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    Transknowletology: Its Naming and Concept Construction,
    MENG Xiangchun
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (3): 55-64.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.03.007
    Abstract2932)   HTML80)    PDF(pc) (1268KB)(641)       Save

    With cross-cultural interaction between local knowledge and global knowledge as its fundamental rationale, and with knowledge and culture synthesized in this conception, Transknowletology, proposed by Yang Feng, integrates “knowledge” in the ontological sense into Translatology, thereby constructing a fundamentally and ultimately knowledge-centered translation theory whose major inquiry focuses on “knowledge translation” and “translated knowledge” essentially in the framework of translation studies. If it should develop following the path of “studies of knowledge translation”, the term “knowledge translation studies”, therefore, may serve as its proper name. If it develops as knowledge-rooted-and-centered translation studies, as it is intended, Transknowletology may be its possible, if not the best, name. By virtue of the naming of “Transknowletology” per se, a series of new concepts or discourses can be reversely constructed, such as “knowledge glocalization”, the “scissors differential of knowledge”, “knowledge impact”, “knowledge-culture entanglement”, the “ripple effect of knowledge”, and the “knowledge translation paradox”, thus enriching and empowering the theory in question. A complete, mature Transknowletology necessitates a proper definition of “knowledge”, the establishment of translation criteria, the organic synthesis of newly constructed concepts and discourses, self-introspection with “others” as frames of reference, and engagement in global scholarship through discourse featuring “comparative glocalism”. These endeavors may enrich and even reshape global translation studies.

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    An Epistemological Interpretation of Translation
    LI Ruilin
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (1): 47-59.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.01.003
    Abstract1056)   HTML41)    PDF(pc) (1911KB)(525)       Save

    Knowledge structuring is of prime importance to the internal building of any discipline in its own right and has a close bearing on its scholarly status of legitimacy and autonomy. Following this line of thought, the present article briefly re-examines the major problems with the conventional reductionist approaches to translation, including the marginalization of the central object, a lack of consilience in TS knowledge and the desirability of overall explanatory power, and for that matter, it attempts to identify a highly competitive bridge concept that is most likely to link together the linguistic, socio-cultural, cognitive, communicative and technological views of translation. To that end, it first incorporates TS into the interpretive space of epistemological analysis, then explores the potential relationship between the binary features of human cognition and translation per se, and consequently comes up with the ensuing set of claims: cognitive asymmetry serves as a necessary condition for the extensive engagement of translation in the ever-evolving world of humanity, knowledge (experiential and rational) as an end result of cognition plays a central role in any sphere of translational activity, and translation, in the ultimate analysis, is sustained by the notion of cross-linguistic knowledge transfer. The key notion taken into full account, a knowledge-centered ontological structure is mapped out to highlight translation as a core mechanism for the cross-linguistic reproduction and circulation of all forms of knowledge, which is assumed to make recourse to both re-conceptualization and re-contextualization processes in real-world scenarios of intercultural communication. The newly proposed minimalist framework of translation is expected to provide a viable point of access for generating a theoretically unified and practically relevant paradigm of Translation Studies.

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    English Learning Motivation Types of English Majors and Its Influencing Factors
    ZHANG Hong, DU Xinran
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2021, 21 (6): 105-118.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2021.06.011
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    John Sinclair's Phrase Theory and Study of Meaning
    PU Jianzhong
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2021, 21 (6): 60-76.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2021.06.007
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    This paper aims to discuss John Sinclair's phrase theory and its key concepts, his major contributions to the study of meaning, and the inadequacies as well. It is argued that Sinclair's major achievements in the study of meaning can be attributed to his phrase theory, that its core components are phraseological items and lexical items, that his model of extended unit of meaning, consisting of core, collocation, colligation, semantic preference and semantic prosody, can be applied to the description of both lexical items and phraseological items. Sinclair's major contributions to the study of meaning include that to a great extent he turned the linguists' attention from context to cotext, that he developed and improved the KWIC analysis, upon which the model of extended unit of meaning was formulated, that he put forward the theoretical framework of his phrase theory, getting theoretically ready for the study of meaning. The inadequacies are that the notion of semantic prosody is still vague, preventing the model of extended unit of meaning from being fully exploited, and that paraphrase has not been theoretically evaluated, resulting in language users' meaning not being reflected in his study of meaning.

