Bilingual Writers Research Articles

An Assessment of Strategies Adopted in Translating Selected Chapters of Atwans's Memoir: “A Country of Words” into Arabic

This study explored the strategies adopted in translating selected chapters from Abdelbari Atwan's political memoir A Country of Words by Husam Al-Din Mohammad. Back translation was used as a method. That is, an Arab Palestinian refugee endeavors to interpret his thoughts and transfer his experience of the Arabic culture to English as a SLT, and then the translator transfers those thoughts back into the original Arabic language as a TLT. The translation is analyzed in terms of its cultural, religious and political orientations endorsed by the researcher who seeks to identify and analyze the main problematic outcomes of the translation by means of observing the contextual and cultural concordance of the two texts. The analysis attempts to figure out if the translation retains the pragmatic and semantic orientation of each expression, the problems that the translator comes across in the process of translation, and the strategic issues adopted by the translator to retain the functional-equivalence of each expression. The study concluded that the strategies enable both the writer and the translator to preserve the Arabic language, which is the essence and the distinguishing feature of the Arabic culture. Atwan, as a bilingual writer, captured the Arabic aesthetic taste in his original text by preserving the Arabic cultural content and form in the original text.

David M. Palfreyman and Nizar Habash: Bilingual Writers and Corpus Analysis

David M. Palfreyman and Nizar Habash: Bilingual Writers and Corpus Analysis

Building an Annotated L1 Arabic/L2 English Bilingual Writer Corpus: The Qatari Corpus of Argumentative Writing (QCAW)

Abstract The study presents the creation of the Qatari Corpus of Argumentative Writing (QCAW) as an annotated L1 Arabic and L2 English bilingual writer corpus. It comprises 200,000 tokens of argumentative writing by Qatari university students in L1 Arabic and L2 English. The corpus includes 195 essays written by 195 students, 159 females and 36 males. The students were native Arabic speakers proficient in English as a second language. The corpus is divided into Arabic and English sections, accompanied by part-of-speech annotated files in UTF-8 encoded text format. Metadata in CSV format contains information about the students (gender, major, first and second languages) and the essays (text serial numbers, word limits, genre, writing date, time spent, and location). The current study outlines the steps for collecting and analysing the corpus, including details on essay writers, topic selection, pre-analysis text modifications, proficiency level, gender, and major ratings. Statistical analyses were applied to examine the corpus. The QCAW offers a valuable bilingual data source authored by the same students in Arabic and English, with implications for further research.

Bilingual Author-Translator Nedim Gürsel’s Translation of Jorge Semprun’s Büyük Yolculuk as An Example of the Interaction Between Author and Translator Identities

“Bilingualism” can be defined as a person’s ability to speak and be proficient in two languages. Being bilingual also entails having a dual identity. Bilingualism is a prerequisite for “translation”, which is defined as the act of transferring a text from one language to another. When we examine bilingualism in terms of bilingual writers who stand out with their writing activities, it is possible to say that there is an interaction between authorship and translation activity. Nedim Gürsel, who has been living in Paris since 1971 and taught Turkish literature courses at Sorbonne University and Inalco until 2019 and worked as the head of research on Turkish literature at CNRS, writes works in various literary genres such as novels, biographies, travel articles, poetry, translation, and academic articles. Gürsel, who publishes his fictional works in Turkish, defines himself as a writer who writes in Turkish rather than a Francophone, thus revealing his linguistic identity. Gürsel, whose works have been translated into many languages, states that in the French translations of his works, he communicates with his translator and makes necessary warnings and suggestions in order to avoid confusion in the meaning. In this study, the interaction between literary work and literary translation will be revealed with reference to French-Turkish bilingual writer-translator Nedim Gürsel’s 1977 translation of Spanish-French bilingual writer Jorge Semprun’s Le Grand voyage under the title Büyük Yolculuk. This study aims to reveal the interactions between the phenomenon of bilingualism and translation activity with reference to bilingual writer-translator Nedim Gürsel and to discuss this connection in a theoretical dimension. In addition, the stylistic interactions between the works written and translated by Nedim Gürsel, who is a writer-translator, will be examined and the effects of bilingualism on authorship will be revealed.

