4 4 PB

Linguistic Treatises
Series-1
A Project of
Linguistic Forum-A Journal of Linguistics
ISSN 2707-5273
2020
Edited
By
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Asim Mahmood

Dean, faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
________________________________________
Muhammad Ahmad
_________________________________________
Ali Raza Siddique

_________________________________________
Publisher:
Linguistic Forum
P-29, Rachna Town 2,
Faisalabad, Pakistan (38000)
Contact:
+92300-9656025
+92300-8135645
Email Address:
editor@linguisticforum.com
info@linguisticforum.com
editor.linfo@gmail.com
Website Address:
www.linguisticforum.com
https://linguisticforum.blogspot.com
ii
Dedication
This book is dedicated to
The faculty and scholars at
The Department of Applied Linguistics, Government College University,

Faisalabad, Pakistan.
iii
Table of Contents
Sr. Topic Page No.
Cognitive Linguistics and Prepositional Meaning
1 Javier A. Morras Cortés 1-5
University of Córdoba, Spain
Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition
2 Abdelmalek El Morabit 6-10
Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
Transforming Learning Environment through Flexible Learning:
A Glimpse of Instructional Approaches in English Language
3 Teaching 11-15
Luisito Nanquil
Bulacan State University, Philippines
Some Common Linguistic Adaptation of English Words done by
the Bengali Native Speaker
4 16-19
Mohana Mir
University of Dhaka
Looking through Forensic Linguistics Studies in the Philippines
5 Darryl Imperial 20-22
University of Southeastern Philippines
The idea of Meaning: Linguistic Changes and Structures in
Turkish Culture
6 Karoly Nagy 23-28
Department of English Studies, Applied Linguistics
University of Pecs, Hungary
Similarities between Russian and Belarusian and Russian
Influence on Belarusian
Dina Stanković
7 Дина Станковић 29-33
Institute for Slavic Languages, Department of Foreign Language Business
Communication, WU - Vienna University of Economics and Business,
Austria
Pidgin, “the Newly Born Dialect to Communicate”
Ali Siddiqui
8 34-37
Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Jamshoro,
Pakistan
Testing Reading Comprehension: A Review Study
Ayesha Sikandar
9 Department of Applied Linguistics, 38-41
Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Listening Comprehension Tests: A Review Study
10 42-45
Adeeba Kousar
iv
Department of Applied Linguistics,
A Much Needed Paradigm Shift: Discussing the Possibility of
Utilizing Alternative Assessments in the ESL Classroom in Sri
Lanka
Sachin Wanniarachchi
English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Languages and Cultural
11 46-49
Studies, Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka
Wayanthi Egodage
Department of English Language Teaching,
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka
A Review Study on Principles of Reading Comprehension Tests
Uswa Sarwar
12 50-53
Oral Production Tests: A Review Study
Muhammad Rizwan Amanat
13 Department of Applied Linguistics, 54-57
Translating Cultural Term in Novel A Student Named Hidjo by
Marco from Indonesia into English Version: Category Material
14 Culture 58-65
Lely Rahmawati
State University of Jakarta, Indonesia
v
Cognitive Linguistics and Prepositional Meaning
Javier A. Morras Cortés
University of Córdoba, Spain
The present essay intends to briefly outline and provide examples of the possible
applications that Cognitive Linguistics (CL) may offer to areas such as Second
Language Teaching and Lexicology. Of special interest, is the notion of prepositional
meaning – that is, how prepositions mean. Traditionally, prepositions have been
treated as grammatical elements that encode purely spatio-geometric information with
little or no “lexical” meaning. They are thought of as grammatical items or functional
words. However, it turns out that functional elements and/or consequences
(Herskovits, 1985, 1986, 1988; Vandeloise, 1991, 1994, 2003) are as important as spatio-
geometric information to properly understand the semantics of prepositions. This
fuller perspective in spatial semantics allows us to achieve a clearer account of the
conceptual structuring of prepositions.
Prepositional meaning might be better apprehended if we apply linguistic theories that

are focused on conceptualization and cognitive processes, rather than on algorithms
and formal logic that have no psychological basis. The theory that is briefly applied and
exposed in this essay is Cognitive Grammar (CG), developed by American linguist
Ronald Langacker (1987, 1991, 2008). CG is characterized for providing rigorous and
satisfying explanations about linguistic organization that are based on symbolic and
categorizing relationships. Words in CG are understood as symbolic units that consist
of a phonological pole, a semantic pole, and the relationship established between them.
This view implies drastic but necessary changes in how we conceive things such as
lexicon and grammar. In CG there is no distinction between them, nor there is between
semantics and syntax. Contrary to the strict dichotomy between these linguistic areas,
CG claims that there must be a continuum between them. Hence, we refer to the whole
linguistic system as being lexico-grammatical: It comprises a set of finite
conventionalized symbolic units.
Prepositions in CG are conceived as atemporal relations. They profile (i.e. designate) a

relation between a trajector (the primary attentional figure in a given utterance) and a
landmark (the secondary attentional figure). They are atemporal because they profile a
stative relation – so to speak – that is based on summary scanning (as opposed to
sequential scanning [Langacker 1987, p. 144-46]). The notions of trajector (TR) and
landmark (LM) are pivotal for an adequate description of the semantic function of
prepositional meaning.
1
Consider the sentence below:
(1) The vase is on the table
The two main participants in (1) are the nominals the vase and the table. These nominals
elaborate the TR and LM of the preposition on, respectively. The preposition on, on the
other hand, functions as relational participant in the clause, linking the main
participants by virtue of a spatial relation.
The notion of elaboration has to do with the semantic specificity that a conceptually
autonomous structure (like simple nouns and nominals) provides to a conceptually
dependent structure, such as verbs, adjectives, and prepositions.
According to CG, symbolic units profile either a thing or a relation; the interface
between these two structures is known as Autonomous/Dependent alignment, or A/D
alignment for short. In (1) we can observe that the preposition on – a dependent
relational structure – functions as elaboration site (or e-site) for the more autonomous
nominal structures; hence, it profiles a stative (atemporal) relation between the vase and
the table by virtue of correspondence links between the TR of on and the nominal profile of
the vase, and between the LM of on and the nominal profile of the table.
Another important aspect that should be highlighted when it comes to prepositional

meaning are the conceptual parameters (Morras, 2018, 2020; Morras and Barcelona, 2019)
that are most directly involved in a given construction. Conceptual parameters must
be understood as the semantic features or attributes that characterize the conceptual
basis of closed-class items such as preposition. In (1), for example, two parameters that
are apparently activated are [SUPPORT] and [CONTACT]. They are necessary for (1)
to be semantically adequate. There is contact between the vase and the table, and there
is also support that is provided by the table to put the vase on top. These two
conceptual parameters, at the very least, should structure the conceptual basis – or
meaning potential (in Allwood’s 2003 parlance) – of the preposition on. Importantly,
however, is that conceptual activation varies depending on the linguistic context. To
illustrate, consider the following example:
(2) The fly on the ceiling
In (2) we can appreciate the presence of the parameter [CONTACT] since the fly (TR)
is in direct contact with the ceiling (LM). However, the parameter of [SUPPORT] is
not activated this time because the ceiling does not offer support to the fly in the sense
that it does not impede the fly to fall due to gravity as in (1).
2
The analytical tools presented thus far seem fruitful to account for non-spatial and
temporal prepositional meanings as well. Cognitive linguist Vyvyan Evans (2009: 169)
has suggested that the parameter of [CONTACT] may constitute the core semantic
value of the English preposition on. Things that are close and in contact to each other,
like a computer on a desk, tend to be available for interaction with them, and they also
become functional when a given TR comes into contact with a particular surface. There
seems to be a [FUNCTIONAL ACTIONING] component (Evans 2009: 170-71) in the
semantics of on that is manifested in expressions such as The television is on (i.e. it is
functioning), The party was on fire, and We are on the bus.
Temporal scenes might also be motivated by core semantic values of the meaning
potentials of preposition that allow metaphorical extension in the first place. An
example might be a sentence like The meeting is on Wednesday, where on establishes a
relation, activating the [FUNCTIONAL ACTIONING] parameter, between the meeting,
here the target event, and the temporal landmark, here Wednesday (for details on the
structural motivations underlying non-spatial and temporal prepositional usages see
Morras, 2018; Morras & Barcelona, 2019).
To summarize, the approach to language, meaning, and cognition that is fostered in the
CG framework seems to offer elegant explanations on diverse topics of linguistic
organization. This provides language and linguistics instructors, teachers, researchers,
and learners, with a psychologically plausible theory of language that is based on
cognitive processes and conceptualization. Indeed, such cognitive approach has proven
itself useful (e.g., Boers & Demecheleer, 1998; see also Pütz, 2007; Holme, 2009) since
it offers a “cognition-friendly” perspective that allows students to internalize linguistic
knowledge in a much more comprehensible way.
References
Allwood, J. (2003). Meaning potentials and context: Some consequences for the
analysis of variation in meaning. In H. Cuyckens, R. Dirven, & J. Taylor (Eds.),
Cognitive approaches to lexical semantics (pp. 29-66). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Boers, F., & Demecheleer, M. (1998). A cognitive semantics approach to teaching

prepositions. ELT Journal, 52, 197–203.
Evans, V. (2009). How words mean: Lexical concepts, cognitive models, and meaning construction.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Herskovits, A. (1985). Semantics and pragmatics of locative expressions. Cognitive

Science, 9, 341–378.
3
Herskovits, A. (1986). Language and spatial cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Herskovits, A. (1988). Spatial expressions and the plasticity of meaning. In B.

