Data · dataset · 2026
Authority and interaction in academic discourse: a study of self-mentions and engagement markers in the translations produced by KSU Saudi Academics
Listed in ZivaHub and Deakin Research Online and DMU Figshare — shown once because both records carry DOI 10.17034/32641941.v1
An assessment of the literature related to metadiscourse reveals that the translation of metadiscourse in the context of English–Arabic translation has not received serious attention and emphasizes the need for more contributions in this research area.
Description
The aim of this study is to explore how Saudi academics translate self-mentions and engagement markers as two metadiscourse features in an attempt to uncover how the authority of academic discourse and interaction between the writer and the readers are realized in English and Arabic academic writing.
The data of the study consist of 19 academic books translated from English into Arabic by Saudi academic staff. Tang and John’s (1999) taxonomy is used to analyze the translations of self-mentions. The study demonstrates an accommodation in the translated books to the standards of Arabic academic writing, which generally discourage the use of first-person pronouns. <br><br>The analysis of engagement markers involves examining the translations of their five types which are proposed in Hyland’s (2005b) taxonomy.
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Analysis of these features shows that while personal asides, appeals to shared knowledge, and questions are translated almost literally, the study uncovers notable changes in the translations of reader pronouns and directives. For reader pronouns, three patterns are identified after analyzing their translations: omitted, pluralized, and emphasized reader pronouns. The analysis of directives reveals that their face-threatening nature likely motivates Saudi academic translators to use a number of strategies to alleviate their impositional force.
The study findings suggest that the differences in the use of directives between the source and target languages might be due to variations between the Arabic and the Anglophone cultures. Thus, the study highlights the importance of cultural and epistemological awareness in translating self-mentions and engagement markers from English into Arabic, as such differences can significantly affect how these features are rendered. <br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31 December 2030.</i><br>
Links
Where it is published
- DOI doi.org/10.17034/32641941.v1 ↗
DOI / persistent id · from zivahub uct ac za
Catalogue records · 1
- OAI-PMH record api.figshare.com/v2/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&identifier=oai%3Af… ↗
metadata API · from zivahub uct ac za
Topics
Provenance · 3 source records, 8 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZivaHub | oai:figshare.com:article/32641941 | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Deakin Research Online | oai:figshare.com:article/32641941 | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| DMU Figshare | oai:figshare.com:article/32641941 | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · figshare dmu ac uk | connector:figshare_dmu_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · dro deakin edu au | connector:dro_deakin_edu_au@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/description |
| license_text | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| publication_date | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/title |