Penguasaan sebutan kata adjektif bahasa Jepun dalam kalangan pelajar Cina di sebuah IPTA Malaysia

Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk meninjau penguasaan sebutan bahasa Jepun dalam kalangan pelajar Cina di sebuah institusi pengajian tinggi awam Malaysia. Seramai 40 orang pelajar Cina yang mengikuti Kursus Kemahiran Bahasa Jepun Tahap III telah dipilih sebagai responden kajian ini. Mereka merupakan pelajar Cina yang berlatar belakang bahasa Cina, iaitu berpendidikan di Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Cina ketika berada pada tahap sekolah rendah. Secara umumnya, pembelajaran bahasa Jepun dalam kalangan pelajar Cina dikatakan lebih mudah jika dibandingkan dengan pelajar bukan Cina. Ini kerana tulisan Kanji bahasa Jepun berasal dari tulisan aksara Cina, Hanzi (Wang, 1995). Malahan, sesetengah sebutan bahasa Jepun mirip dengan sebutan bahasa Cina sedangkan mereka berkongsi aksara Cina yang sama. Satu ujian menulis telah diberi kepada responden untuk menterjemahkan kata adjektif bahasa Inggeris kapada bahasa Cina dan bahasa Jepun. Untuk membanding sebutan kedua-dua bahasa Cina dan bahasa Jepun, responden dikehendaki menulis jawapan dalam sebutan 汉语拼音(Hànyǔ Pīnyīn) bagi bahasa Cina manakala sebutan ローマ字(Romaji) bagi bahasa Jepun. Dapatan kajian telah menunjukkan bahawa keputusan responden bagi menjawab dalam sebutan bahasa Jepun adalah lemah jika dibanding dengan menjawab dalam sebutan bahasa Cina. Untuk membuktikan sama ada terdapatnya perbezaan yang signifikan antara menjawab soalan dalam sebutan Cina dan sebutan Jepun, analisis Ujian T (Paired Sample T-Test) telah dijalankan. Setelah data kajian dianalisis dengan menggunakan Ujian T dalam program perisian SPSS, dapatan kajian telah menunjukkan bahawa terdapatnya perbezaan yang signifikan antara pengguasaan sebutan Cina dan sebutan Jepun. Dapatan kajian ini juga telah menunjukkkan bahawa pengetahuan bahasa Cina tidak membantu pelajar Cina dalam pembalajaran bahasa Jepun seperti yang dijangkakan. Malahan, perbezaan sebutan yang terdapat dalam kedua-dua bahasa tersebut telah menyumbang kepada permindahan negatif (negative transference) semasa mempelajari sebutan bahasa Jepun oleh pelajar Cina. Di sini terbuktilah teori Lado yang menegaskan bahawa “...unsur-unsur yang sama dengan bahasa natif akan menjadi mudah bagi pelajar, manakala unsur-unsur yang berbeza akan menyulitkan pelajar...” (1957: 2)

Exploring the Interplay of Soft Power, Culture, and Cinema on a Global Scale: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions

This paper examines the significance of soft power in academia, policy-making, and international relations. It reviews the current state of soft power research, identifies gaps in the literature, and explores the interplay of soft power, culture, and cinema. The paper analyses the research hotspots in Chinese soft power research and highlights the need for further research to enhance soft power strategies on a global scale

A Systematic Literature Review of Localization Strategies of the Global Format Reality TV in China in the Past Decade (2012-2022)

The past few decades have witnessed the popularity of global format reality TV programs in China, paralleled by a growing academic interest in comprehending the process of localizing these format programs. However, the existing literature on the subject comprises diverse and fragmented selected cases, revealing a research gap in terms of a systematic exploration and comprehensive review of the adaptation process of format television programs in China. This study employs a systematic literature review to examine the localization of format reality shows in China over the past decades. It aims to provide practical strategies for format programs to enter the Chinese media market and identify the gaps in this area. The general research question is what strategies have been used to adapt format reality shows in China. A total of 40 articles from CNKI, Google Scholar, and Scopus are selected for qualitative synthesis. The findings indicate that the localization of format reality TV need to incorporate more local elements to enter the Chinese media market due to the cultural differences and the strict regulation from the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SARFT). Further research should investigate the impact of SARFT’s regulations on format programs and the subsequent shift towards local production in China

