Seminar

Dr. Rumbinas Delivers Presentation

  Dr. Barbara Rumbinas delivered a presentation organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University on February 27, 2019.   Dr. Barbara began her presentation by defining Multimodal Analysis which is actually an inter-disciplinary approach that acknowledges that communicative acts contain more than verbal utterances or written texts. She said communicative acts are meaning-generating events including visual, spoken, gestural, written, and other three-dimensional modes of interaction. The Multimodal Approach to research, she said, examines the communicative interactions of these elements as well as their inter and intra-relationships to reveal, among other things, ideological perspectives and power relations.   The seminar was very informative and a great success. Date: 3/2/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique
English

Translation and Culture

Saja Al Ahmari and Jawaher Al Enzi, two MA students, delivered a presentation titled Translation and Culture at the seminar organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University held on November 28, 2018. The seminar was held on the King Abdullah Road campus. In their presentation, they focused on the cultural awareness required for proper translation. They introduced some such specialized terms relevant to the translation theory as ‘dynamic equivalence’, etc. They showed some strategies for the knotty problem of finding equivalence for culture-specific terms. Such strategies included, but were not limited to, naturalization, neutralization, and compensation. Naturalization, they said, is a method of translating target cultural concepts by encoding them in their original target language forms. Compensation, on the other hand, they added, is a standard lexical transfer in which the meaning of the source language text is somehow lost in the process of translation. Compensation often results in ‘over-translation’ as opposed to ‘under translation’. They tried to focus on the close relation between successful translation and understanding the culture of both the source language and the target language. They introduced some interesting examples from different cultures, and how ‘literalism’ does not work out the culture-related problems. One example was taken from German which uses a phrase meaning literally ‘to have tomatoes on one’s eyes’. This is rendered into Arabic as على عينيه غشاوة, obliterating any sense related to literal ‘tomatoes’. More interestingly, they drew the audience’s attention to the fact that some target texts excelled their source counterparts in quality. One example is Fitzgerald’s translation of Omar Al Khayyam’s Persian quadruplets into English in 1859. Despite the desperate attempt by other successors like Robert Graves and Omar Ali Shah in 1967, they failed to produce a translation that would replace Fitzgerald’s. The seminar was an overall success. Date: 11-29-18 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique
English

Developing and Assessing the Relationship between Intercultural Communication Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity in the EFL Classroom

Prof. Hamad Al Dosari delivered a presentation titled Developing and Assessing the Relationship between Intercultural Communication Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity in the EFL Classroom at a Language Research Center seminar held on October 31, 2018. His presentation is about a paper he is going to present at the 24th Annual International Conference of the Bolivian English Teachers Association. Prof. Dosari first explained Communicative Competence in detail. He emphasized that it involves intercultural competence and intercultural sensitivity. Learning should include verbal communication such as conversational styles in addition to nonverbal communication such as gestures and body language which is behavior that adds to spoken or written language, said Prof. Dosari while quoting Arévalo-Guerrero. Some researchers, he added, suggested that "intercultural competence, intercultural communicative competence, intercultural sensitivity, and cross-culture adaptation" can be used interchangeably. In his study, he used two instruments – the Intercultural Communication Competence Survey by Aldosari & Mekheimer (2018) and the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) of Chen and Starosta (2000). Prof. Dosari, based on his research findings, concluded that intercultural communication competence and intercultural sensitivity could be achieved when the basic knowledge, skills, motivation, awareness, behaviors, and attitudes towards intercultural competence are focused on in the foreign language curriculum. He emphasized that foreign language curriculum should be integrated into cultural education that would show differences and similarities between the native cultures of the FL learners and the target cultures of the foreign language. The seminar was an overall success. Date: 11/1/2018 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique Multimedia Source: Mohammed Jabir
English

Comparing Multiple Choice, Verb Conjugation, and Error Correction in Grammar ‎‎Assessment