The prose of a creative bilingual author as a variant of intercultural communication in an educational environment

of intercultural communication in the learning process. Intercultural communication through a work of art has a number of advantages in comparison with real-life communication, which has become the subject of research presented in the paper. Reading the literary text of a bilingual author is one of the options for intercultural communication, contributing to the establishment of a new cultural and linguistic space. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to describe an innovative approach to the establishment of a new cultural and linguistic space ("secondary" linguistic personality) in the process of mastering the phenomenon of the author's literary text as a creative bilingual personality and classifying the discussed variant of intercultural communication as integrated in the context of two cultures. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is represented by an interdisciplinary approach to understanding cultural phenomena, involving the results of achievements in other sciences. Results. As one of the integrative approaches, the interdisciplinary unity of linguistics and "neo-rhetorics" is actualised, in the context of which the circumstances that act as factors determining the specifics of intercultural communication when reading a literary text are described. Conclusions. Consideration of the general issues of the strategy of linguistic competence of students in academic conditions allows formulating some recommendations and solutions for the use of a bilingual author's literary text as a variant of intercultural communication in teaching practice. The source in this study is the artistic publicism of the Kazakh bilingual writer and publicist A. Alimzhanov.

Writer’s Bilingualism and Biculturalism: Nicholas Kotar’s Mythopoetic Literary Works

This article examines the matter of bilingualism and biculturalism of bilingual authors analyzing the literary work of Nicholas Kotar, an American bilingual writer who is a descendant of the first-wave of Russian émigrés. The relevance of this topic stems from a growing interest among scholars of bilingual studies in researching the features of bilingual writers who efficiently use two languages and two cultures to create literary images and express their ideas, leading to translingualism and transculturalism in their work. The article analyzes how bilingualism and biculturalism of Nicholas Kotar, a heritage language speaker of Russian, reflect in his English-language literary works, using research methods of comparative, cultural and translational interpretation. In the novels from the Raven Son series The Song of the Sirin, The Heart of the World , The Throne of the Gods , The Son of the Deathless , Nicholas Kotar conveys elements of Russian folklore to Englishspeaking readers by mythopoesis. The analysis of the literary text provides results, revealing that samples of Nicholas Kotar’s English-language creativity emerge in the process of hybridization and syncretism through the mythopoetic transformation of Russian folklore and linguaculture. Nicholas Kotar’s novels contain many lexical and cultural borrowings, exotisms (Slavicisms), sayings from Russian fairy tales, as well as allusions pertaining to Russian linguaculture. Thus, incorporating elements of Russian fairy tales and other folklore genres enables the translingual and transcultural writer to familiarize English-speaking readers with elements of Slavic linguaculture through the combination and hybridization of English and Russian literary traditions in mythopoetic literature.

A. Zh. Zhaksylykov's Pentalogy "Dreams of the Damned" in the Studies of Kazakh Scientists

This article has a review and analytical nature. On the example of various Kazakhstani studies — scientific articles, dissertation materials, monographs — the research interest in the novel of A.Zh. Zhaksylykov "Dreams of the cursed" was analyzed. The publications of 2015–2022 were taken as the basis. The intertextual connections of the novel and the author's relationship with mythopoetics and philosophy in the pages of the novel were structured. The text of the novel is very complex and multidimensional, which is what stimulates a great interest of researchers in the novel. The author presents the research data that in the making of the novel the references not only to the Turkic, but also to the European myths, folklore, as well as to the Russian and European literature were used. Attention is also paid to the phenomenon of the bilingual writer.

Identity at the Crossroads of Cultures

The aim of the scientific article “Identity at the Crossroads of Cultures: The Case of the Bilingual Writer Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas” is to analyse, based on empirical and theoretical research methods, the phenomenon of dual identity in the context of the development of nation-states in the first-half of the 20th century, which is determined by historical, cultural and community-related circumstances. The life of the bilingual Lithuanian-Polish, Polish-Lithuanian writer, cultural, public and political figure Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas (Jozef Albin Herbaczewski), the drama and consequences of his identity choices in the context of the very difficult period of Lithuanian-Polish relations is the specific case chosen for such an analysis.
 The Union of Lublin, signed in July 1569, created a unique political entity in Europe at that time – the united Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original model of the union provided that Lithuanians and Poles would live in the union on equal terms.
 Despite its troubles, this political entity gave Europe its first written constitution and, in the long term, was partly responsible for the formation of a specific cultural and social position known as “Gente Lituanus, natione Polonus” (“Lithuanian by descent, Polish by nationality”). It became common to have a kind of dual identity – Lithuanian-Polish, Polish-Lithuanian.
 However, a few centuries later, the above-mentioned position inherited from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth turned into a problem: perhaps because the political model was only partially successful, the situation changed with the start of the active formation of nation-states. Tensions over borders, territories and geopolitical ambitions led to the need for a clear individual choice. A clearly expressed national identity, including the use of the specific language (Lithuanian or Polish), became an essential indicator of this. Meanwhile, partly due to the influence of the old heritage of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from a socio-cultural point of view, there was still a relatively large number of mixed Lithuanian-Polish and Polish-Lithuanian families in Lithuania and Poland.
 One of the more exceptional cases in this context is that of two brothers, Boleslovas and Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas, who were born in the same family of a Polish father and a Lithuanian mother in the second half of the 19th century, but who chose different identities.
 Boleslovas Herbaiiauskas (Bolesław Herbaczewski) chose a Polish identity. Juozapas Albinas Herbaiiauskas had a more Lithuanian identity. This bilingual Lithuanian-Polish, Polish-Lithuanian writer, cultural figure, promoter of the Lithuanian National Revival, the first lecturer in Lithuanian in the history of the Jagiellonian University in Poland, translator and publicist was one of the brightest and most colourful personalities in Kraków and interwar Kaunas of the early 20th century. His biography, the specifics of his activities, his polemics with his contemporaries, and the challenges he faced in his efforts to merge and preserve both Lithuanian and Polish identities in the context of the tense relations between Lithuania and Poland provide the researcher with a rewarding opportunity to shed light on the extremely complex and multidimensional era of the development of and relations between the Lithuanian and Polish states through the history of one person and his dramatic choices.

