifying Ambiguity: A Forensic Discourse Analysis of Senate Bill No. 2868 or The Anti-Pogo Act

2025-06-25T21:07:41-04:00

This study investigates the linguistic ambiguities in Senate Bill No. 2868, also known as the Anti-POGO Act, using the Classifications of Ambiguity by Bernardo and Albaña-Garrido (2023) in their research on disambiguating the Philippine Republic Act. The researchers utilized forensic discourse analysis to examine the ambiguities employed in the legal text and shed light on the importance of plain language, clarity, precision, and legal intelligibility in drafting statutes to reduce misinterpretation by courts, lawmakers, and laypersons in the Philippine context when passed into law. The analysis of Senate Bill No. 2868 revealed that lexical, contextual, semantic, syntactic, vagueness, referential, cross-textual, and pragmatic ambiguities were identified in the proposed statute. The findings also showed that the modal verb "shall" engenders semantic ambiguity in its use in the legal text, and some typographical errors were discovered. Moreover, this paper highlighted the relationship between the linguistic ambiguities examined and socio-political issues surrounding POGOs in the Philippines. This research is helpful in the analysis of the growing number of forensic discourses in the country and understand the intersection of language and law in the area of scrutiny.

The The Effectiveness of Dynamic Assessment on Listening Comprehension of Grade 12 Learners

2025-12-09T09:38:06-05:00

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of dynamic assessment on the listening comprehension of Grade 12 learners at Kiwalan National High School in Iligan City, Philippines. The researchers employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative methods from a quasi-experimental design with qualitative methods from focus group discussions. The data revealed that the use of dynamic assessment significantly enhanced participants' listening comprehension compared with static assessment. The substantial increase in post-test scores suggests a strong positive impact on participants’ listening comprehension skills. Furthermore, feedback from the experimental group participants during the focused group discussions reflected positive experiences. They expressed that dynamic assessment enhanced their listening comprehension through interaction and mediation, and they recognized the value of real-time feedback in improving their understanding of audio materials. They noted that dynamic assessment promoted critical thinking and active engagement, fostered understanding through feedback, and encouraged self-reflection and learning from errors.

Youth Civic Engagement in Moroccan Online News: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Representation and Social Meanings

2025-11-26T11:54:10-05:00

This study examines the representation of youth civic engagement in Moroccan online newspapers using van Leeuwen’s Social Actor Framework. Ten articles from major Moroccan news outlets were qualitatively analyzed to explore how youth are depicted across different civic domains. The findings show contrasting representational patterns: youth are personalized and portrayed as active agents in articles on entrepreneurship, environmental action, and volunteerism, yet they are depersonalized, anonymized, and collectivized in politically oriented reports. While human-interest stories foreground youth voices through direct quotations, political coverage replaces them with broad labels that obscure individual agency. These patterns suggest an oscillation between empowerment and marginalization narratives that may shape public perceptions of young people’s societal contributions. The study advances critical discussions on youth civic engagement by demonstrating how Moroccan media discursively construct youth identities and reinforce or challenge prevailing ideological assumptions.

Inclusive Language Learning in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Case Analysis of Rosetta Stone

2025-12-25T08:44:48-05:00

To keep up with current trends, the Moroccan government implemented an AI-powered platform to enhance students' foreign language skills in higher education. Although this approach creates new opportunities for learning, certain variables, such as learner engagement, accessibility, and perceived digital equity, were not taken into account. This lack of thoughtfulness has led to negative feedback expressed in classrooms and online. This work aims to shed light on where accessibility, learner engagement, and perceived digital equity stand in this AI approach. This is done through a quantitative approach and a descriptive correlational research design. The results highlight several points: 1. The extent to which learners from different socio-economic backgrounds access language-learning platforms. 2-How technological barriers affect the accessibility of the Rosetta Stone platform. 3- The relationship between learner engagement and perceived digital equity. The study also presents the pedagogical, technological, and institutional implications of the results.

A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of @VisitSaudi.ar's Arabic Instagram Posts

2026-01-21T20:50:15-05:00

This project explores how Saudi Arabia constructs its tourism identity through digital media, focusing on Arabic-language Instagram advertisements published on the official @VisitSaudi.ar account. The study situates this work within a global perspective on tourism branding and cultural representation. By adopting a multimodal lens that considers both linguistic and visual elements, the research examines how textual choices, imagery, and digital symbols work together to shape narratives about Saudi Arabia’s heritage, modernity, and place in the world. Drawing on Machin and Mayr's (2012) multimodal critical discourse framework and Siever’s (2019) iconographetic communication model, the study analyses the official account’s most popular posts to understand how language and visuals interact to project meaning. Attention is given to the blending of colloquial and standard modern Arabic, figurative language, and visual strategies that balance cultural authenticity with global appeal. This approach highlights how digital tourism campaigns not only market destinations but also contribute to shaping international perceptions of nations. Drawing on translation, semiotics, and discourse analysis, the research contributes to broader debates on identity, globalization, and intercultural relations. It also points toward practical implications for tourism authorities. It emphasizes the importance of carefully crafted digital messaging in strengthening Saudi Arabia’s global visibility and supporting its ambitions to reshape its international image through cultural diplomacy and destination marketing.

