Papers by Norsimah Mat Awal
International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2014
One of the remarkable styles in the Arabic language especially in Qur?ānic discourse is reference... more One of the remarkable styles in the Arabic language especially in Qur?ānic discourse is reference switching (iltifāt). There are many types of reference switching (iltifāt) such as tense, number, gender, and case. However, the focus of this paper is on one personal reference switching which is the switch from the third person pronoun to the second person pronoun. The data is taken from sūrah al-Baqarah as the source text and its English translation by Ali (2008). This paper is concerned with applying the textual analysis approach which can provide valuable insights on reference switching (iltifāt) in the Qur?ānic discourse, its meaning and its translation into English by Ali. The paper will explore the strategies Ali used in his translation for reference switching from the third to the second person pronoun. In this study, it was found that the English translation is bound to miss important elements of meaning. The study also reveals that intertexuality helps translators identify and derive meaning from the surface features of the text in question by reference to other texts or text features they have previously come across. So in order to fully understand the Qur?ānic verse containing reference switching and render it accurately as possible into English, it is necessary to go through intertextual texts namely, exegeses that refer back to these reference switches like those by Al-Zamakhsharī , Abū-Sucūd , Al-Alūsī and others.
Journal of Islamic and Human Advanced Research جهار, Dec 1, 2014
The aim of the present paper is to offer a corpus-based description of Arabic discourse markers i... more The aim of the present paper is to offer a corpus-based description of Arabic discourse markers in sport news journalistic discourse. To this end, a corpus of 80 articles (around 40,000 words) was compiled from two prominent Arab news websites: Aljazeera.net and Alarabia.net. Both qualitative as well as quantitative methods of research were employed to characterize this phenomenon, based on Fraser's model (2005). Four issues were addressed in the present analysis: identification, classification, frequency, syntactic classes, and position. The study identified a set of 73 DMs and classified them into four classes: elaborative, contrastive, inferential, and temporal. The study indicated that DMs play a crucial role in the organization and interpretation of the Arabic sport text. They are found to relate text units to each other through signaling explicitly the semantic relationships between them. Moreover, the DMs in the study are drawn from various grammatical forms such as conjunction, adverbs, preposition. With respect to their position, the DMs showed strong tendency to occur sentence-initially.
Speakers' creativity in manipulating lexical usage has resulted in the emergence of new meanings ... more Speakers' creativity in manipulating lexical usage has resulted in the emergence of new meanings and these meanings have the potential to be recorded in dictionaries. This emergence, therefore, calls for the restructuring of the new meanings to determine the position of the existing meaning vis-à-vis the new meanings. The restructuring process should begin by analyzing the position of the core meaning of the lexical item; whether the position should be maintained or replaced with the peripheral or new meanings or dropped altogether as it has no relevance to the current situation. This study attempts to restructure the core meaning associated with values specifically the value of setia (loyal). The analytical procedure begins by analyzing every sentence in the selected corpus that has the lexical item setia. The lexical meanings are determined from the context of usage. Every meaning that is predicted and discovered is then categorized based on the domains of its usage. The categorization process displays the most frequently used meaning, and identifies meaning that is predicted to be more effective or better able to explain other meanings. Findings from the research show that the core meaning of the lexical item setia (loyal) remains in the metaphorical form teguh hati (unwavering loyalty). Based on the corpus examined, it is discovered that not only the core meaning is expanded to other peripheral meanings but that there are proofs that could explain the motivation of the conceptual structure in deciding teguh hati (unwavering loyalty) as the core meaning of the lexical setia (loyal).