Dr. Mohammad Shuaib Asiri delivered a presentation titled Comparing Multiple Choice, Verb Conjugation, and Error Correction in Grammar ‎‎Assessment at a Language Research Center seminar held on October 24, 2018. His presentation was about his research in grammar assessment. Dr. Asiri first compared selected-response tasks with constructed task formats. He identified the negative outcomes of the former. In his research, he said, he had chosen three types of tasks used in grammar assessment: Multiple choice, verb conjugation, and error correction. His research questions were about task formats’ correlation with the measurement of grammatical ability, performance on task formats relationship with strategy use and their correlation with the elicitation of answer explanation. Dr. Asiri conducted his research on 106 intermediate-level students. He explained in detail the findings of his research questions. Dr. Asiri concluded that multiple choice tasks differ significantly from verb conjugation and error correction tasks in measuring grammatical ability in terms of whether they reflect learners’ ability to recognize a rule or produce something on their own. The use of strategies, he added, varies across three tasks mentioned above in terms of test management and test-wiseness. There is a positive correlation, he said, between the difficulty involved in tasks and answer explanation. He recommended there be more constructed tasks than selected-response ones so that proper learning takes place, and task formats, he emphasized, must be incorporated with language skills. The seminar was very interactive and an overall success. Date: 10/24/2018 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique
English

Multiplicity of Different English Functional Semantic Realizations of the Translation of the Arabic Preposition ب

Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin delivered a presentation titled 'Multiplicity of Different English Functional Semantic Realizations of the Translation of the Arabic Preposition ب' at a seminar organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University held on October 10, 2018. His presentation was about his research on a particular Arabic preposition, namely ب and its diversity of meaning when translated into English. The seminar, originally a published paper in a refereed specialized journal, throws a spotlight at an uncharted territory in the field of translation and grammatical analysis, taking the fact that the semantic functions of the preposition ب in Arabic have been the cynosure of all linguists’ and translators’ eyes for decades as the point of departure. The different realizations in English of the same preposition in Arabic are meant to enrich translators’ and linguists’ appreciation and critical understanding of the different semantic functions of the preposition ب. Failure to correctly understand the semantic functions inherent in the preposition ب in different contexts definitely washes away meaning, and causes translators to bog down in unanswered questions pertaining to the exact meaning intended. Dr. Bader Eddin first compared Arabic parts of speech with English ones. The English word class of ‘nouns’ covers in Arabic the word classes of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs, he exemplified. Particles in Arabic, referred to as حروف, can be further divided into two types of particles, namely حروف مبنى (alphabetical letters) and حروف معنى (prepositions), he added. He went further to say that the tri-classification of Arabic parts of speech does not mean that English has more parts of speech than Arabic does. It is noticed that the semantic behavior, expressed by بـ in Arabic is richer than that in English, and thus cannot always be transferred through a one-to-one correspondence into English. The seemingly same ب in Arabic can be said to be an overloaded preposition in Arabic that no one particular preposition can be predicted in English. This linguistic phenomenon is context-bound in that the same preposition ب behaves semantically different, and thus cannot be dealt with according to watertight criteria predictably. In Arabic, particles are divided into ‘effective or operative’ and ‘passive’ عامل وعاطل. By the former, we mean that their occurrence before the noun it accompanies brings about what is grammatically known as ‘declension’ الإعراب. This means the last morpheme or inflection of the word carries a marker (diacritic mark) showing its grammatical case and category. Such particles, depending on what particles are used, may make the word they precede in the nominative, accusative, dative or apocope case, that is حالة الرفع أو النصب أو الجر أو الجزم respectively. Prepositions are considered one type of ‘effective or operative particles’ as they transform the noun following them into the dative case. Dr. Bader Eddin also explained in detail the various types of Arabic preposition ب their semantic functions and possible English realization. He particularly adduced evidence from the Holy Qur'an for this research out of the firm belief that the Holy Qur'an is the model of linguistic excellence whose style is described as ‘sui generis’. He highlighted the fact that one preposition in Arabic can be realized differently in English. His research, he believed, would enrich translators’ and linguists’ critical understanding of different semantic functions of the preposition. Some of the semantic functions carried by the preposition ب are ‘physical contact, instrument, transitivity, causal, substitution, oath administering, etc. A volley of questions were posed at the end, and answers were provided. You may have a look at the PowerPoint presentation by clicking here. It is worth mentioning that the King Abdullah Road campus attended the seminar online. The seminar was very informative and overall successful. Date: 10/10/2018 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique Multimedia Source: Mohammed Jabir
English

Humor in Mark Twain's Fiction: A Seminar Presentation by Dr. Mohammad Osman and Certificate Award Ceremony