STUDYING THE LINGUISTIC PERSONALITY OF A BILINGUAL WRITER (BASED ON W. KAMINER’S TEXTUAL ACTIVITIES)

This article is devoted to the problem of linguistic personality of a bilingual in the context of the implementation of his/her personal and social experience in written communication. In the course of the research the latest theoretical positions of linguistics were analyzed in terms of understanding the problem of linguistic personality; the problem of meta-linguistic consciousness of a bilingual’s personality was outlined. The works of the German bilingual writer W. Kaminer written in different periods of his creative work served as the practical material for the research (stories from the collections Russendisco and Ich bin kein Berliner). The study of the linguistic personality of a bilingual is presented in the context of the theory of communication, theory of speech activity, which emphasizes the relevance of the research and contributes to the problem of modeling the idiostyle of a bilingual writer. The novelty of the work lies in the consideration of idiostyle peculiarities of the bilingual writer who is our contemporary. The methods and principles used in the research are: comparative analysis, methodology of coding and decoding stylistics, elements of component analysis, descriptive and hermeneutic methods. The results of the research can be used to study the nature of interlingual interaction within one linguistic personality (including bilingual ones), as well as to study strategies of effective communication in a multilingual society. In our opinion, the prospect of the study is to further investigate the linguistic means and features of idiostyle verbalization of bilingual writers in a comparative aspect.

Connecting form with function: Model texts for bilingual learners’ narrative writing

The linguistic influence of first language (L1), finding the appropriate words or expressions in the target language, and the lack of genre awareness are the major challenges for second language (L2) writers. For many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in secondary educational settings, narrative writing is an important genre in the English education curriculum. In this paper, we introduce an Expert Narrative Texts Corpus that provides EFL learners whose L1 is Chinese with model texts to address the above challenges in their narrative writing. Three key features of the tool are identified, namely, cross-linguistic comparisons for bilingual writers, model texts by expert writers, and learning to search. Taking these three key features into consideration, this paper also explores the pedagogical values of the corpus, through which bilingual writers can draw upon their L1 language resources, explore appropriate expressions within authentic example sentences, and search for both lexical items and rhetorical patterns.

Малая проза Ильи Одегова в контексте транскультурности

The article presents a study of the flash fiction written by the contemporary Kazakhstani writer Ilya Odegov from the perspective of the theory of translingualism. The aim of the article is to consider peculiar features of author’s individual view of the world that was formed in the conditions of Kazakh reality by a bilingual writer of the Russian origin; to determine the nature of the influence of artistic transculturality on the cognitive view of the world of a creative person. The article focuses on identifying images of the Kazakh linguistic culture explicated in the flash fiction of Ilya Odegov. These images manifest ethno-cultural specificity of the writer’s transcultural creative personality and his individual author’s view of the world. The study of the fiction written by a representative of the “borderland literature” in the context of translingualism will allow us toconsider it in the light of the general trend in the development of world literature gravitating towards transculturality.