Gema Online Journal of Language Studies
The presentation of knowledge is a strategic and unique action. It is stated so because the produ... more The presentation of knowledge is a strategic and unique action. It is stated so because the produced discourse conveys a specific area of knowledge, with a specific way and for a specific group of audience. The presentation of knowledge is also a part of communication process between addresser and addressee. This paper explores and analyses the discourse strategy of science and technology (S&T) academic text, which was written in Malay language and published in high impact and indexed journal. The study analysed the Introduction section of the academic texts only. The introduction is a very important section of the text where the writers place the track and direction of their writing. The S&T academic discourse was analysed from two dimensions, namely the discursive properties and textual features. Discursive analysis interprets the property of the text by means of intertextuality and content. Meanwhile, textual analysis describes the features of the text, namely types of process employed in sentences, pre-sentence adverbial type, type of sentences, and Theme type. The findings show that the strategy of introduction section adopted by S&T texts comprises the inclusion of issue and objective of the study, it utilizes intertextuality of stagnant paraphrase technique and situational, and point of view pre-sentence adverbials phrase, and prioritizing action process, simple and marked theme sentences. Identification and explanation of the strategy provides an insight into the S&T academia. This findings can also contribute to understand how the number of academic text published in high impact journal in the medium of the national language can be increased. Indirectly, it would also enrich publications and uphold the Malay language as a language of knowledge, besides benefitting the local students.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2011
Comparable corpus is defined as a collection of texts in one language together with texts transla... more Comparable corpus is defined as a collection of texts in one language together with texts translated into the same language. Comparable corpus presents the opportunity to discover features that occur more frequently in translated texts or 'translation universals'. In the Malaysian context, several studies have attempted to look at these translation universals or looking at patterns in Malay translation corpus and compared them to a corpus of original (non-translated) Malay. This paper focuses on the linguistic nature of Malay preposition 'untuk'. A linguistic analysis has revealed divergent usage patterns of 'untuk' between Malay translation and Malay original text. Such finding is important for it contributes to the teaching and training of translators.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012
Translation is an activity of mediating meaning from a source language into a target language. Th... more Translation is an activity of mediating meaning from a source language into a target language. The ability to choose the cor rect translation technique is an indispensable skill to translators; therefore it is essential for translation students to be aware of why a particular technique is used. Past literatures in translation studies have shown that although much has been written about t he translation process and product, there is very little research done on class dynamics in a translation classroom (Gonzales Davis 2004). This research focuses on the teaching of translation techniques in a translation classroom from the cooperative learning perspective. Preliminary observations discovered that students tend to use the wrong translation techniques when translating-Salas 2000) is adopted in the teaching of translation in a basic translation course offered by the School of Language Studies and Linguistics, of workshop activities that help translation students to acquire appropriate translation techniques when translating a variety type of texts.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014
Conveyance of knowledge is a strategic and unique action. It is due to the discourse that is prod... more Conveyance of knowledge is a strategic and unique action. It is due to the discourse that is produced which discusses specific discipline of knowledge and targeting a certain group. The process of conveying knowledge not only involves vocabulary, terms, and sentences, but what is more crucial is the discourse strategy. This study discusses the discourse strategy of academic text of science and technology (S&T) written in Malay language as employed and published in high impact journal. This is due to the number of S&T academic publications in Malay are unsatisfactory as a result of the hegemonic of English as international language. The strategy is analyzed from two dimensions, i.e. the discourse properties and textual features. Discourse properties interpret the practice of the text by means of intertextuality and content. Textual analysis describes the main features of text, namely initial adverbial, types of sentences and theme types employed. The study is limited to the introduction section of texts. From the analysis it is found that the strategy adopted by S&T texts is with the inclusion of issue and objective of the study, utilizes static paraphrase technique of intertextuality, situational initial adverbials, prioritizing simple sentence and marked Theme. Identification, description, and explanation of the strategy potentially acts as guidance to the S&T academia in order to write and enhance the number of academic text published in high impact journal in the medium of national language. Indirectly, it would also help to enrich publications and uphold the language as a language of knowledge, besides being useful for local students.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014