RudzkaOstyn (Ed.), Topics in Cognitive Linguistics (pp. 271–98). Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.
Holme, R. (2009). Cognitive linguistics and language teaching. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Langacker, R. W. (1987). Foundations of cognitive grammar (Vol I): Theoretical prerequisites.

Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Langacker, R.W. (1991). Foundations of cognitive grammar. Vol. II: Descriptive applications.
Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Langacker, R.W. (2008). Cognitive grammar: A basic introduction. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.
Morras, J. (2018). Base conceptual de la preposición entre y sus equivalentes de la

lengua inglesa between, among, y amid: una perspectiva en lingüística cognitiva
[Conceptual basis of entre and its English equivalents between, among and
amid: A cognitive linguistics perspective]. RILEX. Revista sobre Investigaciones
Léxicas, 1(2), 52–84.
Morras, J. (2020). Parametric knowledge in linguistic structure. International Journal of

Business, Human and Social Sciences, 14(4), 250–253.
Morras, J., & Barcelona, A. (2019). Conceptual structuring of the English prepositions
between, among, and amid, and their Spanish equivalent entre: A cognitive
linguistic approach to spatial, non-spatial and temporal prepositions. Cognitive
Linguistic Studies, 6(1), 103–129.
Pütz, M. (2007). Cognitive linguistics and applied linguistics. In D. Geeraerts, & C.

Cuyckens (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of Cognitive Linguistics (pp. 1139-1159) New
York/ Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vandeloise, C. (1991). Spatial prepositions: A case study from French (trans. Anna R.K. Bosch).
Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Vandeloise, C. (1994). Methodology and analysis of the preposition in. Cognitive

Linguistics, 5(2), 157–184.
4
Vandeloise, C. (2003). Containment, support, and linguistic relativity. In H. Cuyckens,
R. Dirven, & J.R Taylor (Eds.), Cognitive approaches to lexical semantics (pp. 393-
426). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
5
Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition
Abdelmalek El Morabit
Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
Introduction
He who reviews recent vocabulary research finds out that the field is still half-grown.
Despite the fact that a bundle of questions has been raised very earlier on, the field has
witnessed groundless neglect for quite a long time. Presumably, Chomsky’s revolution
in linguistics has shifted attention away from lexis to an introspective examination of
syntactic structures. Also, with the advent of the communicative paradigm, little
attention was given to lexis inasmuch as lexical competence was injudiciously viewed
as part of the grammatical competence alongside other linguistic forms (phonological
forms, morphological forms, syntactic patterns, etc.) (Canale & Swain, 1980). Interest
in vocabulary only increased again around the eighteens when a few foundational
articles by pioneers in the fields including Paul Meara and Paul Nation emerged.
Regardless of the relative recency of vocabulary research, it has gone a good way linking
research from a variety of areas to produce very interesting insights into how
vocabulary is acquired, processed, attrited, and how it should be handled by language
teachers in formal contexts.
Vocabulary knowledge
The question of vocabulary knowledge, or what it is that one knows when they know
a word, seem and actually is essential to SLVA. Quite a few proposals have been
outlined in answer to this question which can be classified into two major categories.
First, a few authors suggest some descriptive models that attempt to describe what is
meant by knowing a word through an exposition of manifold aspects of word
knowledge. The first attempt known in this line is made by Richards in as early as 1976
and has been elaborated in many subsequent works (e.g. Gairns, & Redman, 1986;
Nation, 2001; Robinson, 1989; Richards, 2015). Richards (1976) for instance sketches
out seven assumptions that describe what he believes to be involved in the word-
knowledge. These assumptions can be summarized in the knowledge of the word
frequency, collocational knowledge, register, the syntactic behavior of a word,
morphology, associational links, semantic values, and polysemy.
Other proposals suggest more global approaches to word knowledge as they try to
summarize word knowledge is a small number of dimensions. Meara (1996) for
example argues that “despite the manifest complexities of the lexicon, lexical
6
competence might be described in terms of a very small number of easily measurable
dimensions” (p. 37). The dimensions he proposes are a) vocabulary size and
b) organization. The former dimension refers to how many words a person knows, and
it is argued that a bigger vocabulary size entails higher L2 proficiency (ibid, p. 3). The
latter, on the other hand, designates how the words known relate to each other forming
thus complex networks. In 2005, Meara added a third dimension to his definition of
vocabulary knowledge, which is c) vocabulary accessibility. This last dimension is
“concerned with how easily you can manipulate the words you know” (Meara, 2005, p.
271). That said, word knowledge has been described in two different ways, both of
which seem to incorporate a minimal degree of knowledge but with a more broad
perspective as well as a more detailed knowledge.
Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge
From the last remark above stems an oft-made distinction in vocabulary research,
namely that between vocabulary breadth (aka size) and depth. The former, according
to Anderson and Freebody (1981), refers to the sum of words for which a person has a
knowledge of at least some aspects (usually form-meaning link). According to Read,
“Although the need to know learners’ vocabulary size might seem superficial, it can give
a delineation of learners’ total vocabulary size than an in-depth probe of a limited
number of words” (2000, p. 18). The dimension of depth refers to the quality of
vocabulary knowledge. That is, it refers to the degree to which one knows a word. It is
said to involve such elements as pronunciation, spelling, meaning, register, frequency,
and morphological, syntactic, and collocational properties (Qian, 1999). These two
dimensions are by no means in polar opposites, but they are rather two perspectives
from which one can approach word knowledge.
Receptive and productive vocabulary
A similar distinction is drawn between receptive and productive vocabulary

knowledge. According to Nation (2001), “receptive carries the idea that we receive
language input from others through listening or reading and try to comprehend it.
Productive carries the idea that we produce language forms by speaking and writing to
convey messages to others” (p. 37). This receptive-productive distinction is by no
means a dichotomy of clear-cut nature, however. Many view it as a continuum with
receptive and productive knowledge on either side and with varying degrees of
familiarity throughout the continuum (Melka, 1997; Meara, 1990).
7
Word lists and vocabulary assessment
Word lists derived from large language corpora allow us to be aware of word frequency.
The latter refers to how often words occur in a language. These developments have
allowed us to distinguish between high and low-frequency words, that is which words
occur more frequently than others, and have thus had a plethora of implications for
vocabulary in language teaching and learning. Also, most—if not all—recent
vocabulary measurement research draws samples of test items from these word lists
and based on that generalize to the larger population to make assumptions about the
total vocabulary size. One most acknowledged test to measure the size of vocabulary
in this way is the vocabulary levels test (VLT) (Nation, 1983; Schmitt, Schmitt, &
Clapham, 2001). In general, very interesting findings have come out of this research. It
has been found out, for instance that a five-year-old child in a native speaking context
is believed to have a vocabulary size of about 4,000 to 5,000 words (Nation & Waring,
2002). A well-educated English native speaker, on the other hand, develops a
vocabulary size which ranges from 17,000 to 20,000-word families, with an average
acquisition rate of around two to three words per day (Goulden, Nation, & Read, 1990).
These findings have had numerous implications for language teaching.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SLVA is a recent area of research with very promising potential. It has
offered and is still offering very useful implications for language teaching and learning.
This paper aimed to offer a rather shallow description of the development of the field
and the nature of research done in it. Many areas of research in the field such as
vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge and other language skills
remained undiscussed in this short essay, yet a more extensive discussion of these,
among others, can be found elsewhere.
References
Anderson, R. C., & Freebody, P. (1981). Vocabulary knowledge. In J. T. Guthrie (Ed.),

Comprehension and teaching: Research reviews (pp. 77-117). Newark, DE: International
Reading Association.
Canale, m., & Swain, m. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to

second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1–
47. doi:10.1093/applin/i.1.1
Gairns, R., & Redman, S. (1986). Working with words: A guide to teaching and learning
vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
8
Goulden, R., Nation, I. S. P., & Read, J. (1990). How large can a receptive vocabulary
be? Applied Linguistics, 11(4), 341-363. doi:10.1093/applin/11.4.341
Meara, P. (1990). A note on passive vocabulary. Second Language Research, 6, 150-154.

doi:10.1017/s0261444800008879
Meara, P. (1996). The dimensions of lexical competence. In Brown, G., Malmkjaer, K.,
and Williams, J. (eds.), Performance and Competence in Second Language Acquisition.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 35–53.
Meara, P. (2005). Designing vocabulary tests for English, Spanish and other languages.
In C. Butler, M. Gómez-González, & S. Doval Suárez (Eds.), The dynamics of
language use (pp. 271-286). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Melka, F. (1997). Receptive vs. productive aspects of vocabulary. In N. Schmitt, & M.

McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 84-102).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P. (1983). Testing and teaching vocabulary. Guidelines, 5, 12-25.
Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.
Nation, I. S. P., & Waring, R. (2002). Vocabulary size, text coverage and word lists. In
N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy
(pp. 6-19). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Qian, D. D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge
in reading comprehension. Canadian Modern Language Review, 56, 282-307.
doi:10.3138/cmlr.56.2.282
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C. (1976). The role of vocabulary teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 10, 77-89
Richards, J. C. (2015). Key issues in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.
Robinson, P. J. (1989). A rich view of lexical competence. ELT Journal, 43, 274-282.
9
Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the
behaviour of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18,
55–89. doi:10.1177/026553220101800103
10
Transforming Learning Environment through Flexible
Learning: A Glimpse of Instructional Approaches in
English Language Teaching
Luisito Nanquil
Bulacan State University, Philippines
Abstract
In the current learning atmosphere, language teachers are facing different forms of
academic constraints and challenges due to the spread of health crisis where humans
are at risk. Learning does not stop despite barriers in the classroom sessions. This
reflective essay has illustrated and narrated the various ways and techniques on how
the language teacher can facilitate effectively the lessons and topics in English in the
flexible mode of teaching/instruction especially with distance education/learning as an
alternative mode of instruction. The wide-range of activities and approaches detailed
in the essay were based on the extensive experiences of the author supported by
findings and perspectives by language specialists, curriculum designers, and linguists
around the world. On the last part, the author advises the readers and language
teaching practitioners to be flexible and reflective in the choice of materials, lessons,
and strategies on how they will handle online teaching as a part of their professional
responsibilities.
Keywords: flexible learning, distance education, approaches, reflection, assessment
Introduction
In the present situation of the world, a large number of learners are struggling on how
they could study at home and get ideas from school. From the scenarios we see both
on social media and personal or actual observations, life is entirely different now. It is
in another side of the fence, or others call it new normal. Language teachers have tried
reaching out to their students by using flexible learning with various modes of delivery.
But the efforts are not enough. There seems to be predicaments to both learners and
the teachers. For affluent countries, online mode or distance learning may be
comfortable and affordable but for those who belong to developing nations, it may be
difficult for stakeholders to maintain and sustain such mode of delivery. The biggest
question from the thoughts of the author is, how could language teacher effectively
transfer ideas and facilitate learning using distance learning now-a-days? What are the
options available that could be employed by teacher himself so that no children, no
11
learners would be left behind? In the next months, we shall call the scenario “new
normal” a shade of the past remains the same but in a different context. People want to
be secure and safe, so in varied ways, they will stay to a place where they know
protection and security are ensured. On the other hand, students are compelled to
choose between health and education. Many would cry out a resounding “health”. Of
course we cannot blame them, after all, on top of everything is health.
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) defined social media as a group of Internet-based

applications that were formed on the foundations of web 2.0. Social media include
online technological tools that allow people to communicate with one another. Bradley
(2010) blogged that social media is a set of channels and technologies aiming to
establish a community of participants for productive collaboration.
Constructivism
Constructivism is based on the principle that individuals cannot simply be given

knowledge. Rather, individuals must create knowledge as they interact with the world
around them. Their constructions of knowledge are rooted in their prior knowledge.
The theory holds that the mind is constantly searching with what they already know.
Constructivism has several important implications. One is that the conditions that best
facilitate learning are what might be described as learner-centered and problem-
centered. This means that a teacher needs to provide learners with complex, complete,
and authentic problems. Once this is done, guidance is provided to class members to
help them gain the knowledge needed to solve problems.
Another assumption of constructivism is that members of the class need to be actively

engaged in the learning process. They must actively seek solutions to problems and
share ideas because the social and cultural context is important, and because it is not
likely that any one individual can find the solution working alone, often learners will
work in pairs or in teams (Armtrong, Henson, & Savage, 2009).
Perennialism
The term perennial refers to something that is recurring or everlasting. The educational
perspective of perennialism views truth and human nature as unchanging or constant.
So it is that perennialists view education as the discovery and teaching of those
underlying and unchanging truths. Perennialists also emphasize cultivating reason and
the intellect. Although perennialists grant that changing times bring surface-level
alterations to the problems people face, they believe that human nature and the
underlying principles of truth remain unaltered over time. Furthermore, they contend
that the experiences of human beings through centuries have established those truths
worth knowing.
12
The primary goal of education as viewed by the perennialists is that of developing the
intellect and the learning of enduring truths or principles that have passed the test of
time. They believe that such wisdom is important regardless of the career or vocation a
person ultimately chooses to follow. Preparing individuals to be participating members
of society who can cope with change is viewed as best accomplished by developing the
intellect and learning enduring truths that can be applied to any problem (Armtrong,
Henson, & Savage, 2009).
Progressivism
Progressivism has been an important educational philosophy for a considerable part of

the 20th century. One of the main figures identified with progressivism is John Dewey,
in (Armtrong, Henson, & Savage, 2009). Until the beginning of 20th century, education
was designed primarily for those few who were going on to higher education. The
general practice of education was that of extensive routine, authoritarian teachers
whose word was law, memorization of facts, and no student rights. Progressivism
identifies change as constant in the world. Rather than opposing change, progressive
educators believe that individuals need to embrace the change and learn how to direct
it for the betterment of society. Thus, progressives see a major purpose of education as
that of helping individuals learn to solve problems. In this context, students need to
learn the scientific method for defining and solving problems. This means that the
active involvement of students is critical (Armtrong, Henson, & Savage, 2009).
Now, how could language teachers make “work from home” inclusive and accessible?
There are many ways, they could do. First, if they have gadgets such as computer or
laptop they could use Google classroom to communicate with their students. From
here, they could upload lessons, modules, which could be studied by their students.
Assessment could also be performed by the teacher using varied types of test such as
multiple choice, true or false, fill in the blanks and so on. Another method is by giving
meaningful tasks and activities they can accomplish while they are at home. Before
giving the assignments and the like, the teacher has to post the scoring rubrics where
students could base their actions and steps. The directions matter too. Clear directions
lead to clear thinking.
Another option is the use of mobile phone, messenger, and phone calls. As we all know,
communication take place in many forms. Video conference in messenger is fruitful as
long as the signal is stable and reliable. If not all students have messenger the other
option is to call them and start interview or questioning method. If there is a chance of
meeting the students in the safest way, the language teacher can bring a well-prepared
module (self-paced) in which directions, lessons, rubrics, assignments, and tasks are
already included. On the first week of the class or say first meeting, the teacher can
13
explain at great length the course outline, guidelines, and expectations for the subject.
The rules for the submissions would also be explained clearly. As soon as students
come home, they could start reading, reviewing, and reflecting on the topics and lessons
covered by the course modules.
The author so far has mentioned a lot of options or ways on how language teachers
could facilitate lessons in the present situation worldwide. Would it be possible that
classroom strategies and approaches be used in distance learning? The answer is a loud
Yes!
For differentiated instruction, the teacher could divide the class into groups then assign
varied activities such as video making, poster-slogan making, one-minute teaser/movie
trailer, a minute advertisement, poetry making, dialogue construction, video resume
and so forth. In the production of these tasks, stick to the learning objectives and make
sure all activities are related to the lessons.
Communicative language teaching or CLT could also effective. This is closely

