Traduction et Langues

Foreword: At the Crossroads of Words and Worlds: Translation, Cognition, and Pedagogy

2025-12-30T18:03:04+00:00

This issue of the journal presents a rigorous collection of fourteen scholarly articles, systematically covering the key domains within translation studies, language pedagogy, intercultural communication, and applied linguistics. Collectively, the contributions offer a comprehensive investigation into the multifaceted dimensions of translation processes, linguistic competence, and cultural mediation across a diverse range of languages and sociolinguistic contexts, including Arabic, French, Spanish, English, Ukrainian, and Tolaki. Several articles investigate translation strategies in media and literature, such as the adaptation of movie titles, comics, and news discourse. These studies highlight the interplay between fidelity, cultural adaptation, and audience reception. Further studies examine the challenges inherent in specialized text translation, particularly within religious discourse, emphasizing the necessity of negotiating ideological, theological, and fine-grained semantic dimensions. Pedagogical approaches are also a core focus in this issue, with studies exploring the efficacy of cultural immersion techniques, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) models, targeted phraseology instruction, and the strategic integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into modern language curricula. Finally, research on communicative competence, sociolinguistic attitudes, and self-translation in political discourse. Further contributions explore communicative competence, sociolinguistic attitudes, and the distinctive dynamics of self-translation in political discourse, shedding light on the intricate relationships between language, society, and professional practice. Taken together, the articles highlight the complexity, interdisciplinarity, and applied significance of contemporary translation and language research. This foreword situates the contributions within current scholarly debates, elucidates their thematic interconnections, and underscores their implications for research, pedagogy, and professional practice.

Exploring Translation Strategies in Romantic Movie Titles on IMDB (2020–2024): A Pedagogical Approach to Enhancing Students’ Translation Skills in Thai Context

2025-12-28T09:33:27+00:00

This research examines the different strategies employed in translating the titles of romantic movies released between 2020 and 2024 that fall within the IMDb rating range of 5.0 to 10.0. 46 movie titles were purposively selected to examine how translators adjusted globalized Thai contents within the Thai language and culture. These movie titles were released on Netflix, True ID, SF Cinema, and Prime. The study implements a quantitative methodology to analyze the strategies in terms of their use and allocation. Among the strategies applied, “naming a new name regardless of the old name” was the most popular option, being used 32.61% of the time. “All transliteration and adding Thai language” came in second, at 15.22%. The strategies “partial translation and adding Thai language” and “naming a new name based on the original meaning” each represented 10.87%. “All translations and adding Thai language” was 8.70% of the total. Other strategies, such as “transliteration and adding Thai language and partial transliteration without adding Thai language,” contributed to 4.35% each as well. The strategies used the least were “partial transliteration and adding Thai language” and “partial translation without adding Thai language,” both at 2.17%. This suggests that the translators' primary concern is the Thai audience, who strongly prefer culturally adapted transliterated titles. The integration of teaching materials that are geographically relevant, culturally important, and genre-specific, such as the titles of romantic movies, is very important for translation instruction. Students' understanding of translation and intercultural awareness is advanced as they engage, think critically, and analyse tone, sentiment, and cultural subtleties in the titles. This specific approach to a genre encourages students to creatively and assertively address the challenges involved in cultural mediation. This expands the teaching of translation and intercultural understanding. By nurturing the innovative transcreation and intercultural sensitivity in teaching, the Thai students in translation attain educational communicative competence.

Boule de Suif, de Maupassant à Li-An : enjeux intersémiotiques et intralinguistiques d’une adaptation jeunesse en bande dessinée

