Target Culture Research Articles

Интеграция родного языка и культуры в структуру языковой подготовки в вузе: лингводидактический аспект

Modern language education at the university is largely focused on students’ awareness of the target language and culture while native language is rarely spotted in language classrooms. The authors analyze theoretical and methodological fundamentals of the national culture-based approaches to teaching foreign languages specifying the necessity to develop equal status professional intercultural communication. To achieve this goal, it is necessary both to understand cultural characteristics of the interlocutor and to be a conscious member of a national culture. To succeed in professional intercultural communication one should be ready not only to adapt and imitate, but to represent and defend one’s own national interests in a foreign language. The aim of the paper is to investigate the possibilities of presenting national language and culture in a foreign language and to present a system of exercises to integrate this material and methods of basic comparative cultural analysis into foreign language classes at linguistic universities. It is proposed to single out four stages of work: cognitive, axiological, conceptual and behavioral. The presented system of exercises is a synthesis of the European approach to culture-based language education (fostering tolerance and respect for cultural pluralism) and national methodological research (the value of national culture, preservation of cultural identity). By performing such tasks, students will learn to accept the world cultural diversity, adequately communicate elements of their native culture, critically assess and comprehend them by comparing with facts of another culture, as well as predict and prevent possible conflicts and manifestations of ethnocentrism.

Tell me where you are and I’ll tell you what you learn. Investigating hidden curricula using GIS analysis of place names in a case study of an English language textbook published in Japan

Abstract The article aims to look for a way to geographically delineate the notion of target culture in the language textbook “The World We Live in” by Ogasawara et al. (2013) published in Japan for Japanese students and teachers. Looking at the textbooks as cultural artefacts, we identified geographical space within the scope of the sample textbook and analysed the pedagogical context the place names appeared in. By doing that we attempt to find the spatial bias of the book, which is a manifestation of values there inscribed, often called the “hidden curriculum”. The elaborated method, following a seminal study by Risager (2018), is an attempt to adapt the proposed content analysis of the textbooks into GIS tools in order to capture the geographic dimension of the content. The method serves as a stepping stone towards the creation of a model to analyse and identify the attitudes toward the cultural content of educational materials. This will not only enable a more authentic classroom experience responding to the needs of particular groups of students and teachers but also look for ways to make the textbooks more inclusive.

ROSSICA И BELAROSSICA: ОБЩИЕ И КУЛЬТУРО-СПЕЦИФИЧЕСКИЕ МАРКЕРЫ ДИСКУРСОВ ИНОЯЗЫЧНОГО ОПИСАНИЯ РОССИИ И БЕЛАРУСИ

The paper focuses on the comparison of two variations of foreign-culture-oriented discourse - the English-language descriptions of Russia and Belarus based on ad hoc corpora of titles Rossica-T and Belarossica-T. The research aims at identifying both universal and culture-specific markers of foreign-culture-oriented discourse. The methodology employed combines automatic processing of the textual data with the AntConc corpus manager tools, as well as the deep analysis and manual annotation of the data. The particular foci of the research are the corpora keywords, key clusters, collocates analysis, semantic prosody, and key concepts. The research allowed to confirm the hypothesis on universal linguistic mechanisms of language adaptation to external culture and on culturally non-specific markers of a foreign-culture-oriented discourse - the xenonyms of the target culture. Yet, it also allowed to identify the specific features of the Russia- and Belarus-centered discourses both on the surface and deep levels - the culture-specific keywords, clusters, and constructions, corresponding to the key concepts of the discourses under observation. The research established the presence of a discourse canon regulating both the contents and the specific ideological lens of the given cultures’ description.