The The Role of AI in Translator Training: Assessing AI’s Influence on Translation Education and Professional Training

2025-12-29T16:07:44-05:00

The growing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into translation workflows is reshaping the demands placed on translator education. Neural Machine Translation (NMT) systems such as DeepL and Google Translate offer increased efficiency but challenge conventional teaching practices by shifting emphasis from direct translation to post-editing, evaluation, and decision-making. Despite this evolution, translator training programs often lack structured guidance on integrating AI, leading to a potential gap in preparing students for contemporary professional environments. This qualitative case study explores the evolving role of AI in translator education by analyzing student preparedness and attitudes toward AI-assisted translation tasks at the King Fahd School of Translation (KFST), Morocco’s only institution combining theoretical and practical translation approaches. The study involved 17 Master’s students enrolled in the “PE: English & Arabic” core module, all of whom had prior experience using AI tools such as Google Translate, ChatGPT, DeepL, or Reverso. Data were gathered through a Google Forms questionnaire comprising 16 items, including multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions designed to elicit both quantitative and qualitative insights. The questionnaire remained open for two weeks and was distributed via institutional email and messaging platforms to ensure full participation. Responses were analyzed through descriptive statistics for closed-ended questions and thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) for open-ended feedback, focusing on key themes such as AI familiarity, post-editing competence, curriculum reform, and ethical concerns. Thematic triangulation allowed for a nuanced understanding of student perceptions regarding the pedagogical integration of AI in translation education.Findings indicate that while this cohort widely uses AI tools for speed and efficiency, it expresses uncertainty about the reliability of machine outputs and reports a lack of formal training in post-editing and AI evaluation. All participants unanimously supported the introduction of dedicated modules on AI literacy and post-editing. The study concludes that AI integration can enhance translator training if supported by updated curricula emphasizing technological competence, critical engagement, and ethical awareness. It advocates for an andragogical paradigm that positions AI as a complementary tool, reinforcing human expertise and underscores the enduring value of human judgment in producing contextually nuanced translations.

The Effect of Metalanguage Technique on the Grammatical Competence of Grade 8 Students in Hadiyyah International Schoolh International School: Basis for Module Writing

2026-01-29T12:49:03-05:00

Grammar is a fundamental aspect of language, yet many students struggle to develop adequate grammatical competence. This study examined the effect of the Metalanguage Technique (MLT) on the grammatical competence of Grade 8 students at Hadiyyah International School International School, employing an embedded mixed-method design. Sixty participants were divided into control and experimental groups. Single Group Pre- and Post-test research design, alongside interviews, were used to gather data. Findings revealed a significant improvement in the experimental group's performance after exposure to MLT, with an 18.6 margin difference which refers to the t-value compared to the control group, which showed no notable gains. Students reported that MLT made grammar lessons engaging, promoted reflection, and encouraged self-correction. The study concludes that MLT is an effective method for improving grammatical competence compared with traditional approaches. A proposed module based on the 5Es framework illustrates how MLT can enhance grammar instruction.

Translating Laughter: The Impact of Humor Translation on Readers’ Engagement in Mahfouz’s Zuqāq al-Midaq

2026-02-01T09:25:41-05:00

This study aims to investigate whether the translator of Zuqaq al-Midaq has preserved or modified the intentional humor from Arabic into English. It explores the maxims that have been flouted by the joke teller in the target text (TT) and identifies the most effective microstrategies in rendering intentional humor into the TT. It is a qualitative study that explores the impact of translating humor on readers’ engagement in the novel genre. The theories adopted in this study are Raskin’s (1985) Semantic Script Theory of Humor (SSTH) and Grice’s (1975) Cooperative Principle (CP). The corpus comprises 12 humorous utterances of Naguib Mahfouz’s (1947) Zuqaq al-Midaq and its translation, Midaq Alley, by Trevor le Gassick (1975). The findings of the study demonstrate that the translator has aptly rendered the ST humorous effect to the target reader in most of the selected utterances. Adaptation and oblique translation constitute the most effective microstrategies, whereas condensation and explicitation may render the ST laughter to a certain extent due to cultural nuances. Direct translation may render intentional humor except for culture-specific items. Grice’s quality maxim is the most flouted in translation. The study instigates translation practitioners to explore how translating humor may influence the characterization and plot of the novel genre.