Metaphorical expressions are widely used in everyday language. The present study aims to examine ... more Metaphorical expressions are widely used in everyday language. The present study aims to examine and compare how metaphorical expressions of happiness are employed in English and Persian. The conceptual metaphor theory was adopted as the analytical framework. Using the framework, emotive metaphorical expressions of happiness were analysed according to these metaphorical mappings. The findings showed that English and Persian share many metaphorical expressions of happiness that are based on common bodily experiences. Consequently, the similarities can be attributed to the universality of conceptual metaphors, whereas differences in metaphorical expressions relate to specific different cultural modes in English and Persian.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014
Language use or choice at the border often presents a multitude of patterns. The language chosen ... more Language use or choice at the border often presents a multitude of patterns. The language chosen is often determined by the participants in the communicative act. At the Malaysia-Thai border, where most of the population are Malay but of Thai and/or Malaysian nationalities, the language choices of the speakers present an interesting pattern. This paper aims to present the language choice at the Malaysia-Thai border via questionnaires, interviews and observations. The findings show that there might be a geographical demarcation line separating the respondents but the language they use in both domains is determined by their ethnicity.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012
The ability to choose the correct translation technique is an indispensable skill; therefore it i... more The ability to choose the correct translation technique is an indispensable skill; therefore it is essential for translation students to be aware of why a particular technique is used. This research focuses on the teaching of translation techniques in a translation classroom from the cooperative learning perspective. Preliminary observations discovered that students tend to use wrong translation techniques when translating from English into Malay. As an intervention, a methodology that is called 'Cooperative Work Procedure' (Gerding-Salas, 2000) is adopted in the teaching of translation in a translation course offered by the School of Language Studies and Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Asian Social Science, 2014
Metaphorical expressions often involve culturally-specific concepts, embodying associations relat... more Metaphorical expressions often involve culturally-specific concepts, embodying associations related to a particular cultural community. Metaphor translation poses the problems of switching between different cultural references, as well as conceptual and linguistic perspectives. Dealing with metaphors in translation, thus, is not simply a matter of identifying the linguistic correspondences in two languages under study, but of identifying correspondences between their conceptual systems corresponding to their different cultural models. The main purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that investigated emotive metaphoric conceptualizations and their dominant patterns in Persian and English. The emotions under study are metaphorical expressions of happiness and sadness which have been compiled from a literary source text and its two corresponding target texts. The Metaphor Identification Procedures (MIP), proposed by the Pragglejazz group (2007), and Lakoff and Johnson's (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) were adopted as the framework for analysis. Our findings revealed that there are many cultural similarities and differences between emotive metaphorical concepts in Persian and English.
Asian Social Science, 2014
Reference switching (Iltifāt) is a unique style found in the holy Qur'ān. It is a rhetorical devi... more Reference switching (Iltifāt) is a unique style found in the holy Qur'ān. It is a rhetorical device in Arabic language. Nonetheless, it is used in an extensive and complex manner in Qur'ān. Reference switching is defined as the change of speech from one mode to another. However, reference switching constitutes a problem for translators while transferring reference switches from one language to another, particularly in the Qur'ānic discourse. This paper looks at the translation of reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah specifically focusing on the translation strategies employed by the translator Yūsuf Ali to transfer reference switching that is obvious in the Qur'ān to English language. Personal reference switching has been classified into five categories: namely the switch from third to first person pronoun; the switch from first to third person pronoun; the switch from third to second person pronoun; the switch from second to third person pronoun and the switch from first to second person pronoun. Newmark's translation strategies are used as a basis to explore the translation strategies applied by Yūsuf Ali. The study reveals that Yūsuf Ali opted for five strategies in translating reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah. They are literal, expansion, free translation, compensation and a dual strategy of transposition and footnote. However, the study reveals that these translation strategies are inapplicable in conveying the meaning of iltifāt. The findings of this study will hopefully pave the way for more investigations into the translatability of reference switching in other sūrahs of the holy Qur'ān. Additionally, the findings of this study will be a step forward toward improving reference switching translation in future interpretations of meanings in the holy Qur'ān.