On April 25, 2018, the Language Research Center of King Khalid University organized a seminar that included a presentation by Dr. Mohammad Osman titled Humor is Mark Twain’s Fiction. Dr. Osman’s presentation highlighted the way humor was expressed in Mark Twain’s fiction. His presentation commenced with a brief introduction to the author with a Hemingway (1935) quote – “All modern American Literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.” He stated the fact that Twain’s style had a profound impact on American literature. Dr. Osman also explained the difference between humor and satire. Humor, he said, provokes laughter and provides amusement. Satire, he added, ridicules vices, abuses, and highlights shortcomings through sarcasm. Twain’s humor was expressed through his hilarious characters, dialogs, events, and words he chose, said Dr. Osman. He concluded that Twain is usually remembered as perhaps the most celebrated writer in all of American Literature. That's how he was mainly valued in his day, and that's how he tends to be valued today as well. After the seminar, there was a Certificate Award Ceremony in which all the seminar presenters of the academic year 1438-39 were honored with certificates. Date: 4/26/2018 Source: Mr. Mohammad Adil Siddique
English

LRC Presentations Fascinate Audience

On April 18, 2018, the Language Research Center of King Khalid University organized a seminar that included two presentations – The Concept of Poetry: T. S. Eliot versus I. A. Richards by Dr. Manoj Kumar and Re-appropriating Magical Realism in Arabic Narratives by Dr. Mahmoud Radwan. Dr. Manoj’s presentation was based on his study that aimed at highlighting the contradictory opinions on the concept of poetry and how both are suitable and witty to two different readers. In the beginning, he talked about the etymology of the word ‘poetry.’ He stated that this word was derived from the Greek word ‘poiesis’ that means ‘making.’ He discussed in detail the overall concept of poetry. He focused on forms, genres, compositions, etc. Dr. Manoj explained Eliot’s classism and theories of impersonality, and later I.A. Richard’s theory of literary criticism and T.S Eliot. He also compared Eliot’s and Richard’s language of poetry. Dr. Manoj concluded that T.S. Eliot and I. A. Richards belong to the galaxy of critics who are also well known as poets. Dr. Mahmoud Radwan started his presentation by defining Magical Realism. The term, he said, had been coined by Franz Roh in 1925. It denotes, he added, crossing, overlapping and effacing borders between paradoxical codes and elements of realism and fantasy. Dr. Radwan explained the reason why writers embrace Magical Realism. He stated that marginalized native writers utilize Magical Realism as a mold through which they enter the literary mainstream to deconstruct dichotomous paradigms and projected images created by the advocates of the dominant culture, represent their repressed narratives, and recuperate lost and minor voices. Finally, he mentioned Arab writers who were inspired by Magical realism – Naguib Mahfouz, Ghairi Shalabi, Edwar Al-Kharrat, Emile Habibi, Ibrahim Al Kuni and Ghadah Al Samman and so on. Dr. Radwan concluded that re-appropriation of Magical Realism in Arab narratives emerges as an example of how in adopting such a mode, the act of writing becomes an act of survival, rescuing fragments of the Arab culture from oblivion, shedding light on history, tradition, and reality. The seminar was overall a great success. Date: 4/20/2018 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique Multimedia Source: Dr. Iustin Sfariac and Dr. Mihaita​ Horezeanu
English

Multimedia Assisted Language Learning (MMALL) Facilitating L2 Listening Comprehension in an EFL Classroom

Dr. Abdulrahman Abdullah Almosa delivered a presentation on April 03, 2018, at a seminar organized by Faculty of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University. His presentation was based on his current Ph.D. thesis. In the presentation titled Multimedia Assisted Language Learning (MMALL) Facilitating L2 Listening Comprehension in an EFL Classroom, he highlighted the difficulties learners experience in listening comprehension and how MMALL could help to overcome them.  Dr. Almosa stated that the primary goal of his study was to investigate the effect of the use of Multimedia Assisted Learning Modalities in facilitating listening comprehension in the context of Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia. Modalities, he explained, are various forms of technology that creates a multimedia environment (e.g., video displaying transcripts). The study that he made on Saudi Elementary students showed a significant difference between pre-test and post-test results. His research substantiated the fact that audio-visual modalities (captioned videos) helped students comprehend better than those without captions.    Multimedia Modalities, Dr. Almosa said, helped students overcome comprehension difficulties usually encountered. The accompanying transcripts, he added, could improve learners’ linguistic competence as well, which eventually helped with overall comprehension.   The presentation was very informative and overall a success.  Date: 4/4/2018 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique  Multimedia Source: Mohammad Sherajul Islam
English