associated to task-based language teaching. The target language and form are
emphasized in the activities. It is essential for the language teacher to allow the learners
communicate regardless of going beyond the rules of traditional grammar because the
more important aspect is they are (the learners) developing language skills. For the
skills, we include reading, reading, listening, and speaking. Cooperative learning is also
advisable in this aspect because when students know how to cooperate and socialize
with their classmates, it is pleasant to discover their potentials through meaningful and
collective activities.
Our next approach is contextualized language teaching where the teacher uses the
specific context and situation of students for online instruction. In this approach,
authentic materials are very helpful for the teacher. Everything in the classroom which
can be used as example for reflection and discovery could be utilized by the teacher.
In this narration of thoughts, it is wise and imperative that there is no one method or
approach that is most effective in the actual scenario. If the point we are raising here is
flexible learning then the teacher himself has to be flexible, reflective, and resourceful.
Further, the actual needs of the learners matter so much in the success of the online
lessons and activities. The language teacher has to identify and determine the needs
and diversities of the learners and use these as instrument to design course objectives
and assessments. The learning outcomes must be evidenced in the flexible instruction.
As earlier said, the different techniques employed by the teacher can save him from any
forms of risk as long as there are clear and feasible objectives designed by the teacher
as the facilitator of instruction. In justifying the reflections and thoughts of the author,
14
some materials are briefly discussed in this article. The purpose of citing such
information and literature is to navigate and explore possible links and connections of
existing ideas that may influence and impact the current tasks and pedagogies
administered by the language teacher.
The kind of instruction we are witnessing now is a bit different from what we have
been practicing for a number of years. As such, it is advisable that language teachers
must be more considerate and friendly to their students because not all could afford to
connect using technology. There are plenty of methods, practices, and models that
could be tested by the teacher in the virtual classroom, however, in all endeavors and
plans, the needs and differences of the learners should be looked into for preparation
and construction of learning objectives.
Conclusion
The freedom to develop and create instructional materials online gives the opportunity
to better shape the learning online environment for target EFL and ESL learners.
Taking a picture of the rapid rise of technology where Internet plays significant role,
the language teachers have to adjust and conform to all the transitions and tensions
that are happening. Training on how to plan and use online platforms should be key
concerns of schools, college, and universities who intend to engage in the emerging
style of education which is both accessible and inclusive. As shown by different studies,
there are numerous resources around the community and classroom that could be used
by the language teacher to maximize classroom interactions. On the other hand, the
teacher should only use materials that are relevant and suitable to the needs of the
learners.
References
Armstrong, D.G., Henson, K. T., and Savage, T. V., (2009). Teaching today: An introduction
to education. (Eight edition). United States: PEARSON.
Bradley, A. J. (2010). A new definition of social media. Gartner (Web log). Retrieved from
http://blogs.gartner.com/anthony_bradley/2010/01/07/a-new-definition-of-
social-media/
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and
opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
15
Some Common Linguistic Adaptation of English Words
done by the Bengali Native Speaker
Mohana Mir
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Introduction
There are many language in the world and all human being acquire their 1st language
naturally. But later, for different reasons and purposes, we learn second and also third
language. We can’t talk like the native speaker of certain language as second and third
language speaker for several linguistic reasons. We adapt them differently in our own
language. This adaptation can be done in every branch of linguistics like, phonological
adaptation, morphological adaptation etc. Differences in sound items and writing
system between the languages, cultures and other sociolinguistic factors also work
behind this. In this essay some common types of adaptation of English words which
are made by the native Bengali speakers are being discussed.
Language situation of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a small country of South Asia. The national language and official language
of Bangladesh is Bengali according to the third article of the Constitution of Bangladesh
[1] .It is a monolingual country. There are many dialects which are used in different
areas. There are also 35-45 ethnic languages here which are used by only those
community. In spite of being a monolingual country, English is used in many sectors of
communication in this country. Code switching and code mixing between English and
Bengali is very common in daily conversation. There are many borrowed English words
are used in this country. In some cases, English words are adapted into Bengali
vocabulary by way of applying different phonological process like pro-thesis,
epenthesis etc. [2]. Some adaptation are also done morphologically. Many words have
changed their semantic meaning according to context here.
Types of adaptation of English words by Bengali native speaker
Some similarities and dissimilarities both are present between Bengali and English
phonology. Bengali native speakers try to simplify the English words for making them
easily pronounced. As the study of phonology has progressed within the frame work of
generative grammar, certain principles have emerged governing the form and
organization of phonological rules and the manner in which these rules are to be
interpreted [3].
16
The most common phonological rule applied by the native speaker of Bengali is
Epenthesis. Epenthesis is a situation in which phonological rule inserts a sound.
According to some linguists, vowel epenthesis is often motivated by the need to make
consonant contrasts more distinct [4]. It is the addition of one or more sounds to a
word, especially to the interior of a word. As a grammatical rule, epenthesis generally
breaks up a consonant cluster or vowel sequence. The Bengali native speakers add an
extra vowel in front of a consonant cluster like ‘sc’, ‘sk’ and ‘st’etc.
Example
English words Pronounced as Added vowel

School Ischool i
Standard Istandard i
Scope Iscope i
Smile ismail i
Skin iskin i
Stroke Istroke i
Spoon Ispoon i
In the cluster of /s/ and other consonants the epenthesis tendency are shown. In the
chart 8 different kinds of cluster have been mentioned. In every case, a general native
Bengali speaker (not always the standard Bengali speaker) adds an extra ‘I’ vowel in
front of SC, SCH, SM, SK, STR and SP cluster.
Epithetic adaptation
Sometimes they add extra sound after the word keeping the meaning same. For
example:
English words What they use Added sound
aunt aunty y
list listy y
inch Inchi i
In these words, an extra sound has been added to make them easily pronounced.
• Sometimes they use extra vowel or consonant in anywhere of a word and make
almost new words keeping the meaning same. Such as –
English words Adopted version Change

Adds an extra /n/ in the
Privacy privancy
middle of a word.
stylish stylist Adds /t/ instead of /h/
Shock absorver Soccet jumper Totally changed
17
• In Bengali language, there are 2 types of /s/ sound. They are: /s/ and /ʃ/. The native
Bengali speakers mix both in many English words. For example,

Stop - ʃtop
Student-ʃtudent
Session - ʃession
They utter ‘sh’ instead of /s/.
But English words in which /s/ is actually pronounced as ‘sh’, the native Bengali
speakers use ‘s’. For example:
ʃuger as sugar
• Sometimes, they extend the meaning of some English words. They mix two
words (one from English and one from Bengali) which have the same meaning.
For example, in Bengali, the word dʰɔra means ‘catch’. But when a native speaker
uses the word ‘catch’ they say ‘catch dʰɔra’ (catch catch). But everyone
understands this. They don’t consider it wrong.
Catch - catch dʰɔra (catch catch in English)
Suppose - supppose mone kɔra (suppose suppose in English)

Again - abar again (Again again in English)
• Some borrowed words of English are adapted in this way :
office - ɔfiʃ
box - bakʃo
bottle - botol
• Some English words have taken pragmatic meaning considering the context. It
is used as metaphor. They create a secondary meaning of this things. Such as-
Tube light – In English, it is a kind of electric light. But Bengali native speakers
use it to indicate a man who understands everything late.
Autistic – In English, it means a person who has the neurodevelopmental
disorderautism. But among the Bengali native speaker, it is used as to indicate a
person who is very disgusting by his behaviour.
• Sometimes Bengali native speaker mix codes in using plural number. Such as-
From brothers to ‘bhaias’ [in Bengali, bhaia means bother]
18
Form sisters to ‘apus’ [in Bengali, apu means sister]
Conclusion
All these things I have added is an observation of my own, as I am also a Bengali native
speaker. Now a days English has become a technical instrument to keep pace with the
modern world. So, linguistic adaptation is very common thing. It is also a good point
that without being a bilingual country English is adapting in Bangladesh this way. This
is the actual beauty of language!
Reference
Article 3. The state language. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Chomsky, N. (1967). Some General Properties of Phonological Rules, MIT.
Dash, N. S. (2015). A Descriptive Study of Bengali words. Cambridge University Press.
19
Looking through Forensic Linguistics Studies in the
Philippines
Darryl Imperial
University of Southeastern Philippines
Though forensic linguistics has not had its total development in the Philippines, it
continues to flourish. Several studies including Marilu Madrunio’s The Interrogator and
the Interrogated: The Questioning Process in Philippine Courtroom Discourse in 2013 and Power
and Control in Philippine Courtroom Discourse in 2014, Villanueva and Marilu Madrunio's
Language and Power in the Courtroom: Examining the Discourse in Philippine Rape Trials, and
Andrade's and Rachelle Lintao Imposing Control Through Yes/No Questions in a Philippine
Drug Trial tried to scrutinize the influence of the lawyers’ questions on the
interviewees’ testimonies and answers and the respondents’ answer to the questions
formulated by lawyers which may indicate power relations among courtroom
interactants.
The language is not powerful on its own (Weiss & Wodak, 2003 cited in Madrunio,
n.d.). However, in the courtroom, there has been a hierarchical reenactment of power
because of language usage. It is best elicited when “the attorney has the mandate to
take charge of the witness and tease out the truth through rigorous questions”
(Bresnahan, 1989) which would prevent a non-lawyer from understanding it, putting
the “powerless” at a disadvantage (Madrunio, 2014). In that very sense, power-play
arises between a lawyer and a non-lawyer because of the cross-examination discourse-
where courtroom players observe rules executed by the court’s jury, or in the case of
the Philippines, by the court’s judge(s) and/or lawyer to strengthen or weaken a
witness’ testimony (Madrunio, 2014).
Given questioning, Shuy (1997), cited in Maite (2013), “stressed the coercive nature of
questions to suspects further classifying these techniques as yes/no questions, tag
questions, questions that presuppose a fact not yet established, and promises and
threats.” Villanueva and Madrunio (2016) found out in their study that “a single
question can be structured using two to three types of questions.” They also conceded
“that planned coercive and forceful questions are techniques to test the evidence and
testimonies.” This is further supported by the findings of Andrade and Lintao (2018)
when they found out that “prosodic yes/no questions were the most controlling.” Thus,
Madrunio (2013) emphasizes that “it is important for courtroom lay players to know
the strategies employed by legal professionals in terms of the questioning process so
they do not fall prey to the latter’s questioning style and become defenseless in the
20
interrogation process.” In a nutshell, these findings on the types of questions asked by
the lawyer during the interrogation process might determine how the testimony of the
witness will be formulated.
According to Kaufman (2017), “testimony involves a double consciousness on the part

