In recent years, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, doubts about the necessity of foreign language learning have gradually emerged. The academic community often faces the general public who merely regard language as a tool, and thus needs to illustrate that foreign language is not just a tool, that learning a foreign language is a process that transforms people's personalities and spiritual traits. This paper adopts the metaphor of “alloy” to explain that foreign language learning is not a simple superposition of linguistic symbols, but a complex process similar to alloy smelting. Just as alloys form new materials with multiple properties through the high-temperature fusion of diverse metals, foreign language learning, through language input, internalization, interaction, and application, deeply integrates with elements such as mother tongue linguistic system, cognitive structure, emotional traits, and social experience, shaping a “linguistic and cultural alloy” with multilingual competence, high-order cognitive level, and intercultural literacy. Starting from the three core characteristics of alloys — “component fusion”, “property optimization”, and “structural reconstruction”—this paper demonstrates the “smelting effect” of foreign language learning in enhancing mother tongue ability, general cognitive ability, social-emotional ability, conceptual ability, and metacognitive ability, by integrating research findings from second language acquisition and neuroscience as well as practical cases of Chinese foreign language learners. It further discusses the impact of component quality and process control in alloy smelting on the final product, and reveals the remodeling mechanism of foreign language learning on brain structure and thinking modes,providing a new perspective for language education reform and learner development.

Modern Chinese knowledge formation began by translating modern western ideas in order to resolve problems China faced. Misunderstandings from translations had enormous impact on China, as China has drawn from western ideas and experiences in its passage toward modernization. It is thus imperative to investigate the role of translation in China from the perspectives of “China Question of Western Theory” and “Epistemological Breaks”.

The history of cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and Russia is long-standing and profound. From early Russian sinologists' translations and introductions of Chinese classical texts, to the Sinicization of Marxism-Leninism in the context of the Chinese Revolution, and further to the two decades of nationally-coordinated thematic years in the new century spanning multiple fields and levels, China-Russia mutual learning has consistently been predicated on the preservation of cultural subjectivity. Through deep interaction, both sides have achieved mutual enrichment, setting a paradigm for a new type of major-country relations and civilizational engagement. This practice offers Global South countries a model of modern cultural interaction distinct from “Westernization”, embodying the Eastern wisdom of “harmony in diversity and shared beauty”. In doing so, it constructs a third path of civilizational interaction that transcends the Western paradigms of “clash” and “assimilation”.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is reshaping the knowledge logic of translation and transforming the modes of civilizational communication. This paper develops a tri-dimensional translation paradigm of “knowledge, thought, and culture” from the perspective of Mutual Learning Among Civilizations, systematically elucidating the cognitive mechanisms of translation in civilizational exchange and exploring pathways for its deep integration with AI. The study argues that the knowledge dimension ensures the accuracy and verifiability of knowledge transfer through semantic recognition, conceptual correlation, and logical verification. The thought dimension facilitates transparent communication across different systems of thought through contextual understanding, clarification of argumentation, and value negotiation. The cultural dimension promotes the cross-cultural understanding and sharing by attending to the representation of culture-loaded elements, aesthetic re-expression, and the preservation of diversity. Together, these three dimensions constitute translation's civilizational mission of disseminating knowledge, facilitating thought exchange, and enabling cultural communication. To address the challenges posed by AI, the efficiency of algorithms in large-scale processing and pattern recognition must be combined with translators' expertise in knowledge synthesis, value judgment, and cultural interpretation. Through human-machine collaboration, a balance between technological rationality and humanistic rationality can be achieved. The proposed pathway for integrating AI with the tri-dimensional translation paradigm thus provides a new theoretical basis and practical framework for translation studies and civilizational dialogue in the age of artificial intelligence.

The relationship between foreign language proficiency and executive function is an important issue at the intersection of language acquisition and cognitive science. Existing research largely failed to distinguish executive function components, relied on unidimensional proficiency measures, and neglected cross-stage developmental comparisons. This study examined Chinese EFL learners at junior high school and university levels, investigating the associative structure between multidimensional foreign language proficiency and linguistic/non-linguistic executive functions through a multi-level framework. Three findings emerged: (1) the proficiency-executive function relationship followed an “integration-driven” pattern at lower proficiency levels and a “skill-leading” pattern at higher levels; (2) different language skills predicted executive function components with notable specificity: listening primarily predicted inhibitory control, while listening and speaking predicted task switching via distinct pathways; (3) at the university level, proficiency showed a clear positive relationship with working memory, whereas opposing prediction directions for the two working memory types at the junior high level suggest a developmental shift in underlying cognitive resources from domain-general to language-specific support. These findings refine our understanding of the boundary conditions of the bilingual cognitive advantage and offer empirical grounding for cognitively-oriented language pedagogy.

Currently, the value of foreign language learning is often interpreted in a simplistic and instrumental way. Based on metacognitive theory and empirical data from more than 1,000 students in Grades 6-9 across four junior high schools in Shanghai, this study explores the internal correlation between foreign language learning and metacognitive development. The findings are as follows: (1) As a systematic learning activity with high cognitive load, foreign language learning is significantly and positively correlated with the development of linguistic metacognitive strategies, and the association is particularly pronounced in tasks involving greater regulatory demands; (2) Foreign language skills and their metacognitive performance are significantly associated with corresponding performance in nonlinguistic cognitive tasks; (3) Foreign language proficiency is positively correlated with metacognitive development; higher-proficiency learners show more systematic regulatory behaviors, particularly in evaluation and monitoring. These findings support the three-tier theoretical framework proposed in this study: a synergistic and symbiotic relationship between foreign language learning and metacognitive development; the gradual transformation of state metacognition into trait metacognition through repeated contextualized practice in language tasks; and the cross-domain transfer potential of metacognitive skills acquired through foreign language learning. This study provides both empirical and theoretical support for re-evaluating the role of foreign language education in fostering students' metacognitive competence.

