Variation

This study investigates ‘repetition’ in the English translation of the Arabic Novel, Adrift on the Nile (1993). It aims to explore the communicative functions of ‘repetition’ and to see if these functions have been maintained or lost in the process of translating the Novel. In addition, it seeks to find the translation strategies used in rendering ‘repetition’. To achieve this aim, a deep analysis of the functions of lexical items, phrase and root ‘repetitions’ was carried on the basis of the typology of ‘repetition’ proposed by Dickins et al. (2002). The results of the study show that the ‘repetitions’ examined have been used rhetorically for confirmation, assurance, and warning in terms of function. They have also been used as text-building devices. Regarding the maintenance or loss of the functions, it was found that they were both lost and gained in the translation. The translation strategies applied in the process of translation were found to be synonym, near-synonym, deletion, pronominalisation, and paraphrase. An important point found is that the translator has preferred to use ‘variation’ in his translation rather than ‘repetition’.

Avec sa triple centaine de langues, le Cameroun apparaît comme étant un pays au contexte sociolinguistique hyper-complexe. Dans un tel contexte, les contacts entre les individus ne peuvent qu’engendrer l’appropriation des langues utilisées dans les interactions. Et dès lors, l’hétérogénéité s’installe, avec en prime les variétés de langues qui leur confèrent de nouvelles idiosyncrasies. Un recours à la sociolinguistique variationniste et celle développementale permet de comprendre que ces entreprises sont en général l’apanage des jeunes, qui de fait créent un écart avec les autres générations, entravant ainsi progressivement la communication qui assure pourtant le passage du témoin d’une génération à l’autre. Le but de la présente contribution est de tenter de cerner les caractéristiques définitoires de l’intercompréhension et de la variation intergénérationnelle, ainsi que leurs applications dans le contexte camerounais actuel. Il est en outre question d’analyser les paramètres qui impactent les variations qui naissent, ainsi que les façons dont elles sont accueillies et les opinions communes que les groupes cibles font d’elles et de leurs locuteurs respectifs. La fin du travail est consacrée aux préconisations qui pourraient dépolluer l’atmosphère et permettre un vécu ou une gestion plus réussie des variations en contexte Camerounais. 

This study investigatesvariability in English yes/no questions as well as the commonalities among yes/no question variants produced by members of two different varieties of English: Canadian English native speakers and Iranian EFL learners.Further, it probes the role of gender in theEnglish yes/no question variants produced by Canadian English native speakers and those produced by Iranian EFL learners. A modified version of the Edinburgh Map Task was used in data collection. 60 Canadians and Iranians performed the task and made English yes/no question variants considering the informal context. Based on the results, the same types of yes/no question variants were produced by both groups. However, with respect to quantity, Canadians made more variants while the context of use was similar. Another difference noticed was the most frequent variant: Iranians’ frequent variant coincided with the informal context, yet the Canadians’ frequent variant did not. Regarding gender, Iranians did not produce any gender-based variant; while Canadians showed that their production of yes/no question variants was gender-oriented. These findings revealed that both Canadians and Iranians from two different varieties of English syntactically behaved similarly, but their sociolinguistic behavior was not the same.

It was claimed by variationists that languages experience variation at all levels, which is supposed to be patterned. The present study aimed at exploring how variation occurred in English and Persian wh-questions. More specifically, it investigated whether such a variation was systematic and patterned. To this end, a modified version of the Edinburgh Map Task was used in data collection. The population of this study was 60 Canadian and Persian native speakers who performed the task through the construction of wh-question variants. The results indicated that both languages experienced variation in the construction of wh-questions. However, Persian proved to be more variable than English because it allowed more wh-question variants to be produced. Moreover, this variation was patterned in English and Persian individually, yet a systematic variation could not be observed between these two languages. It followed that the different mind-sets of the Canadian and Iranian participants which were affected by social and cultural factors might account for such a variation.