of the actors who participate.” This would mean that the lawyers play a crucial role in
eliciting testimony from the client and formulate questions out of it. It is for the fact
that “attorneys and advocates would have the advantage to elicit stories and narratives
from defendants and witnesses (Klerk, n.d.).” Hingstman (1983) cited in Bresnahan
(1989) sees the attorneys working with the clients and witnesses to co-produce
testimony.
In light to this, Villanueva and Madrunio (2016) found out that with "the highest
number of occurrences is Compliance, with a frequency of 811 (45%), Giving
Clarification, 319 (18%), Providing Information, 223 (12%), Resistance, 132 (7%) and
Resistance-Giving Clarification, 121 (7%).” Concerning compliance, they added that
the witness agreed to tell anything to the lawyer, who tries to allude that the
relationship between the witness and accused has great bearing on the truth of the
testimony and to weaken the testimony of the witness is an example of “a reply that
simply serves as an affirmation or a compliance that might, therefore, discredit one’s
testimony.” They concluded that “the language in cross-examination discourse is very
powerful for it can strengthen or weaken a witness’ testimony.” It is to be noted that
one of the purposes of eliciting testimonies – making claims and counterclaims is to
make sure that pieces of evidence are enough to acquit or convict someone. Hence,
making them have a dynamic role in co-creating events and discourse.
Gibbons (2018) as cited in Andrade and Lintao (2018) stated that “the lawyers make
use of the opportunity to create their version of events in mind in an attempt to attest
with their witness.” Therefore, this allows them to continually ask questions. Under
that guise, based on Villanueva and Madrunio’s findings, And-Yes/No question is the type
of question used to “facilitate the narration of events and draw confirmation from the
witness of their previous narration.” Thus, for the lawyers to make questions for the
clients or witnesses to answer, to counterattack an argument from another lawyer, and
to present evaluation to the judge, these participants must make the court less
subjected to power. It is only achieved, according to de Klerk (n.d.), when “lawyers try
to learn how to avoid the language features that complicate legal language and obscure
its meaning, to avoid courtroom upper hand.”
Courtroom Discourse encompasses the utilization of legal language in an interrogation

process to elicit a testimony – relating to facts, opinions, or event narrations. It revolves
around ascertaining the reliability of truth of the evidence placed before the
21
participants (de Klerk, n.d.). However, the coercive questioning discredits or overturns
witnesses’ stand. Henceforth, the verbal cues that influence a witness’ testimony
which the lawyers provide – to present credible explanation, it would be better for the
lower courts to adapt to a bilingual legal setting to avoid misconception in the non-
lawyers’ point-of-view.
References
Andrade, S. and Lintao, R. (2018). Imposing Control Through Yes/No Questions in a

Philippine Drug Trial. International Journal for the Rule of Law, Courtroom
Procedures, Judicial Linguistics & Legal English, 2(1), 190-230.
Bresnahan, M. (1989). Attorneys as Equalizers: Eliciting Testimony from Refugee

Defendants. The Howard Journal of Communications.
de Klerk, V. (n.d.). Language & the law: who has the upper hand? A corpus analysis of
the Transition and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings. Retrieved from
ProQuest.com last February 24, 2020.
Kaufman, S. (2017) Mourners in the Court: Victims in Death Penalty Trials through the
lens of performance. Journal of the American Bar Foundation, Vol. II, 1155-1178.
Maite, C. (2013). Forensic Linguistics: An Overview of the Interaction and Intersection

of Language and Law. Studies about Language, 5-13.
Rañosa-Madrunio, M. (2014). Power and Control in Philippine Courtroom Discourse.

International Journal of Legal English, 2(1), 4-30.
Rañosa-Madrunio, M. (2013). The Interrogator and the Interrogated: The Questioning

Process in Philippine Courtroom Discourse. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 43-60.
Villanueva, V., & Rañosa-Madrunio, M. (2016). Language and Power in the Courtroom:
Examining the Discourse in the Philippine Rape Trials. International Conference on
Language, Literature, Culture, and Education, 89-103.
22
The idea of Meaning: Linguistic Changes and Structures in
Turkish Culture
Karoly Nagy
Department of English Studies, Applied Linguistics,
University of Pecs, Hungary
Introduction
“What are the rules of right that power implements to produce discourses of truth? Or:
What type of power is it that is capable of producing discourses of power that have, in
a society like ours, such powerful effects?” (Foucault, 1976, p. 24). Discourse is power
and power is discourse. It is a written, spoken, verbal or non-verbal form of
communication, where we use language as our common mediator. What we intend to
say and by what means we achieve it are crucially important in the context of meaning
creation. Even though language is a system, it is also dynamic, changes though the
course of time. Not only the structures of grammar but the denotations and definition,
in other words, the meanings are also under constant change. The ruling power has a
high influence on how we see, view or understand things not only because of the
discourse but the new meanings and words they adopt. Turkey has experienced various
changes in terms of language and ideologies in the past decades.
Language
All creatures possess unique features, yet sharing some common ones. Due to these
qualities they belong to certain species that separate them from other beings. One of
the most special aspects that serves as the base for the unity, in a particular class, would
be communication itself. Humans also have a distinctive way of connecting, namely
through a channel called language which not only provides the chance for transmitting
information but “reflects both the individual characteristics of a person, as well as
the beliefs and practices of his or her community” (Amberg & Vause, 2009, p. 1).
For this reason, “language itself does not exist apart from culture, that is, from the
socially inherited assemblage of practices and beliefs that determines the texture of our
lives” (Dawson & Phelan, 2016, p. 99).
Language and Identity
Identity is the way we see not only ourselves as well as people but the environment
around us, and “the language we speak is responsible for how people perceive the world
we inhabit. (Cumming, 2006, p. 47) Besides language “is not passive but actually helps
23
shape society itself. This is one reason why language, identity and cultural difference
are important [...] they shape our world and [...] how we interact with others, and how
we conform to social rules and norms.” (Zou, 2012, p. 466) The country we are born in,
the customs, habits and the way we communicate also affect the perceptions, we might
as well say, conceptualizations or views we have regarding other languages than our
mother tongue.
Nation & Nationalism
The sense of identity is highly influenced by the place and the society where someone
is raised. Emotions regarding unity and belonging might arouse connecting the person
to a particular group, land or language. This idea of relation of people to each other
based of their place of birth constitutes to the concept of nation. According to
Anderson (1991), nation is an imagined community “because the members of even the
smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear
of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (p. 6). However,
this illusion is essential since conceptualizations are formed thanks to it, because
imagination is a process of expanding oneself by transcending our time and space and
creating new images of the world and ourselves” (Wenger, 1998, p. 176). The sense of
identity of belonging to a particular group constitutes to the ideology of nationalism
where there is an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, a clash between the superior and inferior
according to customs, culture and language. It crucial in the construction of national
identity to represent a “‘uniqueness’ or a certain biological, cultural or religious ‘purity’,
as a necessary cement for the preservation of national unity and harmony, and its
protection against internal or external enemies” (Gökay & Aybak, 2016, p. 107).
Linguistic Purism & Linguistic Nationalism
Linguistic Purism – a desire to eliminate certain undesirable features from a language,

including grammatical errors, jargon, neologisms, colloquialisms and words of foreign
origins (Nordquist, 2019)-, is the necessity of protection against foreign influence
which was also present in terms of language. This ideology of linguistic purism first
appeared in Italy, in 1583, which “was highly characterized by [...] efforts to maintain
the purest form of the Italian language possible” (Jensen, 2017, p. 2). The entering of a
foreign word to a language was seen as if “the foreign language has achieved a certain
level of influence, if not dominance, in the recipient language” (Jensen, 2017, p. 3). For
empires, which were encompassing various lands, minorities, religious groups and
languages, linguistic as well as ethnic nationalism was not completely achievable. Later
on, as empires started to collapse, nations needed a tool for uniting their people, yet
separate them from other nations by glorifying their own uniqueness. These ideas later
became the cornerstones of linguistic nationalism, where a certain language was seen
24
as superior over other languages. Languages became markers of national identity; such
was the case for Turkey.
Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Political Situation
The Ottoman Empire has lasted for almost seven hundred years. Various nationalities,
ethnic and religious groups were under its control called millets. There was a sense of
identity, called Ottomanism, which was “the ideology of equality among the peoples of
the empire regardless of which millet (religious community) to which they belonged.
It was a type of nationalism that emphasized territory more so than ethnicity” (Jensen,
2017, p. 22). As the Ottoman Empire was “desperate to avoid being partitioned by the
Great Powers, who were opening discussing the Ottomans' impending doom that was
known at the time the Eastern question, the empire underwent massive reforms,
hoping to restructure the empire in a way that would keep it afloat in the new
industrialized world.” (Jensen, 2017, p. 4). A military leader called Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk saw the irreversible fall of the Ottoman empire, since it was becoming a puppet
state of the imperial powers, and started to unite the people of Turkey and convince
them to rebel as well as to fight against the Ottoman and imperial rule. After the war
of independence (1919-1923) Atatürk became the first president of Turkey which also
led to various reforms in terms of education, language and ideologies, such as Turkism,
“an ideology that shifted national focus away from territory and placed more emphasis
on a shared Turkish experience by the people” (Jensen, 2017, p. 22).
The need for linguistic change in Turkish
The Turkish that was used during the rule of the Ottoman Empire was completely
different compared to the modern Turkish that is used today in Turkey. First of all, the
written alphabet of Ottoman Turkish used Arabic letters as well as in terms of
grammatical structure it had hight dependence on Arabic and Persian. Even though
Ottoman Turkish was widely spoken in the empire, there was no official policy
regarding language because the goal was to remain in “power and ensure the
continuation of the Empire. However, the Turkish Republic was founded with the
modernist idea of a nation-state, and therefore it required a common culture. As a
result, language and education were standardized to create a Turkish national identity.
Adoption of a language policy was one of the most important strategies used by the
founders of the Turkish Republic” (Aydingün & Aydingün, 2004, p. 415).
Linguistic changes in Turkish & Sun language theory
After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The president of Turkey (after 1923),
Atatürk saw the need for a change in the language since one Arabic letter, (‫ و‬wäw)
25
which denoted u in Arabic was used for o, ü, ö in Ottoman Turkish making it extremely
hard to express Turkish phonology (Lewis, 1999, p. 29). Also, for a new sense of
identity, a reform was necessary. Not only language needed to be changed, Turks also
had to be distanced from their history, namely from the Ottoman period, so that
Ottomanism could be replaced by Turkism. Nationality is often “thought of as
something ‘natural’ or pre-social. So, one may consider that Turks are different from
Armenians in the way that the fish of the Mediterranean are different from those of the
Black Sea. This sense of ‘naturalness’ is reinforced by stories/ myths nations often have
about their own past” (Gökay & Aybak, 2016, p. 107). Changing the alphabet from
Arabic to Latin, introducing new words, ideologies and institutions were not enough
for Atatürk, he wanted justify this break from Arabic stating that it was Turkish that
influenced Arabic not the other way around, paving the way for a new theory called the
Sun Language theory, proposed by Hermann F. Kvergić. It was useful for Atatürk
because “while efforts were still made to decrease the number of Arabic loanwords, it
made the presence of a smaller portion of Arabic words more tolerable since they could
claim that they were of Turkic origin anyway” (Jensen, 2007, p. 37).
Examples changes in Turkish
Examples of Arabic loanwords in Turkish:
hayat - ‫ – حياة‬life bina - ‫ – بناء‬building takvim - ‫ – تقويم‬calendar kalem - ‫ – قلم‬pen

