Translational register as factor of language change in Kanuri

Romanized Arabic Across Dialects: Views, Usage Patterns, and Linguistic Variation

Arabizi refers to Arabic written in Latin script. Although previous studies have shown that the prevalence and usage of Arabizi vary by factors such as region and age group, most NLP research on Arabic texts treats it as a temporary phenomenon resulting from limited technological support for the Arabic script. In this work, we engage with Arabic speakers to collect insights on their perceptions and usage of Arabizi. We further examine writing norms among speakers of different dialects, focusing on Algerian, Egyptian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Tunisian Arabic. To this end, we release two resources. First, a character-level alignment of Arabic words to study inter- and intra-dialectal variation across these five dialects, based on words transliterated by survey participants, finding systematic intra-dialectal regularity and inter-dialectal variation. Second, to study Arabic speakers'ability to identify this stylistic variation at the sentence-level, we build a manually curated parallel corpus of sentences written in Arabic script alongside multiple Arabizi transliterations, collected from speakers of the same five dialects. Our study presents the largest human-centered, cross-dialectal study of Arabizi's perceptions and practices to date.

Tavoyan: Language Contact in a Burmese Dialect

Abstract:Language variation in the Greater Burma Zone—particularly Burma—remains under-described and under-theorized. Descriptions of language variation are caught up in taking language as a marker of ethnicity. Language variation, including the development of dialects, has come about in part through language contact, but the effects of language cannot be seen through the usual practices of historical or comparative linguistics and their projects to classify languages and ethnicities. Burmese dialect speakers tend to live in more highly multilingual contexts than do the majority of Standard Burmese speakers. Recognizing the unusual features of Tavoyan—especially aspects of its sound system—as the result of language contact sheds light on a history of linguistic, hence social, contact with speakers of Karen languages. This past of contact with Karen speakers and widespread multilingualism are precisely the aspects of social history that historical sources do not capture. Tavoyan epitomizes the situation in countless other speech communities in the Greater Burma Zone, whose pasts are largely absent from history. In its sounds and syntax, the Tavoyan dialect tells us of the social history of the speech community: Tavoyans tend to think of themselves as a local embodiment of the supra-regional Bamā identity. Despite such ties, the Tavoyan community is much like other groups in the Greater Burma Zone who "lack" history in the sense of written records. In such a context, the study of language itself can serve as a proxy for other kinds of history and can reveal something of the social past of a community.

Challenges and Methodologies in Qurʾānic Translation: a Case Study of the Malay Language

Translating the Qurʾān from Classical Arabic into Malay presents profound linguistic, cultural, and theological challenges. Classical Arabic’s intricate morphology, polysemy, and rhetorical structures often lack direct Malay equivalents, while culturally specific metaphors and symbolic expressions risk semantic distortion when rendered literally. While previous studies have largely neglected the theological implications of rendering mutashābihāt (ambiguous) verses, as well as the linguistic, idiomatic, and figurative challenges involved, this study addresses that gap by examining a range of representative terms that pose linguistic, idiomatic, figurative, cultural, and theological challenges. Employing a qualitative semantic-thematic methodology grounded in classical tafsīr (exegesis) by authorities like al-Zamakhsharī and al-Rāzī, the research analyzes specific Malay translations, including the official Terjemahan Al-Qurʾān Bahasa Melayu . The verses subjected to case study were selected purposively according to two criteria: (a) the presence of polysemous mutashābihāt with significant theological or symbolic weight, and (b) terms that illustrate distinct types of translation challenges (linguistic, idiomatic, figurative, cultural, theological). The analysis reveals that structural disparities – like Arabic’s inflectional morphology versus Malay’s analytic structure – and literal renderings of idiomatic expressions frequently fail to preserve the Qurʾān’s theological coherence. In contrast, interpretive strategies rooted in tafsīr and semantic adaptation offer more accurate, culturally meaningful alternatives. The study concludes that an integrated exegetical-linguistic approach is essential for preserving the Qurʾān’s holistic meaning and theological integrity, demonstrating how this method resolves the tension between textual fidelity and accessibility for Malay-speaking audiences.

Translation Method in English-Indonesia Selected Sentences of Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix

Translation plays a crucial role in transferring meaning across languages, particularly in literary works where linguistic and cultural elements require careful interpretation and adaptation. However, differences in linguistic structure and cultural context often create challenges in the transfer of meaning between source and target languages. This study aims to identify the translation methods applied at the sentence level in the English–Indonesian translation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and to examine how these methods are used in transferring meaning from the source language to the target language. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed, with data consisting of five selected sentences analyzed using Newmark’s (1988) translation methods framework. The findings reveal that two translation methods are applied: literal translation and semantic translation. Semantic translation is the most frequently used method (60%), while literal translation appears in 40% of the data. The analysis shows that both methods contribute to meaning transfer, although they differ in their approach to conveying linguistic and contextual elements. This study contributes to translation studies by providing a focused sentence-level analysis and demonstrating how translators employ different translation methods according to contextual needs. The findings offer practical insights for literary translators and educators in English–Indonesian translation contexts.

THE LIMITS OF NEURAL MACHINE TRANSLATION IN TRANSLATING QUR’ANIC ARABIC INTO ENGLISH: A CASE STUDY OF SŪRAH AL -KAWTHAR

Translation Ideology And Pronoun Equivalence In The Arabic-English Translation Of Surah Al Kahfi

Translation is the process of substituting text in the target language (TL) for text in the source language (SL). Catford 1965 said determining translation equivalency between two distinct linguistic systems is the main challenge intranslating. This research between Arabic-English translation that is actually has a big differents, aim to the distribution and percentage of pronouns containing in Surah Al-Kahfi, and investigates the translation ideology in the Arabic-English translation of Surah Al-Kahfi. The study using a descriptive qualitative method supported by quantitative analysis or Mixed Methode. The data consist of 532 pronouns identified from the Arabic text and its English translation.The pronouns are classified into personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, attached pronouns, and implicit pronouns. The pronouns are classified into shift type, tehniques type, ideology type and equivalence in translation. Shift type divided into unit shift, structural shift and split spit. Tehniques type divided into literal, transposition, amplification, reduction. Translation Ideology divided into foreignization and domestication, and Equivalence divided into formal and dynamic. The Findings release that Attached Pronoun and Implicit Pronoun are the majority found at the type of pronoun because AlQuran especially Surah Al Kahfi has the uniqe character. There are also Unit Shift has and Structural Shift are the most dominant categoriesat translation shift according to Catford 1965. Furthermore, Domestication appears slightlymore Dominant than foreignization due to Lawrence Venuti 1995 about translation ideology. At the end equivalenece shows that dynamic is more dominant than formal according to Eugene Nida1964. It is shown that reflecting the translator’s tendency to adapt Arabic grammatical structures to English linguistic norms while maintaining selected Qur’anic character.