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    College English as General Education or Discipline-specific Education:Tthe Orientation of College English Teaching to ESP Revisited
    CAI Jigang
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (3): 84-91.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.03.010
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    College English Teaching Guidelines defines college English as general education and assigns English for specific purposes (ESP) a minor role. We believe that college English is discipline-specific education and should be orientated towards ESP. Its instrumental and humanistic harmony could be found in its pedagogy. It could not only help students engage in their disciplinary studies in English, but also improve their cross-cultural competence in the domain of their disciplines. With the credit decrease of college English, we suggest that general English and culture courses should be removed from the required courses of college English.

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    Multimodal Discourse Analysis: A New Paradigm of Teacher Discourse Research
    YANG Yi, CHEN Changlai
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (4): 144-153.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.04.014
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    Multimodal discourse analysis should become a new paradigm of teacher discourse research. It is an cross-disciplinary study of linguistics, pedagogy and computer science, which aims to analyze the process of how teachers make a mixed use of different symbol resources to achieve teaching objectives and the interaction mechanism between different symbol resources. The core of the research route is to determine the annotation scheme and form the analytical framework. In this multimodal discourse analysis, the Elan labeling scheme is formed from the starting point of “establishing research perspective” in tieto-truth modeling. Based on this scheme, the raw corpus is processed and annotated and a multi-modal teacher corpus is built. Then a structural frame of reference is constructed based on the relationship between the two sets of modes, namely “intensification - non-intensification” and “complementation-non-complementation”, on which forming a “ framework for modal interaction analysis of teacher discourse” is based. This framework is used as a tool of multi-modal analysis of teacher discourse. With the help of this new paradigm, the multi-modal corpus of famous foreign language teachers can be constructed to highlight the special attributes of famous teachers, so as to promote the formation of multidimensional teaching evaluation ideas, and contribute to the creation of “golden lessons” in a comprehensive and precise way.

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    New Thought of Ecolinguistics and Its Implications to Ecological Discourse Analysis
    HA Changchen, HUANG Guowen
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (5): 88-96.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.05.010
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    Arran Stibbe defines the term “ecolinguistics” as “the study of the role of language in the life-sustaining interactions of humans with other species and the physical environment” in the monograph of second edition entitled Ecolinguistics (Stibbe 2021). Previous studies inclined to “influencing how humans treat ecosystems”, however, it has been changed into “seeing language as part of ecosystems” under the guidance of new thought. Starting from Stibbe’s recent thought, this study reviews ecolinguistics studies and the general framework of discourse analysis, focusing on implications for ecological discourse analysis in China. The results show that our ecological discourse analysis should concentrate on three aspects: (1) exploring the ecological value of our traditional culture, (2) refining the types of ecological discourse, and (3) improving the level of ecological literacy. This is of great significance in terms of further developments of ecolinguistics studies in China.

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    Foreignization Strategy in the Chinese Translation of English Literary Neologisms: The Case of The Lord of the Rings
    WEN Yixin
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2021, 21 (6): 144-153.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2021.06.014
    Abstract684)   HTML16)    PDF(pc) (1370KB)(356)       Save
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    Developments of Language Transfer Studies during the Past 30 Years
    GAI Feihong
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (3): 113-121.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.03.013
    Abstract677)   HTML15)    PDF(pc) (1102KB)(377)       Save

    Undergoing briefly four phases, language transfer research (LTR) has experienced unprecedented development since 30 years ago. Many important empirical discoveries and theoretical advances have been springing up in recent years, which are aimed to reveal how languages interact with each other in the brain and to explore the factors that influence language transfer in the complex, dynamic and systematic way. Standing in the frontier of LTR, the generative approach focuses on L1 transfer in relation to syntax. Contrastively, conceptual transfer approach, closely connected with linguistic relativity and neo-Whorfianism, is mainly concerned with how L1 concepts are transferred to L2 discourse. Language transfer could be better explained with the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and the potentially concept-based multicompetence model. And relative studies should encompass linguistic and non-linguistic factors, compare languages horizontally and/or longitudinally, and describe and explicate transfer by interdisciplinary and multi-perspective ways.