mektup - ‫ – مكتوب‬letter beyaz - ‫ – أبيض‬white taam - ‫ – طعام‬food kitap - ‫ – كتاب‬book
sabah - ‫ – صباح‬morning kahve ‫ قهوة‬- coffee
(Jensen, 2007, p. 20)
Examples of replacement of Arabic words with Turkish ones:
“gerek and lazım. Their meanings are the same in Turkish, expressing need, but
lazım is an Arabic loanword whereas gerek is of Turkic origin.” (Jensen, 2007, p.
6).
Even though Turkish words appeared to replace Arabic, in some cases the Arabic
version of them are still preferable, as in:
“fakir and yoksul. Both mean poor, with fakir being the Arabic loanword and yoksul
being the Turkish one deriving from the Turkish word yok, which in itself is a
negation word meaning ‘there is not’ (Jensen, 2007, p. 6).
“asker, meaning soldier, continues to be used at a much higher frequency than

the Turkish word sü. The same can be said for aile, meaning family. Most Turks
opt for this loanword as opposed to the Turkish ocak. (Jensen, 2007, p. 7)
26
Even though Atatürk wanted to limit the use of loanwords in Arabic he was opened for
borrowing words from other languages, to further limit Ottoman presence and
Westernize the language more the “Turkish language was placed under inspection as
a means to bolster the image of the Ottoman Empire. Thousands of French words
entered Turkish from these modernizing reforms” (Jensen, 2017, p. 4).
Table 1: French loanwords in Turkish

French Turkish English
accélération akselerasyon acceleration
détail detay detail
exercice egzersiz exercise
intéressant enteresan interesting
philologie filoloji philology
(Türk Dil Kurumu: Sözlük)

Conclusion
There is a desire as well as a need for belonging, the necessity of unity and a constant
fear of rejection from the community. Although later on, different communities started
to draw an imaginary line between themselves achieving separation. The sense of
confidence and power originating from the membership of a social group, country or
political party might support as well as distort our sense of identity, making us believe
that we are superiors compared to others. Creating the idea of nationalism, where the
idea is a “single ethnic group with a common language, shared history and common
culture” (Gökay & Aybak, 2016, p. 107). Language is a part of national identity, since
language is dynamic it constantly changes. But what if a new language is created within
a nation, can it change the sense of identity? A new linguistic alphabet and system
emerged in Turkey as the Ottoman Empire started to lose it effectiveness, popularity
and power. A new political leader, Atatürk, believed that cultural “homogenization
could only be realized through education. The unification of education and alphabet
reform were major tools that enhanced the power of language, which was the core
element in the creation of Turkishness and a culturally homogeneous, modern and
secular society” (Aydingün & Aydingün, 2044, p. 426-427). This idea of unification
through the help of language, which meant keeping it pure from past influenced by The
Sun Language Theory, stating that all languages derived from Turkish (Lewis, 1999, p. 56),
originated from linguistic purism and led to linguistic nationalism. This theory made
the loanwords from other languages more acceptable. Since, Turkey wanted to appeal
for the West, various French words entered the Turkish language, resulting in
linguistic changes in its literature and culture. As we can see the identity and history
27
we have, the language we speak, the society we live in are in line with those who are in
power.
References
Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism
(Rev. ed.). London: Verso.
Amberg, J. S., & Vause, D. J. (2009). American English: history, structure, and usage.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Aydingün, A., & Aydingün, I. (2004). The role of language in the formation of Turkish
national identity and Turkishness. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 10(3), 415-432.
Cumming, B. (2006). The Relationship between Language, Culture and Identity and the
Implication for Language Teaching and Language Policy. Publication of the Centre for
British and American Studies. https://aichipu. repo.nii.ac.jp> Accessed
04/03/2020
Dawson, H., & Phelan, M. (2016). Language files: materials for an introduction to language and
linguistics. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press.
Gökay, B., & Aybak, T. (2016). Identity, Race and Nationalism in Turkey—Introduction to the
Special Issue.
Jensen, A. L. (2017). The sociolinguistic role of Ottoman Turkish and Arabic in Turkish
nationalism (Doctoral dissertation).
Lewis, G. (1999). The Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success. Oxford: Oxford UP.
Nordquist, R. (2019). “Purism.” Date Accessed: 29 March 2020.
Türk Dil Kurumu: Sözlük. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sozluk.gov.tr/
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge,

England: Cambridge University Press.
Zou, H. (2012). Language Identity and Cultural Difference. International Journal of Social
Science and Humanity: 465-467. Print.
28
Similarities between Russian and Belarusian and Russian
Influence on Belarusian
Dina Stanković
Дина Станковић
Institute for Slavic Languages, Department of Foreign Language Business
Communication, WU - Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
Introduction
Belarusian belongs to the East Slavic branch of Slavic languages, with around 10.2
million people speaking it at the time. The name of the language itself derives from a
Slavic word for white – bel. One cannot deny that, throughout the history, Belarusian
was (and still is) suppressed and influenced by other Slavic languages. Those languages
left their traces in modern Belarusian´s grammar, vocabulary and culture, changing the
course of its development. When speaking about the languages that effected Belarusian
the most, we always have to point out Russian and Polish. One West and one East
Slavic language, many political reasons, as well as long history caused the changing of
Belarus' official language. This essay will discuss the Russian influence on Belarusian
throughout the history and today, as well as the similarities between these two
languages as a consequence of them belonging to the same branch of Slavic languages.
In order to understand the topic, the first part of the essay will walk you through the
history of Belarusian, based on the work of Moser (2000) and Thielemann (2004).
Secondly, the topic will be expanded by explaining the mutual features of these two
languages. To conclude, some of the influences of the Russian language will be
presented in the last chapter.
History of Belarusian
When people of Kievan Rus´, one of the earliest federations of East Slavic and Finnic
peoples, were baptised in 998, Old Church Slavonic began to develop and spread
throughout this area. From the mixture of spoken and written language emerged Old
Belarusian or Ruthenian language, which was the official and diplomatic language of
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a state that was formed after the fall of Kievan Rus´ in 1240.
A majority of today´s Ukrainian and Belarusian territory became a part of new formed
state, whereas what we know as Russian territory nowadays was occupied by
Mongols, thus the languages began to take separate ways. Up until 16th century, Old
Belarusian was widely used, on the other hand the books were still written only in Old
Church Slavonic, which at one point brought to incomprehensibility of the written
29
word. With this in mind, the part of the Old Belarusian, as well as Polish grew, which
resulted in joining of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland in 1385 into
personal union and in 1569 in real union (Moser, 2014, p. 1380).
In then, Lubin Union (1569), the language situation took two separate ways – orthodox
citizens stuck to Polish texts, considering the fact that they did not understand any
Old Church Slavonic. On the other hand, Ruthenian started being more and more
present in church texts, but also in other spheres. During the translation of sacral texts
from Polish into Ruthenian, the language borrowed lot of Polish words, while Old
Church Slavonic influence was suppressed. Both of these languages – Polish and
Ruthenian – strongly influenced one another, leaving marks in their cultures
(Thielemann, 2004, p. 136).
From 16th until 17th century, the Ruthenian language started developing in different
spheres. In order to become a literary language, Old Belarusian had to borrow certain
lexical, grammatical and stylistics terms from Polish. That said, it is clear how big of a
role Polish played in the making of modern Belarusian (and Ukrainian) literary
language. Polonisms entered the language in two ways – through the contact with
spoken language, but also by influencing the written language as well (Thielemann,
2004, p. 138). A lot of varieties of Ruthenian developed in that period, and they were all
named – Prosta(ja) mova.
From the middle of the 17th century, Prosta(ja) mova began to lose its status. After the
Cossaks wars, a part of Rzeczpospolita, a state that developed after the Treaty of Lubin,
became a part of Russian empire. In these areas, the Ruthenian scholars wanted to
proceed learning based on their common Russian script culture, which was based on
Church Slavic. Later, Peter the Great, followed by Katharina the II introduced some
prohibitions that led to Russian becoming an official language in those areas. The part
that stayed under polish-lithuanian leadership accepted Polish as their official
language, leaving Prostaja mova with nothing but an undermining status, mostly used
by uneducated people (Moser, 2014, p. 1382).
The Belarusian as we know today was standardised in 19th and at the beginning of the
20th century. Only in 1905 was first allowed to publish books in Belarusian, and up until
1920, Belarusian developed quickly. In 1921, the Treaty of Riga divided the country
between Poland and SSSR, resulting in Belarusian´s orthography, grammar and
vocabulary to be strongly affected by mainly Russian, but Polish as well. The traces of
these events are still strongly noticeable in today´s Belarusian.
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Russian and Belarusian
As already mentioned above, Russian played a major role in shaping modern-day