2025-12-28T09:54:18+00:00

This study is based on a comparative and contrastive analysis of a hetero-semiotic pair: Guy de Maupassant’s short story Boule de Suif and its graphic novel adaptation by Li-An, published by Delcourt in 2009. The central aim of this study is to explore how the passage from a literary medium to a verbo-iconic one reshapes the original narrative, not only in terms of discourse and narration but also in its semiotic structure. Basing our analysis on the outline proposed by Thierry Groensteen, we examine the key components that are subject to adaptation: the historical context, the plot or fable, the medium, the discourse, and the textual features. Special attention is given to intralinguistic variations resulting from the transition from one medium to another. We argue that reformulations, transpositions, modulations, additions, omissions, and clarifications are not infrequent and reflect the necessity of adapting the source material to the constraints of the sequential art form. Therefore, this analysis shows how comics, as a multimodal medium, often require a reconfiguration of enunciation: the narrative and descriptive prose of the source text is often transformed into dialogue, images, and a new spatial organization. In this sense, words are frequently replaced or supported by images, and narration is rendered through dynamic visual storytelling. Moreover, certain formal choices (such as visual humor, the updating of the language, and the presence of talking animals) reflect the adaptor’s intention to address a young audience. At the same time, this study considers adaptation as a real act of translation, an act that intersects with translation studies, narratology, and intersemiotic theory. In this perspective, Li-An’s adaptation becomes an interesting case study in verbo-iconic transposition, illustrating how graphic storytelling can both preserve and reinterpret a canonical literary text, introducing new expressive dimensions specific to the comics medium.

Theological Ideologies in Translation: Rendering Interfaith Qur’anic Verses into Tolaki between Fidelity and Context

2025-12-28T10:16:16+00:00

Although extensive scholarship has explored Qur’anic verses on interfaith relations, limited attention has been paid to how theological ideologies—namely exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism—are mediated through translation strategies. This study addresses this gap by examining how these theological ideologies are represented in the Tolaki-language translation of the Qur’an, a regional language spoken in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The present study employs thematic content analysis of the Tolaki Qur’an translation complemented by Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). A systematic identification and classification process yielded 95 Qur’anic verses directly related to interfaith relations. These verses were categorized into three primary theological orientations: 49 verses reflecting exclusivist, 40 representing inclusivist, and 16 promoting pluralist. The textual analysis further examined the specific translation techniques applied to these verses. The findings indicate that seven core translation techniques are employed: established equivalence, borrowing, modulation, transposition, adaptation, compensation, and reduction. Among these, established equivalence and borrowing are the most frequently used. Their predominance suggests a strong translational preference for preserving the formal structure and core semantic content of the Arabic source text, reflecting a foreignization-oriented approach that prioritizes fidelity to the original. Concurrently, the notably limited use of domestication strategies indicates a cautious and restrained engagement with local Tolaki cultural expressions. This caution is motivated by the sacred status of the Qur’anic text and prevailing concerns over theological distortion or misinterpretation. These findings collectively demonstrate that Qur’an translation functions as a vital ideological and interpretive site in which foundational theological meanings are actively negotiated and recontextualised, rather than as a purely technical or neutral linguistic activity. The study contributes theoretically to translation studies by foregrounding the role of ideology in religious translation and to Islamic studies by elucidating the concrete mechanisms through which macro-level theological orientations are shaped and disseminated via micro-level translation choices. Practically, the findings have clear implications for Islamic education, particularly in developing curricula that promote theological literacy, translation awareness, and intercultural sensitivity. Furthermore, the study highlights the dual role of local-language Qur’an translations in supporting thoughtful interfaith engagement while simultaneously sustaining local languages as meaningful and dynamic resources for Islamic communication and education.

Analyse comparative de la traduction de textes religieux de l'arabe vers le français et l'espagnol : traduction humaine versus intelligence artificielle (Chatgpt) dans l’ouvrage de Al Qarni «لا تحزن»