A systematic review of Chinese Language learning strategies in the past decade (2011-2020)

Empirical studies and literature on Chinese language learning strategies (CLLS) in China and abroad have outlined theoretical introductions and case descriptions for nearly a decade. Reportedly, studies on CLLS indicated the following characteristics: The study respondents were primarily international students in China gearing towards regionalisation, nationalisation, or localisation. Furthermore, the qualitative study method followed an empirical, comprehensive, and descriptive learning strategy, such as observations and interviews. However, although the factors influencing learning strategies were gradually becoming diversified, several study limitations were identified (uneven regional studies, insufficient research samples, single research methods, and lack of theoretical paradigms in training learning strategies). Hence, researchers needed to conduct in-depth studies and deeply perceive CLLS to promote Chinese learning and teaching

Howard Goldblattâs translation practice and translation thoughts

With the cultural turn of translation studies, the subject status of translators has gradually been highlighted, and translator studies have become increasingly important. However, the current research on translators is mostly confined to certain aspects such as the translator’s translation thoughts, translation strategies or translation styles, which lacks comprehensive and detailed research. This article aims to study the translator Howard Goldblatt from the four aspects of his life experience, namely translation practice, translation motivation, translation thoughts and translation strategies, in an attempt to present a detailed and comprehensive translator. The results demonstrate that Howard Goldblatt’s translation is based on cross-cultural communication as the ultimate goal, comprehensively using translation strategies that combine domestication and foreignization to spread the Chinese culture. This study contributes to the diversification of research methods and the dissemination of Chinese culture

Penguasaan makna, pembentukan dan penggunaan kata adjektif bahasa Jepun dalam kalangan pelajar Cina di sebuah IPTA Malaysia

Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk meninjau penguasaan makna, pembentukan dan penggunaan kata adjektif bahasa Jepun dalam kalangan pelajar Cina di sebuah IPTA di Malaysia. Seramai 40 orang pelajar Cina yang mengikuti kursus kemahiran bahasa Jepun Tahap III dipilih sebagai responden kajian ini. Mereka merupakan pelajar Cina yang berlatar belakang bahasa Cina, iaitu berpendidikan di Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Cina apabila berada pada tahap sekolah rendah. Satu ujian yang terdiri daripada 30 soalan berbentuk objektif telah diberi kepada responden. Dalam ujian itu, terdapat 15 soalan yang pertama ditanya dalam tulisan gabungan Kanji (漢字) dengan Hiragana (ひらがな) manakala 15 soalan yang seterusnya ditanya dalam tulisan Hiragana (ひらがな) bahasa Jepun. Ini bertujuan untuk menguji penguasaan responden terhadap makna, pembentukan dan penggunaan kata adjektif bahasa Jepun dalam kedua-dua bentuk tulisan tersebut. Untuk tujuan tersebut, analisis Ujian T (Paired Sample T-Test) telah dijalankan. Setelah data kajian dianalisis dengan menggunakan Ujian T dalam program perisian SPSS, dapatan kajian telah menunjukkan tidak terdapatnya perbezaan yang signifikan antara menjawab soalan yang ditanya dalam kedua-dua bentuk tulisan tersebut dan responden adalah lemah dalam menjawab soalan-soalan ujian tersebut. Walau bagaimanapun, kelemahan responden dalam menjawab soalan dengan memilih makna, pembentukan dan penggunaan kata adjektif bahasa Jepun yang sesuai adalah berpunca daripada banyak faktor. Antara faktornya ialah responden keliru terhadap tulisan, sebutan dan makna kata adjektif kedua-dua bahasa. Responden juga kurang mahir dan keliru tentang peraturanperaturan pola pembentukan dan cara penggunaan kata adjektif bahasa Jepun. Di samping itu, responden juga dipengaruhi oleh pemindahan negatif (negative transference) semasa mempelajari leksis kata adjektif bahasa Jepun. Ini berlaku kerana terdapatnya sesetengah kata adjektif bahasa Jepun memiliki tulisan bahasa Cina yang sama tetapi berbeza dari segi sebutan, makna, dan juga pembentukan dan penggunaannya