First language influence on second language performance: A study of common English grammatical er... more First language influence on second language performance: A study of common English grammatical errors among rural secondary school students. Abu Bakar, Kesumawati and Abdul Hamid, Nor Zakiah and Mat Awal, Norsimah and Jalaluddin, Nor Hashimah (2007). ...
GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies, 2017
The Holy Qur'ān includes near-synonyms which have seemingly similar meanings but convey different... more The Holy Qur'ān includes near-synonyms which have seemingly similar meanings but convey different meanings upon deeper analysis of the semantic constituents of these words. Such near-synonyms usually pose a challenge that often presents itself to the translators of the Holy Qur'ān. This study investigates the meanings of near-synonyms and their translation issues in the Qur'ān. It aims to identify the contextual meanings of Qur'ānic near-synonyms based on different exegeses of the Qur'ān. Then, it explains the nuances that exist between the pairs of Qur'ānic near-synonyms and how such nuances are reflected in two English translations of the Qur'ān. The study adopts the Relation by Contrast Approach to Synonyms (RC-S) as a theoretical framework for data analysis. It also employs the qualitative approach for collecting and analyzing the data of the study. Besides, it makes use of different exegeses of the Qur'ān to identify the differences in meaning between each pair of the Qur'ānic nearsynonyms. The analysis of the data reveals that there exist some nuances between the pairs of Qur'ānic near-synonyms in terms of denotative and expressive meaning. The findings also show that the differences in meaning between the pairs of near-synonyms are not reflected in the English translations. Therefore, the study recommends that readers as well as translators should look for nuances between Qur'ānic near-synonyms whenever they find two words with similar meanings in order to perceive the Qur'ānic text appropriately and translatorsshould makeaneffort to reflect the nuances between the pairs of near-synonyms in their translation.
Pertanika journal of social science and humanities, 2015
Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, Nov 1, 2012
This article investigated students' competence and attitudes towards the Negeri Sembilan dialect.... more This article investigated students' competence and attitudes towards the Negeri Sembilan dialect.The purpose of this article is to find out the competence of dialect among lower secondary school in Negeri Sembilan. The research was conducted in the districts of Rembau and Tampin. This study is divided into two parts. First, a list comprises of original words from Negeri Sembilan dialect was collected from Rembau district (one of the six districts in Negeri Sembilan). Second, this group of words were reduced to 80 words and tested on a group of students in a school in the Tampin district. The research samples were acquired individually and in groups. Similar method was observed by Labov and a few other researchers in the West (Chambers & Trudgill 1990). This study utilizes the naming method (on certain aspects) and questionnaires with multiple choice questions. Findings from the study show that the students have a moderate attitude towards Negeri Sembilan dialect because they received little encouragement from their parents. However, the students displayed a positive attitude towards competence and perception on Negeri Sembilan dialect. The findings also indicate that the higher the social economic background of the students, the lower their competence of the Negeri Sembilan dialect. Lastly, the analysis on word class shows that social change leads to a few words pertaining to adat (custom), for example, kodin and the verbs bertating and bertandak are among words that were least understood by the respondents. Overall, the findings of the research indicate that there is an observable pattern of language change among adolescents in Negeri Sembilan which is in-line with a rise in social status.
Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning, 2012
Evaluating the learning experiences in virtual laboratory training in electrical and electronic e... more Evaluating the learning experiences in virtual laboratory training in electrical and electronic engineering through student perceptions-a case study in the University of Hong Kong, engineering education. The Journal of the Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre, 4(2), 70-75.
Procedia-Social and Behavioral …, 2011
Comparable corpus is defined as a collection of texts in one language together with texts transla... more Comparable corpus is defined as a collection of texts in one language together with texts translated into the same language. Comparable corpus presents the opportunity to discover features that occur more frequently in translated texts or 'translation universals'. In ...