Belarusian. The separation of the Old East Slavic language began in 14th century because
of the fall of Kievan Rus´, but both Russian and Belarusian belong to the same subgroup
of Slavic languages, leading to the conclusion that they share some similarities.
Similarities
In this section, I would like to introduce some common characteristics that could be
spotted in both of these languages.
Pleophony
In all three Slavic languages, the diphthongs that ended with liquid consonant (r and
l) were vocalized in the same way and this phenomenon is called pleophony or
polnoglasie. To give an illustration, let´s look at the next example:
*urslw. golva > rus. голова – belarus. галава
Through epenthesis or insertion of a vocal, the words in modern Belarusian and

Russian were vocalized, separating them from all the other Slavic branches that carried
out this vocalization differently.
Akan’e
Akan’e is a phenomenon that is also specific for East Slavic branch of Slavic languages.
In this case, the unstressed o in any word will be pronounced as /a/, meaning there is
no difference between ‘a’ and unstressed ‘o’. However, there is an orthographical
difference between Belarusian and Russian – in Belarusian, this unstressed ‘o’ became
‘a’ in writing, thus, there is no confusion, whereas in Russian, it can somehow be
confusing. For instance:
rus. молоко /məlako/ belarus. малако
Development of the ě (jat)
Because ě was a much more complex than any other vocal in Slavic languages, it
developed differently in different Slavic languages. When looking at both Russian and
Belarusian, it became the /e/, whereas in Ukrainian, that is not the case. The next
example highlights the fact that, although three of them are a part of East Slavic branch,
Belarusian and Russian took the other way when adapting the ě into the modern
language.
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urslaw. světъ rus./belarus. свет ukr. світ
urslaw. věra rus./belarus. вера ukr. віра
(Sussex, Cubberley, 2006, p. 120)
Russian influence on Belarusian
Some of the things visible both in modern Belarusian and Russian are not the
consequences of them belonging to the same branch of Slavic languages, but rather a
Russian influence on Belarusian throughout the years.
Vocabulary
During history, Russian had a major influence on Belarusian vocabulary, especially after
1920s. When a language has been roofed over for a long period of time, this roof
becomes the only source of new lexis (Zaprudski, 1974: 111). Until today, Belarusian
loaned many words from Russian – some of them are international words that first
appeared in Russian, like for instance:
rus. курировать > belarus. курыраваць (eng. to oversee)
from Latin cūrō (to worry about something, to take care of something ).
others are just Russian loanwords like:
rus. пропахивать > belarus. прапахваць
some of them are even loan translations:
rus. задействовать > belarus. задзейнiчаць
(Barkovič: 244)
Morphology (Zaprudski, 1974, p. 110)
Belarusian ending -эм (-ем) in first person plural was replaced by -ом (-ëм) in for ex.
бяром instead of бярэм
The abolation of the ending -эце, -еце of second person plural imperative – бярыце
instead of бярэце, ‘take’
32
Some of the words borrowed from Russian were not adapted to Belarusian grammar,
but rather adopted as they are. Those are mostly substantized adjectives like вання
(bathroom), which in Belarusian should be ванны.
Russian language also left its marks in Belarusian phraseology, word formation, as well
as in other parts of the language and continues to dominate over Belarusian.
Conclusion
The arguments I have presented clearly prove that both Belarusian and Russian have
strong connection to one another, which is visible in different spheres of the language.
This East Slavic language shows features that indicate its complicated, but rather
interesting development path. Throughout the history, Belarusian was spoken on
multiple territories, while being suppressed by major languages, one of them being
Russian. The final split between the languages occurred in 1920s, but Russian still
continues to effect this language, that is slowly becoming endangered. It is highly
uncertain what the future holds for this Slavic language that managed to survive
though tough times.
References
Weber, A. (2012). Der Einfluss Der Russischen Sprache Auf Den Weißrussischen Und
Ukrainischen Kulturraum. Print.
Thielemann, N. (2004). Die sprachliche Situation in der südwestlichen Rus’ Ende des XVI.
Jahrhunderts am Beispiel der christlichen Terminologie in Stefan Zyzanijs “Kazanьe o
antichristě”. na.
Баркович, A. A. (n.d). Влияние русского языка на белорусские неологизмы.

Pусский язык в современном мире: динамика языкових контактов. S.
244-247
Heyl, S. (1992). Sprachwissenschafler, Publizisten und Schriftsteller des 19.

Jahrhunderts über die belorussische Schriftsprache. Zeitschrift für Slawistik, 37(3),
407-415.
Moser, M. (2000). Koexistenz, Konvergenz und Kontamination ostslavischer Sprachen

in Weißrußland und in der Ukraine. Zeitschrift für slawistik, 45(2), 185-199.
Zaprudski, S. (2007). In the grip of replacive bilingualism: the Belarusian language in

contact with Russian. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2007(183), 97-
118.
33
Pidgin, “the Newly Born Dialect to Communicate”
Ali Siddiqui
Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Jamshoro,
Pakistan
Before starting with the introduction of Pidgin, I must quote Prince Philip. He defined
the concept of pidgin in two lines. He stated that:
“I, remark the pidgin to English… though I referred it

as the splendid dialect just like Fella does belongs to Mrs. Queen”
(Prince Philip)
Pidgin: The language of Contact
It has been observed that the language is expanded with the passage of time. The base
of expansion is its local users. According to Crystal (2003), the native speakers need to
make contact with people from different parts of the world. The contact is maintained
and shared by the administrative staff and merchants. They cannot continue the
business trade in isolation. Therefore, in order to meet this demand, there is need of a
medium to communicate in society. This contact converge the utilization of local
dialects and raise one standard simple form of language that can be easily
comprehended. This newly born dialect ‘pidgin’ is witnessed to have definite and
simple lexis and syntactical structures.
Historical View of Pidgin in the World (Example of Tok Pisin)
Pidgins around the World are usually based on English language. According to
Wardhaugh (2005), it is because the English language has been acknowledged as the
lingua franca. The renowned example is Tok Pisin. It was earlier known to be as
“Melanesian-Pidgin English”. This is spoken in few parts of African Continent,
specifically in Papua New Guinea. It comprises of definite lexis and syntactical
patterns that usually depends on one language when it is compared to other in contact.
English is observed to be dominant in this case. This variety is practiced more in urban
states of African states than to the rural areas. However, it seems to have its significance
not only in locality but in different distant territories. Jenkins (2003) stated that the
epigraphy in papers of Tok Pisin has tried to present identification in social meetings
up to the etymological levels within many states of Papua New Guinea. Now, it has
been vitally used in parliamentary discussions. It is despite of this fact that the sentence
of Tok Pisin is very rudimentary in structure that lacks a constructive pattern.
34
Main Features of Tok Pisin (Pidgin)
Holm (1988) defined the specific features of Tok Pisin (Pidgin). They are briefly
highlighted below.
Phonology
The framework of its phonology is administered in similar pattern as in other