The relationship between foreign-language proficiency and native-language ability is a central issue in bilingual development. Drawing on the multi-competence model, this study examined the structural associations of English proficiency with Chinese written expression and Chinese pragmatic competence among 168 Chinese learners of English from junior high school, senior high school, and university. Participants completed stage-matched English proficiency tests, a Chinese writing task, and a Chinese pragmatic competence test. Correlation analysis, internal-consistency analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and separate structural equation models were used to estimate within-stage predictive associations. English proficiency significantly and positively predicted both Chinese written expression and Chinese pragmatic competence in all three samples, and all bias-corrected bootstrap 95% confidence intervals excluded zero. The standardized path coefficients for Chinese written expression were 0.547, 0.395, and 0.660 in the junior-high, senior-high, and university samples, respectively; the corresponding coefficients for Chinese pragmatic competence were 0.470, 0.382, and 0.322. The cross-stage results are intended only for descriptive comparison, and the university-group results are limited to the interpretation of the current model. The findings support positive structural associations between foreign-language proficiency and native-language written expression and pragmatic competence. Shared language-analysis processes and metacognitive regulation remain candidate mechanisms to be tested directly in longitudinal and experimental research.

Foreign language education in contemporary China is undergoing a profound period of paradigmatic transformation. Against the epochal backdrop of the intertwined Two Overall Situations, Yang Feng's theory of national consciousness in foreign language education has undergone continuous in-depth development over the past seven years. It has evolved from an academic proposition into a multidimensional and systematic knowledge system including theoretical construction, textbook development, teacher development, curriculum practice, and disciplinary planning. By sorting out the ideological origins and evolutionary trajectory of this theory, this paper constructs a four-tier analytical framework consisting of its essential determination, connotative structure, core attributes, and practical pathways. On this basis, it systematically explores the knowledge radiation and academic influence of the theory. Adopting the theoretical perspective of re-problematization, this paper finally reveals where the vitality of this theory lies—not in providing closed answers, but in continuously opening up spaces for dialogue with the pressing issues of our time.

The rise of large language models (LLMs) has brought the knowledge-transforming function of translation technology into sharp relief, yet the relationship between translation technology and knowledge transformation remains undertheorized. From the perspective of Transknowletology, this study first redefines translation technology as a technical system centered on knowledge transformation, based on a review of previous definitions, and uncovers its triple attributes of locality, historicity, and mobility. Drawing on the DIKW framework, it then analyzes the hierarchical structure of translation technology and explicates its functions in knowledge transformation. Second, focusing on LLM-based translation technology, the study examines its implementation mechanism across four stages: input processing, contextual understanding, target-text generation, and quality assessment. Third, it reflects on the ethical challenges of the current knowledge transformation mechanism in terms of the fairness of knowledge resources, equality in mutual interpretation among knowledge systems, and the sustainability of knowledge dissemination. Finally, it envisions future directions for translation technology in terms of theoretical innovation, system renovation, application expansion, and educational upgrading. This study offers a Transknowletological perspective for translation technology studies and provides a theoretical reference for the development of translation technology in the era of generative AI.

Xiangtu culture is local knowledge deeply embedded in geographical, historical, and dialectal contexts. Its meaning depends on its original context, and is therefore more liable to loss in cross-lingual communication than disciplinary knowledge. Under the framework of Transknowletology, this paper examines the English translation of “cooking smoke” (chuiyan) imagery in classical Chinese poetry along three dimensions: seeking truth, attaining virtue, and pursuing beauty. Seeking truth lies in restoring the original connotations; attaining virtue, in calibrating the audience's cognition; and pursuing beauty, in reconstructing the poetic conception or conveying it through multimodal means. Extending from “cooking smoke” to the broader question of how xiangtu culture goes global, the paper holds that the three dimensions are often in mutual tension at each stage, calling for context-sensitive adjustment and the collaboration of multiple agents. It ultimately argues that the global communication of xiangtu culture rests not merely on the choice of words, but on whether xiangtu knowledge can be truly recognized through translation, thus moving from “going out” to “going in”.

The Cassia Tree is an anthology of classical Chinese poetry translated into English jointly by William Carlos Williams in his later years and the Chinese-American writer David Rafael Wang. Based on Transknowletology, The Cassia Tree would rather be knowledge construction and reproduction of Chinese poetry and painting than mere transmutation across languages.Specifically, Williams pictorially fuses his “variable foot” with Chinese poetic-painterly traditions, realizing knowledge transfer through scatter perspective of “American idiom”, generating knowledge proliferation via “emptiness”, and consummating knowledge reconstruction with visualized schema of “temporal-spatial fusion”, thereby universalizing localized Chinese poetic and painterly knowledge. By combining his poetry-writing tendency to “fuse the poetry and painting to make it the same thing” with the translation, Williams effectively establishes the equivalent translation of poetry and painting. Besides, his translation also corresponds with the concepts such as “creative transformation” “knowledge deviance” and “translocal ecology” in Transknowletology. Examining the translation of The Cassia Tree from Transknowletology also offers valuable references for the contemporary international dissemination of Chinese culture.