ORIGINAL ARTICLE
This scoping review investigates the applications and implications of the conversation analysis approach in the Arab world. Specifically, it examines the implementation of conversation analysis by Arab linguists in both foreign language classrooms and social interaction settings. The review identifies gaps in the relevant literature to guide future research. This scoping review is underpinned by the five-stage framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley. The findings reveal that, compared to non-Arab contexts, the literature on this topic in the Arab world is scarce, but there is a growing interest among Arab linguists. The majority of studies reviewed were conducted in college-level English classes, and there is a dearth of studies in school contexts. The studies were categorized based on themes, including the implementation of conversation analysis, context, educational level, type of methodology, and the journal. The findings from interaction in foreign language classrooms were promising, as they provided insights into how learning opportunities might be developed to facilitate teachers’ professional training. Findings related to social interaction, although limited in number, revealed important features of human interaction, such as topic shifting, ending conversations, and the functions of religious markers. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges in implementing conversation analysis and calls for future research on this promising approach in the Arab world.
The present study explores the impact of gender on the use of apology strategies by Algerian speakers. Specifically, the research aims to identify the apology strategies utilized by male and female Algerian participants and to examine the potential influence of gender on such usage. The study employed a discourse completion task (DCT) as its methodological tool for data collection. The DCT included nine scenarios in which participants were required to provide an apology. Sixty participants, consisting of 30 males and 30 females, were recruited for the study. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were employed to examine the data collected. To facilitate the analysis, a modified version of Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s (1984) framework was applied, given its widespread usage and convenience in similar studies. The findings of the study indicate that male and female Algerian participants employed seven primary apology strategies, and gender influenced the frequency of their usage. These findings provide new insights into the role of gender in the choice of apology strategies in Algerian Arabic.
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the transformational changes observed in English business discourse over time. Employing cutting-edge methodologies such as functional linguistics, linguosynergetics, and diachronic analysis, the authors delve into the evolutionary dynamics of business communication, examining the extralinguistic factors that drive the inner discursive mechanisms of self-regulation and modification of the functional field. By highlighting these factors, the study sheds light on the complex interplay between language, society, and cognition in shaping business communication. Drawing on a rich corpus of oral and written English business discourse spanning from the late 19th century to the present day, the research reveals that the rise of new tendencies in social and political life, coupled with the historical development of British and American societies, have sparked changes in the cognitive models of structuring speech behavior in business verbal interaction. Consequently, new trends have emerged, including simplification, deregulation, deviation from communicative norms of standardized Business English, and popularization of unconventional, non-standard business rhetoric.
The purpose of this research is to identify opportunities to develop soft skills, which are essential for graduates’ future professional activities, in online foreign language learning. The study focuses on distance learning, which has become a reality in university education due to the pandemic and the increased availability of higher education to those who cannot attend in-person classes (because of the distance, health problems, etc). Specifically, the research aims to demonstrate which soft skills, prioritized by employers, can and must be developed in distance foreign language learning, the preferred typology of exercises for this task, the specifics of teachers’ work in this format, and how to mobilize active attention in distance education. The study uses survey results collected from teachers and students at Lomonosov Moscow State University, which are analyzed along with relevant theoretical models. The research prioritizes tasks and assignments targeting soft skills such as creativity, learnability, critical thinking, and collaboration, with independent student work gaining more importance. The study concludes that online lessons should emphasize autonomous work performance over primary educational elements, and the results can form the basis for developing foreign language methodology in distance instruction. The research suggests this could be an optional module in a hybrid format that shows promise for higher foreign language education.
This article delves into the concept of sarcasm in confrontational American film discourse, examining its primary functions and characteristics. Specifically, the study focuses on how sarcastic statements are used in American television series to heighten emotional engagement and aesthetic appeal. The defining features of sarcasm, namely implicitness and double meaning, are also discussed. The analysis is conducted through a case study of the modern American drama series “This is Us”, which highlights the key mechanisms utilized to achieve the pragmatic effect of sarcasm, including intonation, metaphors, and repetitions. Additionally, the article examines the work of translators, their professional challenges, and the methods and techniques employed to convey the semantic content of sarcastic messages in the target language. The findings suggest that translational means such as literal translation, ellipses, and equivalent translation are effective in transferring the intended sarcasm across languages. Overall, this study provides insight into the language techniques and translational strategies involved in the implementation of sarcasm in confrontational American film discourse.
The article considers the issue of using the digital environment in teaching professional communication at a non-linguistic university and aims to specify the role of a digital educational resource in business English courses and to further upgrade higher education. The relevance of the issue under consideration is due to the intensified introduction of digital resources in higher education. In this research the authors apply theoretical and empirical methods of analysis, consider modern approaches to the classification of digital educational resources for learning English, classify digital resources in accordance with the degree of their accessibility, study the ways of applying the communicative approach in teaching students a foreign language for special purposes, aimed at building and developing productive and receptive skills that future specialists will practice in their professional activities. The authors also analyze the results of a survey conducted among students about the experience of using a multimedia program based on Moodle educational software platform, as a part of a business English course. The researchers come to the conclusion that the use of computer technology with a well-planned training program not only makes the process of learning a foreign language more attractive and interesting to students, but also contributes to a more effective development of their receptive and productive skills.
The relevance of this study is preconditioned by the appeal to the problem of the development of the term semantics on the example of synonymy in the framework of modern terminology of art history. The article is focused on three synonymous units astronomical art, cosmic art, space art. They arouse interest as, on the one hand, these units claim the status of art history terms, and on the other hand, they are in synonymous relations, which contradicts the requirements for the term system. Revealing the features of the semantics and functioning of these units, and thus tracking the semantic processes that accompany their terminologization, the authors aim to establish the features of synonymous lexical units in the phase of their formation as terms. The study was carried out on the basis of the case method with the use of methods of definitional analysis, componential analysis, semasiological analysis, contextual analysis, as well as elements of chain and corpus analysis. The research material consists of specialized thematic dictionaries of art history terminology, as well as articles on art history. The concepts under consideration represent an interesting case of the formation of a term and the assignment of an appropriate semantic volume to it. Despite the fact that initially astronomical art, cosmic art, space art entered professional communication as synonyms, they are already breaking out of the scope of synonymy, as evidenced by their functioning in special texts: the concept of cosmic art is wider in meaning than space art, while, according to some sources, astronomical art and space art are in a hyper-hyponymic relationship.