2025-12-28T11:40:21+00:00

Translation, understood in its broadest sense, constitutes an essential tool for overcoming linguistic and communicative barriers in diverse social, cultural, and academic contexts. In recent decades, the development and widespread adoption of machine translation systems have significantly facilitated access to multilingual content, particularly in digital environments. However, despite technological advances, these systems still present notable limitations in specialized fields, such as religious texts, whose translation requires not only advanced linguistic skills but also a deep understanding of theology, culture, interpretive traditions, and the historical context in which such texts are embedded. This article aims to analyze and compare translations of Islamic religious texts from Arabic into French and Spanish, produced both by human translators and by the artificial intelligence system ChatGPT. The study adopts a comparative and qualitative approach, focusing on the evaluation of fundamental linguistic aspects, including fidelity to the source text, terminological precision, discursive fluency, grammatical accuracy, lexical adequacy, and semantic coherence. Furthermore, the particularities of Islamic religious discourse (characterized by strong symbolic, doctrinal, and cultural content) are taken into account, as they influence translation decisions. For the assessment of translations, specific linguistic criteria were applied, adapted to the type of text analyzed, to evaluate both the formal quality of the translations and their interpretative adequacy. The results indicate that, while ChatGPT demonstrates satisfactory performance in general text translation, its effectiveness significantly decreases when translating Islamic religious texts, particularly in the Arabic–Spanish language pair. The main issues identified relate to the inappropriate use of specialized lexicon and semantic interpretation errors, with a higher frequency and visibility of such errors in the Spanish translations compared to the French versions. Finally, the article offers a critical reflection on the advantages and limitations of using ChatGPT for translating religious texts, emphasizing the need for expert human intervention in contexts that require high cultural, hermeneutical, and doctrinal sensitivity.

Cultural Immersion and Advanced L2 Arabic Speaking: A CEFR-Aligned Quasi-Experimental Study

2025-12-28T11:59:05+00:00

This study investigates whether a culturally immersive pedagogy can measurably enhance advanced Arabic speaking proficiency among non-native learners within the CEFR framework. Using a quasi-experimental design at King Saud University, forty C1–C2 students were assigned to an experimental group receiving a 12-week immersion-based program (authentic interaction tasks, shadowing of literary/audio models, and targeted work on idiomaticity and pragmatic appropriateness) and a control group following conventional instruction. Pre/post oral assessments aligned to CEFR descriptors captured fluency, spontaneity, and sociocultural appropriateness; complementary questionnaires, focused interviews, and learner journals/audio logs documented engagement and perceived change. Quantitatively, SPSS was used to compute descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests on gain scores after assumption checks (Shapiro–Wilk; Levene). Qualitatively, NVivo supported inductive coding of interview/journal data to identify themes that might explain measured gains. Across outcomes, the immersion group demonstrated significantly larger improvements in CEFR-referenced fluency and pragmatic appropriateness (p < .05). Thematic analysis converged on three mechanisms—Cultural Awareness (calibrating register and formality, deploying culture-specific references), Spontaneous Fluency (reduced reliance on mental translation, smoother turn-taking), and Linguistic Confidence (greater command of idioms/proverbs)—which triangulated with the quantitative effects. Pedagogically, results suggest that integrating high-authenticity tasks (e.g., guided participation in community-style discussions, idiom/proverb workshops, situated simulations of service encounters) accelerates movement from accurate but monitored performance to spontaneous, contextually appropriate production targeted by CEFR C1/C2. We outline an implementable 12-week sequence and low-cost supports (record-and-reflect cycles; systematic feedback rubrics) that programs can adopt without sacrificing core grammatical progression. The study contributes (i) an operationalized immersion model for Arabic at advanced levels, (ii) mixed-methods evidence linking cultural mediation to measurable speaking gains, and (iii) practical assessment artifacts aligned with CEFR. Limitations include a single-site context and one-semester exposure; future work should examine longitudinal retention and compare face-to-face versus digitally mediated immersion.

Enseñanza y Aprendizaje de la Fraseología en Español como Lengua Extranjera en la Universidad Argelina con Apoyo de la Inteligencia Artificial Generativa