Article, 2020
This study investigates the meanings of the Qur'ānic near-synonyms اصراط al-ṣirāṭ and السبيل ... more This study investigates the meanings of the Qur'ānic near-synonyms اصراط al-ṣirāṭ and السبيل al-sabīl (the path) and their English translations. It aims to identify the contextual meanings of these near-synonyms based on the exegeses of the Holy Qur'ān. Then, it explains the differences in meaning between these near-synonyms and how such semantic differences are reflected in the English translations of the Holy Qur'ān. The RC-S approach by Murphy (2003) is adopted in this study as a theoretical framework for the analysis of data. The qualitative approach is also employed for collecting and analyzing the data of the study. Moreover, the exegeses of the Holy Qur'ān are consulted to find out the semantic differences between the selected near-synonyms. The results of the study reveal that there are some differences in the denotative and connotative meaning between the Qur'ānic near-synonyms and that the differences in meaning between both near-synonyms are not reflected in the English translations. The study provides recommendations for readers and translators especially the translators of the Holy Qur'ān. ABSTRAK Kajian ini menyiasat maksud kata-kata Al-Qur'ān yang sinonim hamper bagi pasangan kata الصراط al-ṣirāṭ dan السبيل al-sabīl (jalan) dan terjemahan ke dalam bahasa Inggeris. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti maksud kontekstual bagi pasangan kata sinonim hamper ini berdasarkan tafsir Al-Qur'ān. Kemudian, kajian menjelaskan perbezaan maksud di antara sinonim hamper ini dan bagaimana perbezaan semantic ditunjukkan dalam Al-Qur'ān terjemahan bahasa Inggeris. Pendekatan RC-S oleh Murphy (2003) digunakan dalam kajian ini sebagai rangka kerja teori untuk analisis data. Pendekatan kualitatif juga digunakan untuk mengumpul dan menganalisis data kajian. Selain itu, tafsir Al-Qur'ān juga dirujuk untuk mengetahui perbezaan maksud antara kedua kata sinonim hampir yang mempunyai maksud yang hamper sama. Hasil kajian mendedahkan bahawa terdapat beberapa perbezaan maksud denotatif dan konotatif untuk pasangan kata sinonim hampir yang dikaji dalam Al-Qur'ān dan perbezaan maksud antara kedua sinonim hamper tidak disampaikan dalam terjemahan bahasa Inggeris. Kajian ini memberi cadangan untuk pembaca dan penterjemah terutamanya penterjemah Al-Qur'ān.
Asian Social Science, 2014
Reference switching (Iltifāt) is a unique style found in the holy Qur'ān. It is a rhetorical devi... more Reference switching (Iltifāt) is a unique style found in the holy Qur'ān. It is a rhetorical device in Arabic language. Nonetheless, it is used in an extensive and complex manner in Qur'ān. Reference switching is defined as the change of speech from one mode to another. However, reference switching constitutes a problem for translators while transferring reference switches from one language to another, particularly in the Qur'ānic discourse. This paper looks at the translation of reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah specifically focusing on the translation strategies employed by the translator Yūsuf Ali to transfer reference switching that is obvious in the Qur'ān to English language. Personal reference switching has been classified into five categories: namely the switch from third to first person pronoun; the switch from first to third person pronoun; the switch from third to second person pronoun; the switch from second to third person pronoun and the switch from first to second person pronoun. Newmark's translation strategies are used as a basis to explore the translation strategies applied by Yūsuf Ali. The study reveals that Yūsuf Ali opted for five strategies in translating reference switching in sūrah al-Baqarah. They are literal, expansion, free translation, compensation and a dual strategy of transposition and footnote. However, the study reveals that these translation strategies are inapplicable in conveying the meaning of iltifāt. The findings of this study will hopefully pave the way for more investigations into the translatability of reference switching in other sūrahs of the holy Qur'ān. Additionally, the findings of this study will be a step forward toward improving reference switching translation in future interpretations of meanings in the holy Qur'ān.
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Papers by Norsimah Mat Awal