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    Translation and Publication of Leo Tolstoy's Novels in China
    YANG Li, ZHANG Yue
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (2): 130-138.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.02.013
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    Leo Tolstoy's novels were translated into China first in the late Qing Dynasty, their translation and introduction reached two peaks after the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911 and the May Fourth Movement in 1919, and by the end of the 1940s his major novels had been fully translated. After 1949 when the People's Republic of China was founded, the Chinese academic community was committed to large-scale retranslating and reprinting the writer's three classic novels, namely War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Resurrection. In the one hundred-plus years' translation and introduction of these works, a number of excellent translators have emerged. Tolstoy's well-earned status as a classic writer in China has been jointly established by these translators and publishing organizations.

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    Neural Network Models in Natural Language Processing
    FENG Zhiwei, DING Xiaomei
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (4): 98-110.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.04.010
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    Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a new interdisciplinary subject to study and process the natural language by computer. In recent years, NLP has developed very rapidly and it attracted great attention from the linguistic community. This paper discusses four types of neural network model in natural language processing: Feed-forward Neural Network model (FNN), Convolutional Neural Network model (CNN), Recurrent Neural Network model (RNN), and Pre-Training model (PT), including the basic principle, structure, algorithm, and mechanism of the model, highlights their application in NLP. The paper points out that although the neural network models have become the mainstream of NLP, but these models still lack interpretability and need to be supported by rule-based language models and statistics-based language models in the futur.

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    A Critical Review of Foreign Language Textbooks Evaluation in China over the past three decades(1990-2020): Research Status and Future Directions
    JIA Fan
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (1): 83-92.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.01.006
    Abstract624)   HTML74)    PDF(pc) (1474KB)(480)       Save

    This paper aims to discuss the development trend and future directions on the evaluation of foreign language textbooks over the recent 30 years from 1990 to 2020. It examined the research from key journal papers, monographs and dissertations by bibliometric method and content analysis. It is found that the evaluation of domestic foreign language textbooks presents three stages: (1) the critical review of foreign textbook evaluation framework; (2) the evaluation of textbooks based on foreign framework; (3) the innovation of local teaching materials. The research trend goes from static evaluation to dynamic evaluation, from theory abroad to localized theory, from subjective review to objective research. This study also puts forward the focus of the evaluation of foreign language textbooks in the new era, including strengthening the ideological and political elements in textbooks evaluation, focusing on the evaluation of the foreign language textbooks in universities, middle schools and primary schools as an integrity, enhancing the evaluation of multilingual teaching materials. This paper has some enlightenment on the evaluation, compilation, use and adaptation of foreign language teaching materials.

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    On the Integration of Foreign Literature Studies and Country-and-area Studies in View of New Liberal Arts
    LV Hongling
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (1): 122-129.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.01.010
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    Since its incorporation into the discipline of foreign languages and literature, country-and-area studies has aroused more concerns in view of new liberal arts. It is worthwhile to consider such issues as how to adjust the relationship between foreign literature research and country-and-area studies, and what are the ways to promote the latter so as to further mutual development. Interdisciplinary research serves as the basis for their integration while each holds its respective research dimensions. As foreign literature research expands to international issues, it is necessary to maintain its original disciplinary principles. Through the relevant practice, it is argued that researchers, by a proper integration of foreign literature studies and country-and-area studies, can be better problem-oriented in their contribution to the development of new liberal arts.

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    A Review of 20-Year Corpus-based Research on Oral English Teaching in China from 2002 to 2021
    ZHOU Weijing, WANG Suwan
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (4): 123-132.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.04.012
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    The present study explored the progress and inadequacy of corpus-based research on oral English teaching in China based on all the relevant key journal papers issued on CNKI from 2002 to 2021. The results of data analysis are as follows: (1) In terms of the overall tendency, this type of research started in 2003, developed rapidly into its heyday from 2007 to 2011 before it declined gradually. (2) In terms of its subjects, college students were the overwhelming majority, while high school students were sporadically involved, and primary and vocational school students were largely missed out. (3) In terms of research methods, empirical quantitative research was dominant, lacking the introduction to English Lingua Franca Corpus and the integration of cognitive processing technology. (4) In terms of research content, the non-empirical studies focused on the introduction, construction, application, review, and reflections of the oral corpus home and abroad, while the empirical studies largely focused on the vocabulary, collocation, and grammar of the transcriptions of oral speech, but hugely neglected the essential features of spoken speech, such as pronunciation, intonation and continuous speech, as well as the processing mechanism of spoken English produced or perceived by Chinese EFL learners.