Luigi Donato Ventura, a Trilingual Self-translator

Luigi Donato Ventura, a Trilingual Self-translator

СИМВОЛИЗМ ТРАНСКУЛЬТУРАЛЬНОГО ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОГО ТЕКСТА КАК МЕХАНИЗМ УСИЛЕНИЯ КОГНИТИВНОЙ АКТИВНОСТИ ЧИТАТЕЛЕЙ

Using transcultural fiction by V. Nabokov, K. Ishiguro, Lan Cao and Anya Ulinich as its case studies this article examines the role of symbolism in the texts created by bilingual writers. The article proposes to define transcultural symbols as a special type of literary images synergetically representing ideas and themes of at least two cultures and expressing the unique translingual/transcultural authorial modality. The aim of the article is to analyse major functions of transcultural symbols in creating transcultural literary texts and to determine their significance for enhancing readers’ cognitive activity. The article proves the hypothesis that transcultural symbols might be viewed as a creative result of the bilingual authors’ reflection over complex mechanisms of “semiotic condensation” representing cultural memory, contributing to the increased expressivity, emotivity and ludic modality of transcultural fiction and requiring advanced trascultural/translingual competence on the part of its readers. The findings of the research prove that it is the combination of elements of stylistic and linguo-semiotic analyses that might provide an effective methodology for interpreting transcultural fiction and transcultural symbolism of such texts, in particular. The overall outcome testifies to the importance of further research into varied mechanisms of foregrounding transcultural symbols in fiction, and to the relevance of investigating possible ways to develop readers’ transcultural competence

ПЕРЕВОД КУЛЬТУРЫ В РУССКОЯЗЫЧНОМ ТВОРЧЕСТВЕ НЕРУССКОГО АВТОРА

The article examines a special translation of ethnic culture carried out by a non-Russian bilingual writer in a Russianlanguage fiction text. The authors hypothesize about a special kind of cultural translation that is not considered within the framework of academic translation studies. This type of translation is carried out by a non-Russian bilingual author who creates artistic texts in Russian about the culture of the people to whom s/he belongs by right of birth. Theoretical substantiations are summarized, which, from the point of view of the authors of the article, can serve as an evidence base for the hypothesis put forward. The most relevant theoretical foundations are the works of Y. M. Lotman, G. D. Gachev, G. P. Melnikov.

Supporting the Writing Development of Emergent Bilingual Children: Universal and Language‐Specific Approaches

AbstractEmergent bilingual children express their ideas in written language through meaningful marks on a page by leveraging their oral language and print focused skills from home and school languages. Because writing is a complex task, particularly for children learning more than one language, teachers must make decisions about how they guide children through the writing process and how they respond in the moment to children’s writing ideas or actions. This article addresses the early writing environments and instructional practices needed to meet the needs of emergent bilingual writers. We examine how universal and language specific oral to written connections can be utilized in every day classroom interactions to support emergent bilingual children’s meaning and print based writing skills. Detailed examples of modeling and scaffolding practices that support preschool children’s writing development are described. Early writing, emergent bilinguals, early literacy, teacher practice, dual language learners, modeling, scaffolding.

Formation of the Linguistic Picture of the World of Bilinguals

The authors of the article analyze the specifics of the formation of the linguistic picture of bilinguals, in whose minds two cultural codes are combined. The authors suggest that the linguistic picture of the world of bilinguals differs from the picture of a native speaker. When forming a bilingual linguistic personality, two cultures merge in his mind; many historical, social facts, influenced by individual and personal views, judgments, assessments, get a brighter color, are described differently, which makes it possible to understand the worldview of another person. Natural bilinguals, unlike artificial ones, have a combination of two pictures of the world, two cultural codes. However, both pictures in the mind of a bilingual, who is not divorced from one of the language environments, combine, change and eventually form another one with its own specific features. Bilingual writers, in whose minds two different languages are combined, using, for example, the Russian language when creating their work, nevertheless find themselves in the system of images of their native language, native culture. As a result, expressions, stylistic techniques and other means of artistic expression that are atypical for native speakers appear. This is how a new cultural code appears, which requires special linguistic means. A bilingual writer evaluates any phenomenon from the point of view of the native cultural The article provides examples: some characteristic features of the work of the Swedish bilingual writer of Greek origin Theodor Kallifatides, Russian-American writer V.V. Russian Russian and Kyrgyz literature by Chingiz Aitmatov, Russian French writer Andrei Makin. A bilingual author, in whose mind two different worlds are connected, nevertheless is closer to the system of images of his native language, native culture.