Die Dekonstruktion von Stereotypen durch Irritation im Unterricht : eine empirische Untersuchung

This study intends to elucidate the process of culture-related learning by clarifying the possibilities of deconstructing anticipated stereotypical ideas GFL learners might have about the German, Austrian and Swiss target culture(s). The main hypothesis of the inquiry was the assumption, that the German speaking countries (DACH) are somehow being perceived as a positive model in Slovakia as far as garbage economy and waste disposal are concerned, although in reality, this image might be put into perspective. The problem of the empirical measurement of stereotypes was solved with two identical questionnaires of stereotype-related items, which were handed out to the students of a Slovak high school (gymnázium) before and after a 90-minute German lesson with the overall environmental issue "What to to with the garbage?". During the lesson, pedagogical interventions were carried out to disrupt the student's assumed positive image on the DACH-countries as a prerequisite for change towards a more realistic picture of the German speaking countries. To avoid response bias, the students weren't informed about the actual goal of the questionnaire, measuring possible stereotypical ideas, thinking, they would attend a lesson dealing with an environmental issue. The findings of the study and the problems that occurred are presented and discussed in the article.

Pre-service English Teachers’ Beliefs about English Language Learning

Objectives The language teachers’ beliefs about language have an impact on their practices and are likely influence their students’ belief about language learning. This study investigated English language learning beliefs of pre-service teachers of English. The study also examined whether any significant differences exist in pre-service English teachers’ beliefs by gender, different academic years and self-rated English proficiency levels.
 Methods For this purpose, 91 undergraduate students enrolled in English education department at A university participated in this study. The participants were asked to answer the questionnaire of Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory(BALLI). Data were obtained by distributing the questionnaire through online during the weeks 5 and 6 in the spring of 2022. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, Chi-test, t-test and ANOVA were used.
 Results The participants showed strong beliefs about the effect on age and the importance of target culture in English language learning. The participants did not agree the importance role of grammar and translation. However, the pre-service English teachers in this study tended to view traditional activities as more useful than communicative activities. The participants believed that English language learning involves a lot of memorization and repetitions. Some of beliefs held by pre-service teachers constitute an impediment to successful English language learning and teaching, such as beliefs about pronunciation, error correction, and vocabulary learning. There was a significant difference for the role of grammar by gender, different academic years and English proficiency levels. Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the importance of vocabulary, expectation of language, willingness to communicate and motivations were significant based on the participants’ English proficiency levels.
 Conclusions Pre-service teachers in this study hold a variety of beliefs about English learning. Some of beliefs were consist with the communicative language teaching approach whereas some didn’t reflect the 2015 Revised National English Curriculum and the current language teaching trends. The findings from this study showed that considerable efforts should be made to eliminate any unrealistic beliefs pre-service teachers may hold before they start teaching.

Bir Almanca Ders Kitabının Kültürel Öğeler Açısından Değerlendirilmesi

Although foreign language education is mainly based on four basic skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking), culture is also regarded as an integral part of it. In other words, language teaching and culture teaching cannot be separated from eac other. How people who speak a language think and behave, how they perceive the events and situations may be understood from the words that those people use, and all these are the components of what is referred to as culture.
 For this reason, cultural elements and values should be incorporated into the course content of all levels while teaching a language. This study aims to investigate how often the Menschen B1.1 German coursebook deals with cultural elements of the target language. In this study, the content analysis method was adopted by using "Target culture checklist that can be used in foreign language coursebooks" created by Saraç and Arıkan (2010). The checklist consists of two sub-scales and thirty-one items. The results of the study revealed that the Menschen B1.1 coursebook contains many items in the checklist, however, it does not meet the certain items. It was found that the coursebook mainly deals with sub-cultural elements, while it does not include sub-titles such as literature, science, and film.