Malay narratives in Nanyang travel

“Nanyang” 南洋was a general term used by the Chinese for Southeast Asia before World War II. After the 19th century, the Chinese moved to Nanyang in succession. Located at the centre of “Nanyang”, the Malay Peninsula and Singapore became the gathering place of the Chinese at that time and they unexpectedly encountered the indigenous Malay civilisation, thus arousing cultural interaction and immersion. In the 1920s and 1930s, a large number of Chinese literati came to the south for various purposes such as seeking relatives and friends, travelling, investigating, or settling down for a long time, and they recorded the experiences of what they saw and heard in Nanyang in travel records or books. The “Nanyang Youji” 南洋游记 (Nanyang Travels) mainly recorded the customs and anecdotes of the Nanyang society. It is rich in content, diverse in subject matter, and large in volume. It also has a unique writing style, with great literary, historical, and even cultural anthropology value. Although the content of “Nanyang Youji” is mainly based on Chinese society and culture, many of them also contain records of the Malay customs and culture that the author personally witnessed which are thus, very precious. This article reviews several “Nanyang Youji” travel records to gain an insight into the Malay society and the Chinese-Malay cultural interaction from the perspective of the early Nanyang travellers

Translating political terms in China's political discourse: a critical review

There is a persistent tendency of using political terms to explain the political system and ideas in China’s political discourse. In this study, political terms refer to the professional words with specific meanings and in specific forms developed by the Communist Party of China (henceforth, CPC) and the government in a series of activities for dealing with domestic and foreign affairs. Focusing on the translation of political terms in China context, this study aims at: 1) introducing political terms in China’s political discourse, particularly the proper nouns and abbreviations, 2) critically reviewing the major studies on translating these political terms and 3) identifying some existing gaps in the current literature which need to be filled by future research. The significance of this study lies in that it contributes to a better understanding of such political terms and the status quo of their translation. Specifically, the study identifies three gaps in the current literature: a knowledge gap, or insufficiency of research on the existing defects in translating these political terms, a methodological gap, or the lack of explorations from a macroscopic translational perspective, and a theoretical gap, the scarcity of rhetorical persuasion theories as theoretical frameworks for researching the translation of such political terms. These research findings are meaningful to future scholars that would focus on the better convey of political intention expressed through political terms and the enhanced translation of China’s political discourse in international communication

A DICTIONARY-BASED COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CHINESE “个 (GÈ)” AND THE MALAY “BUAH” NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS

Classifiers are used for categorising nouns according to animacy, form, shape, and size. As one of the Austronesian languages, Malay is said to have an extensive numeral classifier system. Past studies have classified these two classifiers as general classifiers; however, an extensive study comparing the use of these two classifiers have not been attempted. This study aims to highlight the similarities and differences by comparing the Chinese classifier “个 (gè)” and the Malay “buah” using evidence from reference classifier dictionaries of the two languages. The findings show that while some similarities exist and both classifiers can be used interchangeably with some nouns, these classifiers are unique and have distinctive semantic usage. Both个 (gè) and buah are used for organisation, products of nature, buildings and places, and artifacts (things created by humans). However, only个 (gè) can be used for organs or body parts, humans, fruits and food, time, directions, and thought and intellectual products. In contrast, only buah is used for transportation, accessories, home furniture and appliances, publications, musical instruments, and performances