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    Transknowletology: A Declaration
    YANG Feng
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2021, 21 (5): 2-4.  
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    A Comparative Analysis of Empirical Studies on Foreign Language Education at Home and Abroad
    XU Jinfen, YANG Jiaqi
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2023, 23 (2): 113-123.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2023.02.011
    Abstract581)   HTML20)    PDF(pc) (1768KB)(334)       Save

    The present paper reviews the empirical studies on foreign language education published in SSCI and CSSCI journals from 2009 to 2022 using the bibliometric analysis tool CiteSpace. After giving an overview of this research area based on the annual publication status, the paper first examines the research subjects, contexts, topics, methods, and theoretical perspectives of the field in China and abroad, and then reveals the research hotspots and deduces the future trends for the field based on the data in the past five years. The findings are as follows: (1) Fruitful results have been achieved both at home and abroad in terms of the empirical investigations into foreign language education, but the research in China is currently lagging behind; (2) Insufficient attention has been paid to primary school students and foreign languages other than English (LOTEs) by both domestic and international researchers; (3) Empirical studies in SSCI and CSSCI journals have focused on various microscopical issues, their research methods and data collection tools are diversified, and they tend to employ similar theoretical frameworks; (4) With the continuous development of information technology, both domestic and foreign scholars are paying increasing attention to technology-empowered foreign language education. Based on the above findings, suggestions on future research are put forward.

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    Translation and Area Studies from a Transknowletological Perspective
    LI Ping
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2023, 23 (1): 16-23.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2023.01.002
    Abstract578)   HTML25)    PDF(pc) (1139KB)(282)       Save

    Area Studies is characterized by its cross-country, cross-linguistic, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary knowledge production. Translation has long been regarded only as a tool for language transformation in Area Studies. Transknowletology theory defines the essence of translation as an action of knowledge reprocessing and discourse reconstructing. With the framework of Transknowletology, this research has made an observation on the relationship between translation and Area Studies from the dimensions of knowledge production and knowledge dissemination. It is found that translation and Area Studies are linked by knowledge, and are mutually-constructed and co-developed. Translation in Areas Studies functions in making knowledge reconstruction and knowledge dissemination in new contexts, and Areas Studies translation stimulates new translation practice field, translation knowledge domain as well as translation talents cultivation. With the fast development of Area Studies, it is certain that translation will play an increasingly important role in its knowledge production, knowledge flow, knowledge transfer, knowledge dialogue and knowledge innovation.

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    Some Views on the Teaching Guide for Undergraduate Translation and Interpreting Programme
    ZHONG Weihe
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2021, 21 (5): 18-23.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2021.05.002
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    Transknowletology: the Translator’s Personal Knowledge and Knowing Modal
    PANG Xiucheng
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2022, 22 (1): 72-82.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2022.01.005
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    The cultural turn has strengthened the subjectivity of the translator so much as to randomly use it in research and practice. To direct the subjectivity into the scientific, objective and positive orbit, we need to create a new path, namely, transknowletology (or knowledge-oriented translation studies ), so that all basic issues are to be reconsidered, particularly with regard to the nature, target, text, criteria, process and subject-object relationship, etc. Thus, new domain of discussion will be opened. This approach resets its starting point and ushers the translator into a way of analyzing the text, with the attitude and spirit of seeking knowledge with the aim of obtaining the truth at three levels, namely, isness, possibleness and oughtness and taking the three as a progressive modal in translation.

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    National Consciousness and Its Cultivation from the Perspective of National Translation Practice
    PAN Yanyan
    Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies    2021, 21 (5): 67-72.   DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2021.05.007
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