NANCY HUSTON: WRITING OTHERNESS WITH A TRANSCULTURAL IMAGINARY

Losing North" is an expression in French which means "to be disoriented". The expression is translated into English by Nancy Huston – bilingual writer (English-French) as “to be all abroad” which literally means “to be totally foreigner in abroad”. It's an expression that catches Huston's attention to exactly define her position as a writer, which is why she titles her autobiographical book "Losing North" written in 1999. In this book, she questions her attachment to the French language and her bilingualism which she experiences in a conscious way. This study aims to detail the experience of the writer whose imaginary universe is filled with transcultural marks at the crossroads of several languages, identities and cultures. At Huston we witness this estrangement from one's culture and language of origin to seek refuge in the culture and language of others. From that moment the other becomes the mirror of the self. Thus, the reconceptualization of the terms of identity, of cultures, of languages in Nancy Huston leads her to create "doors" through the distinctive lines of demarcation which differentiate one from the other. In this context, transculturality becomes a plane where the biological, historical, social, economic, philosophical, cultural forms of sovereignty and power relations are problematized both geographically and socially. These power relations are analysed using Huston's concepts of language, culture, identity and literature, and the literary archive is used as a field of social transformation, emancipation and disclosure in order to overcome them. The polyphonic voices and the writing of Huston who is in exile are transformed into a medium where different identities, languages and cultures are inscribed.

Feminist Translation of Six Records of a Floating Life

浮生六记 Fusheng Liuji ‘Six Records of a Floating Life’ is an autobiography and the chef-d’oeuvre of 沈复 Shen Fu (1763-1825), which concerns delightful trivialities in his impoverished life and his wife 芸 Yun, a meritorious woman characterised by intelligence, diligence and punctiliousness. As an illustrious 性灵 xingling work enriched by literary, aesthetic and linguistic prowess, Six Records of a Floating Life has been rendered into English by an illustrious bilingual writer and translator 林语堂 Lin Yutang (1895-1976) and Shirley M. Black, as well as Leonard Pratt and Su-hui Chiang, whose version is featured by a socio-historical perspective (Lu 2010). In this research, I scrutinise Pratt and Chiang’s translation under the framework of feminist translation (Flotow 1991), exploring strategies of supplementing, hijacking as well as prefacing and footnoting. In the introduction section, Pratt and Chiang extol the heroine Yun and introduce women serving as courtesans in Qing (1644-1912) China. Additionally, the translators also employ annotations to justify Yun’s provocative utterances. Apart from prefacing and footnoting, Pratt and Chiang also deploy strategies of supplementing and hijacking, so as to highlight Yun’s merit and avoid dated expressions.

A Comparative Study of Manoj Das’s Akasara Isara (Odia) and The Escapist (English)

There are very few bilingual writers of repute in the country and Manoj Das distinctly stands as a prolific writer who has carved a niche for himself in this arena. In fact, he is one of the greatest writers of the country, who has given a new direction to the bilingual writing and proved his brilliance through his great short stories and novels both in Odia and English languages with his creative genius. He is one of the widely acclaimed bilingual story tellers of the country whose writings have been accepted by the readers for their novelty of thoughts and flawless narration. Many prestigious literary awards like the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Padma Shri and the Saraswati Samman and many more have been bestowed upon him. He is in fact one of the towering literary personalities in the Indian English fictions arena who has been instrumental in establishing a native identity. His in-depth analysis of human emotions and their universal appeal is something that is amazingly brilliant in his writings. He has been widely acclaimed and appreciated for his literary genius and creative brilliance. The present research article attempts a comparative study of these two novels which are unique with their thematic treatment as well as the subtle realities combined with powerful philosophical messages. His novel Akasara Isara (1997) which originally appeared in Odia and later translated by the author himself in English as The Escapist (2001) describes the human tragedy against the backdrop of an all-pervading destiny. The article discusses such issues of translation and bilingual writing. It also focuses on the cultural aspects.

The Speaking Body: Corporeal Symbolism in Arya Gopi's Poetry

Poetry is an amalgam of both melancholy and bliss for Dr. Arya Gopi. She is an Indian bilingual writer who handles a wide variety of themes, the analysis of which would perhaps be a herculean task for a scholar. Her poetry contains everything. It speaks of inner and outer conflicts. It addresses intricacies of human psyche; confronts with life and death alike. Seldom do her words wither to be of a particular theme; instead it embraces everything general. Gopi's collection of poems, Sob of Strings (2016) reveals her keen observation and unique poetic techniques. Her poetry can perhaps be considered synonymous with several of the confessional poems of Sylvia Plath, Emile Dickinson and Kamala Das. Basic human emotions, life, death, nature and the like never really are redshirts here. Another significant aspect of Gopi's poetry must be the vitality of corporeal imagery made use of in Sob of Strings. Body can best used in theatre rather than literature, however, systematic development of bodily symbolism can make a work of literature complete. Body plays a vital role in meaning-making, which is a complex process. Plath and Emile Dickinson have constantly made use of several body centred symbols in order to depict intricacies of the human psyche. So does the author of Sob of Strings. Her poetry thus is a celebration of versatile themes, to justify which the author, without deliberate interruption, uses a handful of corporeal symbols.