Is English the world’s lingua franca or the language of the enemy? Choice and age factors in foreign language policymaking in Iran

Mazlum, Farhad

doi:10.1007/s10993-021-09613-0

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The above views suggest that the limited oral skills Iranian netizens learn in fee-paying private schools are insufficient to fulfill the various needs associated with English translation. One might even argue that with the tendency of Iranian young generation to open up to the international community and embrace globalization (Mazlum, 2022), their demand for English translation services increases, as membership in a globalized world entails a more diversified spectrum of needs in different domains and at different levels (Reynolds & Viterek, 2013). To meet such needs, the participants content that limited proficiency in oral English is of little assistance, thereby increasing the necessity for translation services.…”

Section: Limited Knowledge Of Englishmentioning

confidence: 99%

Need for Translation Services in the Globalized World: A Periphery-Informed Explanation

Mazlum,

Shadman,

Khademnabi

2024

Sustainable Multilingualism

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The relationship between globalization and translation is one of the new areas of research in Translation Studies. Globalization has led to unstoppable spread of the English language across the globe. Yet, contrary to expectations, not only has the need for translation services not diminished, but it also has increased. This, according to Pym (2003), sounds paradoxical since as the global use of English is on the increase, the need for translation should be waning. In other words, in spite of the fact that the use of English is triumphant and English is already considered the language of the global village, not only has the number of translations not decreased, but the demand for them is increasing. The present study was an attempt to investigate Iranian translators’ views on this paradox. In other words, the study sought the perspectives of translators in the periphery on the paradox to see how the paradox proposed by Pym can be explained from the point of view of Iranian translators. Using snowball sampling, twenty-two translators (all holding an MA or a PhD in Translation Studies) were selected. To collect data, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interpretive analysis of the data revealed that there are numerous reasons that raise the status and role of translation and translators in the Iranian context, which were categorized under three broad categories, namely the limited target language (English), a preference for Persian over English and ideological issues. As regards the limited English language knowledge, the in-depth interviews showed that the younger generation’s proficiency is mostly confined to oral skills and cannot cover all aspects of the English language. In other cases, technical differences between the two languages were pointed out, which was taken as a barrier for feeling at ease with using English. Additionally, the pervasiveness of English words and phrases in society, and especially technological tools, makes people with little English proficiency feel the need for the translation of these foreign words and phrases. Another broad category concerns the preference of Iranians for Persian over English. Throughout the interviews, even PhD holders pointed out that they were not that much at ease with English, and some mentioned in the interviews that if they had both the English and the Persian version of a text, they would probably prefer the Persian version. Another reason for such preference was shown to be their lack of confidence in their knowledge of English even though they had an advanced level of understanding English texts/talks. The final category dealt with ideological issues at both macro- and micro-level. At the macro-level, some participants referred to the government policy that prioritizes the Persian language over foreign languages in society. At the micro-level, one participant believed that some individuals intentionally use Persian words and phrases to prevent the marginalization of the Persian language.

show abstract

Section: Limited Knowledge Of Englishmentioning

confidence: 99%

Need for Translation Services in the Globalized World: A Periphery-Informed Explanation

Mazlum,

Shadman,

Khademnabi

2024

Sustainable Multilingualism

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As a language, English is spoken by more than 350 million people in the world as their first language. On the other hand, almost half a billion people are using English as their second language (Ilyosovna, 2020;Mazlum, 2022). With a large number of people using it as a native or second/foreign language, it is considered to be the world's lingua franca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delving into the Spoken English of T’boli ESL Learners: A Descriptive Study

Barcibal¹,

Abaigar

Lemana

2023

IJMABER

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A culturally pluralistic country, the Philippines has more than a hundred spoken languages used on national, regional, and local scales. With this abundant number, studies on English as a second language acquisition by many indigenous people have remained scarce over the years. To attempt to address the lacuna, this qualitative study aimed to describe the spoken English of the T’bolis at the word and sentential levels. The participants of the study were 20 senior high school T’boli students at one private school in the Municipality of T’boli, South Cotabato. They were asked to read an English newspaper article, and recordings of the utterances were transcribed and analyzed through structured guides. Based on the findings, the participants exhibited dominant features in their spoken English, like replacing vowels and consonant sounds; substituting and omitting sounds when articulating words; shifting the stress of a syllable of a word; not pausing before and after a parenthetical expression and after a thought group; using falling intonation in unfinished statements; and using rising tone in the second syllable of words that are not considered important in a statement. While the findings of this study served as bases for understanding the dominant features of the T’boli spoken English, they do not necessarily reflect the distinction of their spoken English among other non-native English speakers. The study then implies that there is a need to understand the English communication skills of T’bolis, the idiosyncrasies of their native language, and other factors that affect how they learn English.

show abstract