ÇEVİRİDE ÇOĞULDİZGE KURAMI'NA RADİKAN BİR YAKLAŞIM

Radikan kavramı son dönemlerde özellikle de çağdaş sanatlar ve sosyoloji alanlarında sıkça kullanılan bir kavramdır. “Kök salma” olarak tanımlanan radikan aynı zamanda içerisinde değişim, gelişim ve ilerlemeyi de barındırmaktadır. Radikanda kökler ilk ortaya çıkışta değil sonradan oluşmaktadır çünkü radikan olan şey, farklı durumlar arasında hatta farklı dil, düşünce ve kültürler arasında bir geçiş yaparak ilerleyen, gelişen ve kök salandır. Radikanın doğasında hep bir ilerleme, gelişme ve bu yolla kök salma vardır. Radikan durumu aynı şekilde doğasında yer değiştirme, ilerleme, geçiş yapma ve gelişme olan dillerarası çeviride de kendini göstermektedir. Doğasında radikan olma durumu olan dillerarası çeviri sürecinden hareketle, çeviribilim açısından bakacak olursak çeviri kuramının da radikan olma özelliği gösterebileceğini söyleyebiliriz. Çeviribilim alanının en önemli kuramlarından biri olan Çoğuldizge Kuramı yazınsal metin çevirisi üzerine yoğunlaşan bir kuramdır. Kaynak bir dilde, belirli bir kültür için yazılmış olan orijinal metnin erek bir dil aracılığı ile erek kültüre aktarılması onun erek kültürdeki konumunu da belirlemektedir çünkü çeviri metin, erek kültürde merkez konuma gelip daha popüler bir durumda olabilir ve erek kültür yazınına katkıda bulunabilir. Hatta erek kültür yazınını etkisi altına alarak şekillendirebilir. Böylece erek kültürde yeni yazınsal türlerin ortaya çıkmasını veya onların daha popüler bir hale gelmesini sağlayabilir. Diğer bir deyişle, kaynak metin erek metne dönüşerek başka bir dil ve kültürde kök salıp gelişimine devam etmektedir. Kuramsal düzeydeki bu çalışmanın amacı, Çoğuldizge Kuramı’na radikan kavramı açısından farklı bir şekilde yaklaşarak kuramın radikan bir çeviri kuramı olduğunu göstermektir.

Reasons and Opinions of Students Learning English as a Foreign Language about Learning the Target Culture

This study aims to compare the opinions of optional and compulsory preparatory class students about learning English and the target culture. Furthermore, students’ reasons to learn English are examined in terms of independent variables (gender, going abroad and status of prep class). In the present study, data are gathered through a questionnaire in the fall term of 2021-2022 academic year. Data are obtained from 150 participants and analyzed via SPSS 25. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics are conducted. Findings show that students are motivated to learn English both instrumentally and in an integrative way. In addition, there is no statistically significant effect of independent variables on the reasons to study English and the attitudes towards learning English and the target culture. As a result, this current study offers guidance for teachers while they are preparing their teaching materials. That is, teachers should consider not only the culture of British or American but also they should focus on other cultures.

A DESCRIPTIVE AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO TURKISH TRANSLATIONS OF JANE AUSTEN’S "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE"

Translation norms have an important place in descriptive translation theory and these norms concern not only the translated texts but also the society and culture to which the texts belong. Norms are related to the behaviour and choices of translators in the translation process and therefore determine translation decisions. The decisions taken in translation process as lexical choices and preferred translation strategies determine which of the translators will be closer to the source or target languages and cultures. Thus, it becomes clear which of the poles of adequacy or acceptability is closer to translated text. The concepts of 'adequacy and acceptability' have recently been associated with the concepts of ‘overt translation' and 'covert translation'. In overt translation, the translator’s choices are in accordance with the values of the source text and its culture and therefore the translation text is conveyed without changing the foreign-the cultural elements- given in the source text. In this context it can be claimed that the reader can obtain information about the source text culture. On the other hand, in covert translation, the cultural elements given in the source text are domesticated and presented to the reader with expressions familiar to the reader. In this context, the translator’s choices prioritize the reader and the values of target culture.
 This study aims to provide a descriptive analysis of the two translation versions of Jane Austen’s "Pride and Prejudice", in the light of Gideon Toury’s descriptive approach to the translation studies. Through making a comparative analysis between the source text and the two translation versions (target texts) via selecting sentences randomly from the source text and comparing them with the target texts in terms of lexical choice, revealing a comparative and objective analysis in terms of their equivalences is the main focus of this study without searching for translation errors in comparison to the source text. In order to present a descriptive analysis, Gideon Toury’s norms will be used as a guide and on a macro level, Toury’s equivalence theory; “adequacy or acceptability” and the terms overt and covert translation will be used for the comparison of the target texts in terms of word level.

Cultural and Linguistic Challenges of Poetry Translation. Analysis of the English Translations of „Dwoje Ludzieńków” by Bolesław Leśmian

The main aim of the present article is to demonstrate linguistic and cultural differences, based on a comparison of Bolesław Leśmian’s poem Dwoje ludzieńków, with its English translations by Sandra Celt and Marian Polak-Chlabicz. The choice of poems was dictated by several criteria i.a. whether a given text depicts image of God and presents Leśmian’s philosophy in the most visible way. In the theoretical part, James Holmes’ strategies of poetry translation (mimetic, analogical, organic, deviant/extraneous) are presented and serve as a foundation for the practical part. Furthermore, Leśmian’s literary style and the reception of his poetry in the context of translation may be found in the article. Translation analysis, which constitutes the practical part, encompasses several comparative surfaces, i.e. rhythm, stylistic devices, content, as well as selected cultural aspects. Moreover, the study demonstrates the linguistic difficulties which the translators had to face during the translation process. The translation strategies applied by Celt and Polak-Chlabicz present their influence on the final translation results as well as its reception in the target culture.

Savage Heroines? The Treatment of Gender and Genre in Translations of Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights

Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights is the first instalment of his award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials. In this alternate-worlds fantasy and children’s literature classic, Lyra and her daemon Pan are catapulted from the relative stability of Oxford to negotiate an increasingly threatening world in a quest to protect free will from cataclysmic adult zealotry. According to prophecy, Lyra is the chosen one; she conforms to the tropes of the fantasy quest performing the paradigmatic steps of the saviour hero. Pullman’s protagonist transgresses and subverts the stereotypical expectations of the fantasy heroine whose generic destiny is coded in enclosure, passivity and endurance. Lyra is also a coming of age story and here again Pullman’s conceptualisation does not conform to the female pattern in both fantasy and children’s literature where marriage functions as the marker for maturity. Character is one of the two defining traits of fantasy (Attebery 1992) and it performs a didactic function in children’s literature. Characterisation is created through the reader’s interpretation of textual cues: narratorial description, direct and free-indirect speech. Lyra’s character subverts fantasy stereotypes and depicts a transgressive child who does not conform to gender role expectations. Genre translation tends to adapt the text to target culture norms and the didactic and socialising impetus of children’s literature has been shown to prompt translation strategies which comply with the receiving culture’s linguistic and behavioural norms. In this paper, we analyse the rendering of character cues in the French, German and Italian translations of Northern Lights: 1. Is the transgressive trope of a) the heroine following the male hero paradigm and b) the coming of age pattern maintained or normalised to conform to genre expectations? 2. Is Lyra’s transgressive character rendered in translation or is it adapted to comply with didactic expectations of behaviour? 3. Are there different notions of the role and function of children’s literature in the target environments and do these impact on translation strategies?

Durumluk Bilinçli Farkındalık (Mindfulness) Ölçeğinin Türkçeye Uyarlanması: Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi ve Güvenirlik Çalışması

Mindfulness-based approaches, which have been used in many fields in recent years, have been widely accepted especially in practices in psychology and psychiatry, and have been integrated into traditional treatment methods. In parallel with the positive effects of the concept of mindfulness on mental, spiritual and physical well-being, researches have also steadily increased and various scales have been developed to measure mindfulness which can be summarized as the mindful awareness of the moment by accepting one’s experience without judgment.Some of these scales were adapted to Turkish in the last decade. Considering the extensive usage of the concept of mindfulness in health-related fields, this study aimed to introduce the State Mindfulness Scale into Turkish, as one of the important scales to be evaluated on a more solid theoretical and methodological basis. Accordingly, the source scale was translated into Turkish through the steps suggested by WHO. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed for the validity of the scale. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient, Item Total Score Analysis, Guttman reliability coefficients, Spearman-Brown confidence coefficients were evaluated and the findings regarding the internal consistency of the scale were used in terms of the reliability analysis of the scale. For CFA and other analyses, 345 students at Akdeniz University were included in the study. As a result of CFA, it was found that the 21 item 2-factor structure in the source scale was compatible with the target culture (X2/Sd: 3,41; RMSEA: 0,088: CFI: 0,95). The correlation reliability coefficients of the scale ranged from 0.484 to 0.743. The Cronbach alpha value of the first factor of the scale was 0.899, the Cronbach alpha value of the second factor was 0.728, and the Cronbach alpha value for the total score was 0.921. The findings show that the validity and reliability of the State Mindfulness Scale has been ensured and the scale has been successfully adapted to Turkish.

A Comparison of Feminist Term Translation Practices in Academic Journals of Gender and Women’s Studies in Turkiye

Feminist term translation brings both linguistic and pragmatic sides of translation together and turns the act of translation into a function-driven process rather than a solely form-based transfer. Translators, who join it under different roles such as academics, activists, or field experts, sometimes all at the same time, try to make up for the information loads and contextual definitions regarding the source terms in the target language and culture system with various translation strategies during the process of translation. This study aims to reveal practical tendencies in the feminist term translation activities in academic journals of gender and women’s studies in Turkey. In this respect, feminist term translation practices in selected texts from three journals, namely Feminist Approaches in Culture and Politics [Kültür ve Siyasette Feminist Yaklaşımlar], Kaos Q+, and Feminist Imagination: Journal of Academic Studies [Feminist Tahayyül: Akademik Araştırmalar Dergisi], which have published the most recent translations in the field, will be discussed from a comparative perspective, starting from Istanbul University Journal of Women’s Studies [Istanbul Üniversitesi Kadın Araştırmaları Dergisi], the first academic journal of gender and women’s studies in Turkey. In the analysis, the main focus is on feminist term translation strategies, while an evaluative framework will be drawn on the connections between journals’ areas of focus and feminist term translation practices applied under them.

The Representation of Target Culture in a Locally Published English Textbook

Culture is an important part of English language teaching and learning. Students must be exposed to the culture related to the communication skills being taught. Textbook can be a medium for the teachers to present different kinds of culture along with the language content. Therefore, it is essential for an English textbook to properly include cultural contents. This study aims to investigate the target culture included in a junior high school English textbook used by many teachers in Indonesia. Qualitative descriptive design was employed in order to describe the target culture in the textbook without any manipulation to the data. Moran’s (2001) five dimensions of culture that include products, practices, perspectives, communities, and persons was used to analyze the data. The results found 61 items in the textbook that contained references to the target culture. The ways those target culture were presented were not vary. Almost all of those items were presented in words or passages.

The Kazakh Concept of Soul in Abai Kunanbaev’s <i>Book of Words</i>


 
 
 This study explores conceptualisations of ??? ([jan] soul) in the Kazakh language from the perspective of cultural linguistics and its literary representation in the English translation of Book of Words by Abai Kunanbaev, a prominent Kazakh philosopher and writer. The concept of ??? (jan) was analysed from the viewpoint of philosophical and image features and their roles in the formation of the national worldview. A comparative study showed discrepancies in its realisation by Abai Kunanbaev and the English translation even though some variations in the translation cannot be complete equivalents. There is a lack of semantic and cultural identity, and the results indicate that the literal English translation of ??? (jan) does not transmit its whole cultural implications. The article also focuses on determining how different methods of translation reproduce the semantics of the analysed concept. The analysis concludes with the necessity of using structural and semantic shifts to better represent the target concept and culture.
 
 

Cultural Presentation in Turkish Secondary EFL Coursebooks

Abstract
 The inclusion of cultural content in textbooks has become one of the important issues in language education. In this context, the analysis of English textbooks is necessary to measure whether they are qualified enough to represent local and multicultural elements as well as the target culture. This study aimed to analyze the representation of the contents in four English textbooks used in secondary education in Turkiye. It has been observed the two books prepared in Turkiye and the two books prepared outside Turkiye are different in terms of cultural representation.

The impact of TV series consumption on cultural knowledge: An empirical study based on gratification-cultivation theory.

This study aims to clarify the media-induced trends of cross-cultural transmission and examine the implicit promotional potential for cultural branding. The gratification and cultivation theories are used to explore the promotional media prospect in forming perceptions of foreign cultures' traditions, habits, norms, and values to contribute to international communication. We analyzed the theoretical applicability in the case of China-Thailand contemporary media culture. A total of 856 Chinese series watchers were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the path effect of consumption of Chinese TV series on other endogenous variables. Results showed that cross-cultural media product consumption strengthens bilateral relations. Moreover, the acceptance and appropriation during engagement with media characters and producers lead to favorable attitudes toward the target culture. Results confirm the positive mutual association between the gratification and cultivation theories and their applicability in the current context. This study offers an important contribution through its finding that the need for gratification significantly and positively impacts consumption and cross-cultural learning and raises cross-cultural awareness, thereby leading to sustainable practices.

“I’ll be there, same time, same place!” A decade in translating Hungarian realia into English in audiovisual translation

Audiovisual translation (AVT), albeit originated back in the early 20th century, only started gaining in popularity in the past decades, and poses unique challenges compared to traditional translation. Not only does the translator have to face the limitation placed by the time and length constraints and the lip movement of the characters, but beside verbal elements, also non-verbal ones (sounds, music, images, etc.) define the target-language text. This characteristic of movies makes the task of translating realia, or culture-specific notions, rather hard. The translator can - and has to - choose from a wide range of translation methods that can be placed somewhere on a spectrum between two main trends: domestication or foreignisation, opting for either bringing the target language (TL) text closer to the target culture (TC), or preserve it to some extent in the source culture (SC). The goals of the present paper are twofold. On the one hand, it intends to support the validity of a taxonomy adjusted specifically for the translation of realia in AVT in a previous study, which allows the measure of domestication or foreignisation to be expressed in numbers. On the other hand, it provides a case study of a Hungarian film trilogy and its English subtitles with the aim of discovering a shift in trends towards foreignisation over time.

The effect of authentic material on the cultural awareness and motivation of Jordanian EFL learners

Language textbooks used in public Jordanian schools are grammar oriented and give little weight to communicative competence. That’s why many language teachers opt for utilizing authentic materials reflecting the various aspects of the target culture that serve to engage students in life-like situations. Thus, this study aims at investigating the effect of using authentic materials on Jordanian EFL learners’ motivation and awareness of the English culture at (ISO) National Schools. An experimental group of tenth graders were taught by using authentic material like videos drawn from the target language culture and a variety of real life situations activities that expose them to the English culture. The new method addresses the speaking skill. A speaking pre-test and an attitude questionnaire were administered before the experiment to measure students’ oral communication and their motivation to integrate into the foreign culture. At the end of the experiment, a post-test was conducted and the results were compared to the control group who were taught by the traditional method. Significant differences were found between the two groups in favour of the experimental one thanks to the utilization of authentic material drawn from the target culture which enhances students’ oral communication skills. Thus, it is recommended that FL curricula should use this material to be skilfully implemented by classroom practitioners.

Dubbing filmów animowanych jako przekaz kulturowy. O współczesnym podejściu do translacji dubbingowej w Polsce

The process of dubbing a production does not end at the direct translation of the text into the target language, but involves adapting and localising the verbal and choral contents of the film. Moreover, the finished product has to stay intact with the represented visual layer. This analysis researches upon dubbing as a form of translation regarding its function as a channel of conveying culture. In this study some of the animated films released in the past 20 years have been analysed. The discourse is focused on the importance of translation in the reception of the mainstream films from the perspective of a Polish viewer. The main aim of the article is to bring attention to the way in which dubbing presents culture by detaching the viewer from the cultural source and conveying the message of the film by focusing on the familiar, target culture.