2025-12-31T14:46:08+00:00

The growing interest in current approaches to communicative foreign language teaching should encourage a stronger commitment to the didactics of phraseology in Spanish as a foreign language classroom and open the way for its systematic development and progression, given its contribution to learners` communicative competence. Because phraseology is at once linguistic, pragmatic, and cultural content, its impact of Spanish as a foreign language students is undeniable and goes beyond simple vocabulary enrichment to touch interactional routines and culturally appropriate ways of speaking. In fact, phraseological units such as idioms, collocations, and fixed expressions often carry meanings that cannot be understood by translating word-for-word, which makes explicit work on them particularly relevant in a communicative perspective. Within this framework, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of adopting texts that have been pedagogically adapted with the help of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on improving the teaching/learning process of phraseology in Spanish as a foreign language courses. This option is justified by the difficulty of finding authentic texts that present a sufficient variety of idiomatic expressions and fixed phrases to offer opportunities for explicit and systematic instruction, in line with current communicative and intercultural goals. The study, carried out over 9 sessions totalling 12 hours with 52 first-year students at an Algerian university, is based on a quasi-experimental model with an experimental group and a control group. In this sense, the research evaluates both the effectiveness and efficiency of the instructional intervention in developing phraseological competence within the experimental group by comparing performance before and after the treatment. Reading lessons built around these AI-generated and didacticized texts, and designed according to students` needs and proficiency level, made it possible to obtain clearly positive results in a relatively short time. Specifically, there was a measurable Improvement from 15% to 43,84% in the learners` comprehension, memorization, and contextualized use of Spanish phraseological units. These findings suggest that integrating GenAI-supported materials can significantly enhance explicit phraseology teaching in Spanish as a foreign language settings, while also offering teachers a flexible resource to adapt texts to different topics and levels without losing the richness of authentic-like input.

Soft CLIL in Electronics: Developing a Hybrid Unit for Practical Application

2025-12-29T09:10:25+00:00

In higher education, integrating language development with technical instruction has become an increasingly important challenge, particularly in Algerian electronics education. Therefore, this paper demonstrates the development of a hybrid electronics learning unit for third-year students at El Oued University, designed according to the Integrated Content and Language (ICL) approach. More importantly, the unit focuses on the Analog-to-Digital Converter, aiming to establish a correlation between disciplinary knowledge and English language proficiency within a technological context. To achieve the objectives, the unit was structured using the 6Ts model, including Theme, Topic, Text, Task, Transition, and Thread. At the lesson level, activities were developed using the 5Es instructional framework, which involves: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Consequently, technical content and language objectives are aligned and mutually reinforced, thereby facilitating a holistic learning experience. In addition, the unit incorporates multimodal, scaffolded, and collaborative tasks, which enable students to engage with authentic technical discourse while simultaneously improving their English skills. In addition, the unit was used in a hybrid format, combining eighty percent campus-based instruction with twenty percent distance learning. This approach not only fosters learner autonomy but also accommodates different learning preferences and encourages positive interaction among students. Most importantly, the study emphasizes conceptual unit development rather than empirical implementation. As a result, it demonstrates how Soft CLIL principles can be adapted to the Algerian higher education context to advance language-enabling technical instruction. Furthermore, the study provides practical guidance for replicating English integration in technical units by highlighting the importance of teacher collaboration, purposeful task design, and longitudinal evaluation to ensure sustained learning outcomes. In conclusion, the proposed unit exemplifies how structured instructional frameworks, combined with hybrid delivery and scaffolded activities, can simultaneously support technical mastery and language development. Therefore, it offers a replicable model for bridging content and language in higher education and contributes to ongoing efforts to implement context-sensitive, language-enriched instruction in Algeria and comparable educational settings.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Communicative Competence in Ukrainian and English for Professional Learners

2025-12-29T14:17:02+00:00

The study aims to identify effective and innovative methods of developing communicative competence in students studying Ukrainian and English for professional purposes. The research methodology included experimental training of students at several universities, namely Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, National Academy of Statistics, Accounting and Audit, and Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, using modern interactive methods. The research was conducted from March to April 2024, comparing various methodologies for developing communicative competence. The experimental group, comprising 300 students, was taught using a new methodology focused on cultural context, while the control group followed traditional methods. The experimental group engaged in tasks like cultural reflections, dialogues, and proverbs analysis to enhance cultural communication competence. The main study results demonstrated that the development of communicative competence covers not only linguistic knowledge but also the ability to interact with representatives of different cultures. The students who participated in the learning process have successfully developed the skills of understanding the cultural peculiarities of Ukrainian and English in their professional fields. The results of the study also showed that the introduction of an improved teaching methodology focused on the cultural context significantly improves students’ communication skills in the field of intercultural interaction. Participants in the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher results in all three areas of the study: creating dialogues, analysing cultural expressions and proverbs, and reflecting on cultural values. The use of interactive methods, such as role-playing, discussions and analysis of cultural cases, helped students to better master cultural communication. This contributed to the development of their ability to interact effectively in a globalised world. Based on the results obtained, the article reveals the importance of integrating the analysed methods to improve the Ukrainian system of ESP teaching, which can contribute to improving the quality of teaching and developing students’ communication skills.