languages. It possesses small phonemes with various elocutions in allophone. For
example: The articulations of [∫], [t∫] and [s] are conceived through the phoneme as /s/.
[ma∫in] and other phonetic variation [masin], they all represent the term “machine”.
Lexis
The variety named ‘Tok-Pisin’ has a specific framework of writing. This specific variety
is written in different renowned papers and projects of radio within Papua New Guinea
states. Now, this has been used in meetings of United Nations (UN). It has the limited
set of words in pool. However, there are still cases observed, where the function of
pidgins seems to fail in terms of communication. The different lexes do bear an
overwhelming weight of meaning in each context that depends to cancel the effect of
certainty. The figurative form of expansion is important. Therefore, these features join
together to give a flavor to pidgin.
Worldwide View of Pidgin in Different Contexts
One of the pleasanter meanings given to the pidgin is given in the following expression.
“Companion to me than Australian sibling, has its place to me, more wonderful than to the portrayal
of sun: Shine Light does have place, Jesus? The cop is to ‘Gumbint Catchum’…, fella, hairs are like grass
that have place to confront and man to parched his tummy unsurpassed consumption”
The innovative example of ‘Vanuatu based pidgin is expressed in scene. It is as: “glab bi-
long, ae, or… for- bra, di crate bi-long ti ti?”
Pidgins are mainly visualized by negative effects. The pidgins are together concerned
to pioneer realms of Europe. The negative implication of English pidgin is portrayed in
one of the examples from Encyclopedia Britannica. The sentence read as “wild knave”
jargon. This is full of vulgarism and nursery based idiocies.
The pidgins did reflect innovative capacities in phonetics. However, many did not find
time to use it in future along with its particular definitions. This became uncovered
with a sense from hireling of Chinese. He was asking that:
35
“Either lord of his prize sown had to bring for to litter, Him the dairy faunas had pig that do possess
cat??”
The Ruler Philip, and his renowned spouse, Queen Elizabeth II of the England, in her
visit towards Papua New Guinea did allude to fella about the place that belonged to
Mrs. Queen Elizabeth.
Adverse Reaction of People against Pidgin
According to Holm (2000), the People in few areas of World did not want Pidgin. They
wanted to kill it. The pidgin spoken in New Zealand is replaced by Standard variety of
English by Maoris. Similarly, the use of Chinese variety of Pidgin English became
prohibited later within legislative part of China. Its utilization was banned on grounds
that if its practice continued, it can be the source of great hindrance for Standard
variety of English to propagate around the World. This is the reason, pidgins are being
defamed. However, there is a great mark of its capacity to serve. The example of Tok
Pisin is same. People do learn it for approximate of six to eight months with amateur
preparation. Papua New Guinea is a region with around 800 different garbled
languages. Tok Pisin failed to bring societies together.
Conclusion
Pidgins have played its part since last few hundred years to cross different shorelines
around the new world order. European Jargon “Chinook”, the pidginized native version
of American dialect have been utilized in various tribes around Pacific communities for
message exchange. Even, according to many phoneticians, the Proto Germanic variety
has been the pidgin that comprised of same semantic changes within them with no
striking differences in pattern of Germanic and Indo European varieties. Many linguists
have raised issue about common origin of English, Dutch, Yiddish and German
varieties. According to the linguists, they have beginnings from common pidgin variety.
The tense, inclination, case and voices have been a truant form of pidgin. This is due to
a fact it can be difficult to speak in English variety of Pidgin without utilization of
English in arching verbs and declining form of pronouns.
References
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language, Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.
Holm, J. (1988). Pidgins and creoles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Holm, J. (2000). An introduction to Pidgins and creoles, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
36
Jenkins, J. (2003). World Englishes. A resource book for students. London: Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group.
Wardhaugh, R (2005). An introduction to sociolinguistics, Blackwell Publication UK.
37
Ayesha Sikandar
This essay will cover major and minor aspects of testing reading comprehension
including: what is reading comprehension and its tests? What do these tests intend to
measure? What are content sources for the reading comprehension tests? What should
be the different levels of learners? What are the principle of reading comprehension
tests and their application? How many text types are for the reading comprehension
tests? How many scoring methods are for reading comprehension tests? What is the
accuracy criteria of timespan for such tests? What are the forms of reading
comprehension tests? How many number of items should be for each level of learners?
How many types of items should be for reading comprehension tests? All the said
questions will be answered in this essay briefly.
Reading is the only thing that mind never exhausts, never fears and never regrets.
First of all, Good man (1970) says, reading comprehension is a psycholinguistic

Guessing game of the written text. Secondly, Kimberly (1990) says that reading
comprehension is a process in which information from the text and knowledge
possessed by the reader acts together to construct meaning and both oral and written
tests are used to assess such ability is called the reading comprehension tests. In
addition, Longman (1980) says, reading comprehension is an ability to decode the
printed text for recognizing and understanding the words. Understanding is the key of
reading comprehension. In my opinion, reading comprehension is a strong interaction
between the reader and the text in which thinking is an ongoing process done till end
and the tests taken in this regard known as reading comprehension tests. Therefore,
learners’ prior knowledge is a helpful source in this whole process.
According to Heaton (1900), the major purpose of reading tests includes recognizing
the words and group words. To test students’ reading comprehension can be easily
done through the reading comprehension tests. Moreover, understanding the text
through lexical and grammatical aspects perceives temporal and spatial ideas, cohesion
and coherence of the written text. Lastly, skimming and scanning skills can be easily
tested through the reading tests and these tests also assist in reading speed of students.
According to Carlisle and Rice (2004), the assessment of reading comprehension in
school settings has at least four essential purposes: State and district evaluation and
38
accountability of programs and curricula; identification of children at risk for
problems; differential diagnosis of children with reading problems; and measurement
of student progress/out-comes during the course of intervention. In my point of view,
the reading test is the easiest way to predict the future progress of the learners.
Thirdly, the selection of material/content is the most important aspect in the

construction of reading tests that cannot be ignored and it varies from the different
levels of learners. As we have three basic different levels of learners (Heaton, 1990), but
linguist like David Nunan suggests six levels but here we will select content with
respect the different levels of learners as suggested by Heaton (1990). According to the
criteria given by Heaton (1990), he has explained the sources for both written and
spoken material of language for the beginners. We will use questions based on small
extracts that are the practiced material used earlier by teacher- a test taker should
select the material according to students’ language skills (Grammar, vocabulary and
sentence structure). Such content should be related to the intention of test. It differs
by every progressing level in length as well as lexical complexity. The selected content
should be the motivation towards the learning target language and should be based on
the real life situation. The content length varies with respect to the different levels of
learners, i.e. for beginner level, we will select passage for the test, containing 40-50
words in length; for intermediate, 100-200 words for the test and for advanced level,
300-500 words is sufficient in length, considering the different sources such as books,
magazines, articles and etc. In my point of view, intensive text with less difficulty is
suitable for the beginners. The basic notion is about the extensive text with rich
vocabulary relevant to cultural background that is suitable for both the intermediate
and advanced levels. The drawback of the content is that most of the tests are based on
intensive reading rather than extensive because of economic issues (Heaton, 1990).
As far as the principles for the construction of reading tests, different researchers have
different point of views as Heaton (1990) states that for reading comprehension of the
target language mastery in native language is the important use of right tool for right
test that judges a specific skill at specific time. According to the different levels of
learners, pedagogical applications of such principles can be done in this way that the
material should be differently selected on each level while selecting different genres for
each level of learners like, short stories and paragraphs are appropriate for beginners,
at intermediate level, instructor should use descriptive and technical writing including
maps, letters and email. The description of the events should be asked at advanced level,
including expository and argumentative essays, reports and immigration documents
and instructional manuals that are suitable text types useful in real life situation. The
length of the passage should comprise 250-300, 450-800 and 1200 words for beginners,
intermediate and advanced level respectively. The types of test item should also be
39
included in reading tests, e.g. matching, true false, multiple choice questions, and other
objective items for beginners; the cloze summaries and passages for intermediate and
lastly for advanced level, tester should use multiple choice questions including, high
level cognition.
In addition to this, scoring method and accuracy criteria are two major components of
testing reading comprehension. The scoring of children’s responses may be simple and
straightforward (e.g., counting the number of correct responses) or complicated (e.g.,
making correct responses conditional upon speed of responding). In all cases, the users’
guide is expected to provide a clear description of the scoring procedure so as to ensure
that all examiners score responses of the learners in the same way. An assessment tool
may be designed to provide quantitative information (e.g., how many words a child
read orally without mispronunciations) or qualitative information (e.g., what types of
errors a child makes) on reading performance. There should be some extensions for the
students with reading difficulties like Dyslexia and others. Secondly accuracy criteria
is different on each level of learners. Some features of correctness are common for all
instructors like fluency, comprehensiveness, and correctness. Moreover, limited speed
validity of the content is another important criteria for reading tests. Good
pronunciation is the essence of the accurate tests. Accuracy is depended upon the
timespan for beginner. We will have 5 minutes for 180-200 familiar words. Every
student will be evaluated upon the number of errors he /she made. For intermediate,
we will have 5 minutes for 300-400 words and the students will be evaluated
individually. For advanced level learners, we will have five minutes for 600-800 words.
Fluency and speed will also be measured according to the different levels of learners.
For instance, for beginners the focus is not on the fluency but on correctness. For
intermediate and advanced levels learners, such features are focused to measure all
mentioned aspects. Side by side, if we look at the form of these tests. Direct test items
try to be/include from the real life use of language as possible, and indirect test items
try to find out about students’ knowledge of the specific content. These are controlled
items, as per reading tests, these are the part of productive skills, and these are direct
form of tests with different kinds of items, e.g. cloze, multiple choice questions, and cue
cards.
Number of items and size of items are the two important aspects that make tests more
comprehensive and presentable. The number of items are selected in accordance with
the different levels of learners, e.g. for beginners, we will have (5-10) items, for
intermediate, we will have (20-40) items, and for advanced level, we will have (50-80)
items following the timespan, 20 minutes, half an hour and one hour respectively
(Anderson & