The study is based on an observation of the pronunciation of a group of undergraduate students of English as a Second Language (ESL) whose mother tongue is Arabic and who have no formal training in the spoken variet...The study is based on an observation of the pronunciation of a group of undergraduate students of English as a Second Language (ESL) whose mother tongue is Arabic and who have no formal training in the spoken variety of English other than that received in the classroom. The study of acquisition of pronunciation of consonant clusters at morphological, particularly at the morphophonological levels indicates that the learners are sensitive to the syllabic structure viz., cccv type and cccvcc type, at the word-initial, medial and final positions. Samples of words with different consonant clusters were tested with a homogeneous group of students. Words of identical morphological categories were used as the data to test the students' level of perception. These were analyzed using Speech Analyzer Version 2.5. The data includes consonant clusters like plosive-fricative, plosive-plosive, fricative-fricative and plosive-fricative-trill/liquid combinations. The results varied according to the perceptual and articulatory abilities of the learners. It was observed that the plosive perception and acquisition of three-consonant clusters of plosive-plosive word initially, plosive-plosive combinations word finally and plosive-fricative type, posed more difficulty for the learners. The tendency to drop one of the consonants of the cluster was more pronounced with syllables ending in plural morphemes and those ending in -mp, -pt, -kt, -nt, -bt, etc. Difficulty was also noticed with the initial plosive+/r/, plosive+/1/combinations, especially in word initial positions. Across the syllable boundaries, these clusters are almost inaudible with some speakers. The difficulty in the articulation of these consonant clusters can be accounted for the mother tongue influence, as in the case of many other features. The results of the analysis have a pedagogical implication in the use of such words with consonant clusters, to teach reading skills to the students of undergraduate level in the present setting and promote self-learning through the use of speech tools.展开更多
The topic of taking MOOC in learning Intercultural Communication (IC) is an under-researched area, and there has been little empirical research published which focuses on students' perceptions. This study explores ...The topic of taking MOOC in learning Intercultural Communication (IC) is an under-researched area, and there has been little empirical research published which focuses on students' perceptions. This study explores learner's perceptions of taking the MOOC from SISU in learning IC with both a quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, which focuses on students' viewpoints about their MOCC learning experience, development in Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) and their problems in Learning MOOC.展开更多
The article deals with the translation of German poetry into Wolof and is based on Tamsir Annes's translation of German poems under the title Tdere-Woy yi/Das Buch der Lieder. My purpose in this paper is to answer th...The article deals with the translation of German poetry into Wolof and is based on Tamsir Annes's translation of German poems under the title Tdere-Woy yi/Das Buch der Lieder. My purpose in this paper is to answer the question of how elements of the vocabulary of sciences (literature and philosophy) as well as cultural specific items are rendered in the Wolof target text. Therefore, in this work, I explore methods and strategies of translation like borrowings, paraphrases, and analyze furthermore some differences noticeable in the translation of some poems at the cultural level. These analysis-steps enable the investigation of, contextually, the central issue of "cultural translatability" and the reception of translation of European poetry into African languages in general and German poetry into Wolof in particular. The article also focuses on the importance of the reception of German poetry in Wolof as a means of intercultural communication between German and Wolof-speaking countries but as means to develop African languages like Wolof in which the translation of the selected poems has been operated.展开更多
With the rapid development of Chinese economy, more and more foreigners have been attracted to China to invest, work, study, and travel. To help the foreigners better understand China and facilitate cross-cultural com...With the rapid development of Chinese economy, more and more foreigners have been attracted to China to invest, work, study, and travel. To help the foreigners better understand China and facilitate cross-cultural communication, bilingual or even trilingual public signs spring up in every part of China. As is known that public signs, usually in the form of a few words, pictures, or words accompanied with a picture, function not only as a"face" of a city and a nation, but also as a first calling card given to the foreigners. Moreover, public signs have definite functions--informing, warning, or directing. However, to our disappointment, mistranslations of the public signs are often presented in some places. As a special text whose function is strong and communicative purpose is quite clear, the translation of public signs should be based on the text's functions and the translator's purpose. This paper classifies public signs, compares Chinese signs with English ones, and comes up with the principle for its Chinese-English translation, namely, an A-B-C approach (Adapt-Borrow-Create approach) which is based on the Skopostheorie.展开更多