Enseigner le français à la croisée des cultures : étude de la compétence interculturelle dans les TTC de la province de l’Est du Rwanda

2025-12-30T17:53:28+00:00

This study investigates the integration of intercultural competence in the teaching of French as a Foreign Language (FLE) in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) of the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Although research in language and culture didactics has emphasized the importance of intercultural competence, little attention has been paid to this issue in the Rwandan FLE context. To address this gap, the study aims to contribute to reflective practice by examining teachers’ and students’ awareness, positioning, and experiences regarding intercultural competence in French classrooms. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, involving 10 French teachers and 384 TTC students. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to teachers and students, complemented by classroom observations. Teachers’ questionnaires explored their self-positioning in relation to intercultural knowledge and skills using seven indicators: knowledge, identification, possession, non-possession, and the ability to integrate intercultural competences into classroom practice. The analysis focused on two major intercultural competences drawn from the CARAP framework: the competence of constructing and expanding a plural linguistic and cultural repertoire, and the competence of managing linguistic and cultural communication in contexts of otherness. The findings show that participating teachers come from diverse cultural backgrounds, which both enriches classroom interaction and complicates the pedagogical integration of intercultural competences. Overall, teachers demonstrate a moderate level of intercultural competence. They are generally able to identify key sub-competences such as negotiation, mediation, conflict resolution, adaptation, and decentration. However, most teachers report difficulties in fully possessing these competences and in systematically integrating them into daily teaching practices. Student data indicate that most participants are Rwandan and that learning about their own culture alongside other cultures fosters openness, empathy, and an ability to question stereotypes and personal biases. Through French courses and academic activities, some students develop intercultural skills, particularly adaptability, negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution. The study concludes that while both teachers and students are aware of the importance of intercultural competence in FLE teaching, a gap remains between awareness and classroom implementation. It therefore recommends teacher training, curriculum development, and support to strengthen the integration of intercultural competences in French language education in Rwanda’s Eastern Province.

Non-English Majored Students’ Perspectives on Self-Regulatory Strategies for Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

2025-12-29T15:04:50+00:00

Recognizing the pervasive influence of foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) on the trajectory of language learning, this comprehensive study delves into the specific self-regulatory strategies (SRSs) employed by non-English majored students in Vietnam. The investigation adopts the theoretical lens articulated by Guo et al. (2018) to frame the understanding of how these students navigate and manage their anxiety within the English language classroom context. The study utilized a mixed-methods research. The quantitative phase involved administering questionnaires to a large sample of 400 students, yielding statistical data on the frequency and perceived effectiveness of various self-regulatory strategies. Complementing this, the qualitative phase gathered rich, nuanced insights through semi-structured interviews with a subset of 20 students, allowing for a deeper exploration of their personal experiences and coping mechanisms. The findings reveal that students primarily rely on avoidance and affective strategies, such as emotional regulation and distraction, to cope with anxiety, while metacognitive strategies, like planning and self-monitoring, and social strategies, including seeking peer or teacher support, are less frequently utilized. This indicates potential areas for improvement, particularly in helping students develop stronger task management skills and more effective peer interactions to better regulate their learning processes. The results underscore the importance of encouraging learners to engage in metacognitive reflection and fostering a classroom environment that supports open communication and collaboration. Such an environment empowers students to identify the sources of their anxiety, adjust their study methods, and seek assistance when needed, thereby enhancing their self-awareness and self-regulatory capacity. By promoting these strategies, educators can help students reduce anxiety, increase learner autonomy, and improve overall language acquisition outcomes. This study thus offers a valuable contribution to the broader field of affective factors in second language learning and provides direct, practical implications for teaching practices in the Vietnamese EFL context and other similar global educational settings where FLCA significantly impacts learner engagement and performance.

Code Glosses in Tourism Discourse: A Contrastive Analysis of Croatian Tourist Brochures, English Originals, and Their Translations

2025-12-29T15:22:33+00:00

Previous linguistic studies have extensively highlighted the critical role of metadiscourse, the language used by writers to guide readers through a text, in various academic and professional genres (Dafouz-Milne, 2008; Fuertes-Olivera et al., 2001; Mauranen, 1993a). Despite this established importance, metadiscoursal features, particularly in the highly persuasive and informative genre of tourist discourse, have received comparatively limited scholarly attention. This study addresses this gap in the literature by systematically examining the use of a specific interactive metadiscoursal feature: code glosses, within tourist brochures. Code glosses are linguistic devices employed to clarify, explain, or exemplify information presented in a text. As tourist brochures are designed to inform and persuade readers, often of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, code glosses are expected to play an important role in enhancing clarity and accessibility. The research tests two hypotheses: (1) there are considerable differences between Croatian and English tourist texts in the use of code glosses; and (2) in Croatian–English translations, code glosses differ in quantity and type from those found in original English texts. The analytical foundation of this research is a self-compiled corpus of tourist brochures, meticulously structured into three distinct subcorpora: original Croatian texts, original English texts, and English translations of Croatian brochures. To identify, classify, and interpret the communicative functions of the code glosses, the study employed a robust combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings reveal several notable differences across the subcorpora, confirming the study's primary predictions. Specifically, the analysis demonstrates that original Croatian brochures employ a significantly higher number of code glosses compared to their original English counterparts. English translations of Croatian brochures largely reflect source-text conventions, showing limited adaptation to English discourse norms. This transfer of metadiscoursal patterns may reduce the effectiveness of translated brochures for international audiences. The study confirms both hypotheses and highlights the need for greater awareness of metadiscourse in translating and producing tourist texts to ensure clarity, accessibility, and persuasive impact across languages and cultures.

Perceiving East vs. West Beiruti Arabic: Gender and Language Attitudes in a Matched-Guise Experiment

2025-12-29T15:41:34+00:00

Lebanon’s linguistic landscape is shaped by complex historical, social, and political dynamics that intersect with class, sectarian affiliation, and gender ideologies. While sociolinguistic research has historically emphasized gender as a critical factor influencing language variation and attitudes, there is a notable scarcity of empirical work examining whether gender maintains its traditional influence on evaluative perceptions within contemporary, post-conflict, multilingual urban settings like the capital city, Beirut. This study directly addresses this gap by investigating a core sociolinguistic question: Does a rater’s gender influence attitudes toward the perceived East and West Beirut varieties of Lebanese Arabic? To provide an empirical answer, the research employed the rigorous matched-guise experiment methodology. The experimental stimuli involved eight speakers, carefully balanced across gender and the dialectal background (East vs. West Beirut). These speakers provided short audio recordings representing the target East and West Beirut speech varieties. The recordings were evaluated by a substantial sample of 200 participants, perfectly balanced by gender (100 men and 100 women) and evenly distributed across different age groups. Participants rated each recording on twelve evaluative traits using a four-point Likert-type scale. Quantitative data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA tests in SPSS to assess whether gender-based differences existed in evaluative judgments. The results reveal no statistically significant differences between male and female raters across all evaluative categories (p > .05). These findings indicate that, within this sample, gender does not significantly influence attitudes toward Beiruti dialects. Rather than suggesting complete attitudinal homogenization, the results point to a context-specific convergence in linguistic evaluations shaped by shared educational experiences, widespread multilingualism, and Beirut’s urban cosmopolitan environment. The study challenges established sociolinguistic assumptions that position gender as a stable predictor of language attitudes and highlights the importance of situating linguistic evaluations within evolving social and historical contexts. By highlighting how post-conflict urban environments can foster more overlapping linguistic perceptions, the study contributes to broader discussions on language, gender, and identity in multilingual societies. Future research would benefit from integrating qualitative methods to uncover the ideological frameworks underlying quantitative evaluations and to examine how gendered expectations emerge in spontaneous language use.