Translation of Metaphor

The Language Research Center organized a seminar on November 29, 2017, which included a presentation by two MA students Shaymaa’ Hasan Abdullah and Fayzah Nasser Mohaya titled Translation of Metaphor. Their presentation was based on their research supervised by Dr. Eyhab A. Bader Eddin. The presentation focused on an analysis of how different metaphors can be approached differently whether they should use a literal approach to translation or a free approach to translation. They supported the presentation by providing a tabulation, which compares and contrasts different types of metaphors along with examples provided and the best approach to translation of each type of metaphor. The Language Research Center organized a seminar on November 29, 2017, which included a presentation by two MA students Shaymaa’ Hasan Abdullah and Fayzah Nasser Mohaya, titled 'Translation of Metaphor.' Their presentation was based on their research supervised by Dr. Eyhab A. Bader Eddin. The presentation focused on an analysis of how different metaphors can be approached differently whether they should use a literal approach to translation or a free approach to translation. They tacitly based their analysis on Eugene Nida's concepts of Formal Equivalence versus Dynamic Equivalence and Peter Newmark's Semantic Translation versus Communicative Translation. They supported the presentation by providing a tabulation, which compared and contrasted different types of metaphors along with examples provided and the best approach to translation of each type of metaphor. First, they explained metaphor and how to analyze it. There are, they added, two components of metaphor: tenor and vehicle. They also revealed with examples the types of metaphors such as dead metaphor, adapted metaphor, cliché and so on. When it comes to problems with translating metaphors, they said, lack of knowledge of the target language’s culture is an obstacle with a literal approach to translation coupled with an inability to find an equivalent in the target language. They highlighted how to translate metaphorical language accurately to avoid misunderstanding. They exemplified literal translation that resulted in semantic issues with metaphorical texts. Shaymaa and Fayzah concluded that dead, adapted and original metaphors can be translated with both literal and free approaches. The Graigor campus also participated in this seminar online. A few comments and questions from the female and male sides ensued. The presentation was very interactive and overall a great success. Date: 11/30/2017 Source: MD Adil
English

Interaction between Literature and Other Disciplines

In the inauguration of its events and activities of the present academic year,  the Scientific Research Committee of the Female Campus held a seminar entitled "Interaction between Literature and Other Disciplines" presented by the Dean's Assistant, Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani. The seminar witnessed large attendance and enthusiastic participation on the part of staff members in the department. The seminar started with a welcoming note by the Scientific Research Committee Coordinator, Ms.Amal Metwally, who welcomed the audience and thanked Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani for the time and support she always gives to the committee. Following this welcoming note, Dr. Suaad started her seminar. The topics took the audience through a journey where they explored not only literature but also language, culture, race, gender, and psychology.  The presentation was mainly an investigation of Elif Shafak's Black Milk: On the Conflicting Demands of Writing and Motherhood. Elif Shafak (1971) is an award-winning novelist and one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary literature in both Turkey and England. The paradox of the title as well as the message of the book which is "funny" though "painful" brought a lot to the discussion. Elif Shafak believed that "to be human…means to live with an orchestra of conflicting voices and mixed emotions." Similarly, in her discussion, Dr. Suaad highlighted the fact that it is not only about motherhood. All human beings, men or women, have this struggle with conflicting roles in life. The discussion was enriched with the participation of all members in answering the question that was posed earlier by the Turkish writer, Adalet Agaoglu: “Do you think a woman could manage motherhood and a career at the same time and equally well?” The same question was posed again by Dr. Suaad. The discussion of the question, as well as the topic in general, was an excellent opportunity to reflect on the different roles and struggles of men and women in finding themselves. Finally, the Dean's Assistant, Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani, expressed her happiness with the success of the seminar and gratitude to the Scientific Research Committee Coordinator, Ms.Amal Metwally, and the members of the committee Ms.Shanjida Halim and Ms.Tanzina Halim, as well as the attendees, who participated in the discussion and enriched the seminar with their viewpoints. The seminar was concluded by presenting a certificate of appreciation to Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani for her participation in this event of the Scientific Research Committee. In the end, Dr. Suaad encouraged all members to participate in the seminars and events of the committee to enhance and enrich their scientific and professional development.  Date: 11/17/2017 Source: Ms. Amal Metwally
English