文摘The study is based on an observation of the pronunciation of a group of undergraduate students of English as a Second Language (ESL) whose mother tongue is Arabic and who have no formal training in the spoken variety of English other than that received in the classroom. The study of acquisition of pronunciation of consonant clusters at morphological, particularly at the morphophonological levels indicates that the learners are sensitive to the syllabic structure viz., cccv type and cccvcc type, at the word-initial, medial and final positions. Samples of words with different consonant clusters were tested with a homogeneous group of students. Words of identical morphological categories were used as the data to test the students' level of perception. These were analyzed using Speech Analyzer Version 2.5. The data includes consonant clusters like plosive-fricative, plosive-plosive, fricative-fricative and plosive-fricative-trill/liquid combinations. The results varied according to the perceptual and articulatory abilities of the learners. It was observed that the plosive perception and acquisition of three-consonant clusters of plosive-plosive word initially, plosive-plosive combinations word finally and plosive-fricative type, posed more difficulty for the learners. The tendency to drop one of the consonants of the cluster was more pronounced with syllables ending in plural morphemes and those ending in -mp, -pt, -kt, -nt, -bt, etc. Difficulty was also noticed with the initial plosive+/r/, plosive+/1/combinations, especially in word initial positions. Across the syllable boundaries, these clusters are almost inaudible with some speakers. The difficulty in the articulation of these consonant clusters can be accounted for the mother tongue influence, as in the case of many other features. The results of the analysis have a pedagogical implication in the use of such words with consonant clusters, to teach reading skills to the students of undergraduate level in the present setting and promote self-learning through the use of speech tools.
文摘The topic of taking MOOC in learning Intercultural Communication (IC) is an under-researched area, and there has been little empirical research published which focuses on students' perceptions. This study explores learner's perceptions of taking the MOOC from SISU in learning IC with both a quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, which focuses on students' viewpoints about their MOCC learning experience, development in Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) and their problems in Learning MOOC.
文摘The article deals with the translation of German poetry into Wolof and is based on Tamsir Annes's translation of German poems under the title Tdere-Woy yi/Das Buch der Lieder. My purpose in this paper is to answer the question of how elements of the vocabulary of sciences (literature and philosophy) as well as cultural specific items are rendered in the Wolof target text. Therefore, in this work, I explore methods and strategies of translation like borrowings, paraphrases, and analyze furthermore some differences noticeable in the translation of some poems at the cultural level. These analysis-steps enable the investigation of, contextually, the central issue of "cultural translatability" and the reception of translation of European poetry into African languages in general and German poetry into Wolof in particular. The article also focuses on the importance of the reception of German poetry in Wolof as a means of intercultural communication between German and Wolof-speaking countries but as means to develop African languages like Wolof in which the translation of the selected poems has been operated.
文摘With the rapid development of Chinese economy, more and more foreigners have been attracted to China to invest, work, study, and travel. To help the foreigners better understand China and facilitate cross-cultural communication, bilingual or even trilingual public signs spring up in every part of China. As is known that public signs, usually in the form of a few words, pictures, or words accompanied with a picture, function not only as a"face" of a city and a nation, but also as a first calling card given to the foreigners. Moreover, public signs have definite functions--informing, warning, or directing. However, to our disappointment, mistranslations of the public signs are often presented in some places. As a special text whose function is strong and communicative purpose is quite clear, the translation of public signs should be based on the text's functions and the translator's purpose. This paper classifies public signs, compares Chinese signs with English ones, and comes up with the principle for its Chinese-English translation, namely, an A-B-C approach (Adapt-Borrow-Create approach) which is based on the Skopostheorie.