Zur Selbstübersetzungskompetenz hochrangiger Regierungsbeamter im politischen Diskurs: Eine Fallstudie zu Sabri Boukadoum

2025-12-29T15:54:15+00:00

Self-translation remains a significantly underexplored practice within political communication, even though it constitutes an important mechanism for shaping how messages travel across linguistic, cultural, and institutional contexts. The present analysis underscores that the interaction between individual multilingual proficiency and professional linguistic mediation forms a solid foundation for effective international understanding. This perspective opens avenues for future research concerned with linguistic adjustment and the role of political multilingualism in diplomatic activity. The study adopts an exploratory orientation and examines how high-ranking government officials employ their linguistic resources to transmit political content across diverse publics, particularly in situations requiring political sensitivity and direct communicative impact. The analytical framework draws on Critical Discourse Analysis as conceptualized by Fairclough and by Wodak and Meyer, who view discourse as a social arena in which power relations, identity constructions, and political aims are articulated and continually renegotiated. From this standpoint, self-translation is understood not merely as a technical transfer but as a strategic act that influences the interpretation of political positions and produces communicative authority. The corpus consists of an interview conducted by former Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum with the Spanish newspaper El País, selected for its linguistic density and relevance to the political context in which it was produced. The review indicates that Boukadoum adjusts his statements when shifting between languages, emphasizes historical links, foregrounds cultural proximity, and positions himself as a credible political actor. Linguistic reformulations, terminological decisions, and rhetorical strategies emerge as deliberate means used to ensure that political messages circulate coherently across various audiences. Through such choices, self-translation refines political intentions, mitigates misinterpretations, and strengthens the force of diplomatic communication. The study also shows that multilingualism functions not only as an instrument of communicative flexibility but also as a resource for performing political roles and negotiating strategic positioning in international arenas. Nevertheless, the expertise of professional interpreters remains indispensable in contexts requiring terminological precision, neutrality, and institutional coherence. Overall, the study highlights the potential of this field and provides insights for future work concerned with the interplay between political communication, linguistic agency, and the practical use of self-translation within diplomatic practice.

Le français entre plaisir et complexité : une analyse des métaphores conceptuelles chez des étudiants turcs apprenant le français comme seconde langue étrangère

2025-12-29T16:19:29+00:00

In today’s world, where learning a foreign language has become a necessity, students’ perceptions of French play an important role in the language learning process. In this context, metaphors are one of the most effective ways to reveal language perceptions. A metaphor is a way of explaining one concept by relating it to another. In this sense, it provides important clues to understand how students perceive the language and approach the language learning process. Positive perceptions of a language can enhance motivation and support the learning process while negative perceptions can reduce motivation and make the process more challenging. Therefore, identifying these perceptions is of great importance for addressing negative perceptions and facilitating students’ adaptation to the learning process. This study aims to identify and examine the metaphorical perceptions of students learning French as a second foreign language at the A2 level at a public university located in the Western Black Sea region of Türkiye. The research was conducted in the spring semester of the 2022–2023 academic year with a total of 60 volunteer students, including 20 from the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 20 from the Department of English Language Teaching in the Faculty of Education and 20 from the Department of English Translation and Interpretation in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In this qualitative study based on a phenomenological design, the data were collected by asking the participants to complete the sentence “French is like … because …” and were analyzed using content analysis. The results show that the students produced a total of 55 different metaphors related to French, which were grouped into ten categories: serenity and pleasure, complexity, development, lifestyle, novelty, romantic, effort, type, guide and nostalgia. The eight most frequently produced metaphors were “music” (f=6), “art” (f=5), “love” (f=3), “poetry” (f=3), “puzzle” (f=2), “croissant” (f=2), “being intellectual, elitist and cultured” (f=2), and “ashura” (f=2). The study revealed that most students have positive metaphorical perceptions of French, although some described it through the metaphor of complexity, perceiving it as a challenging process. In addition, it was found that students in the Department of Psychology developed a more positive view of French compared to those in other departments.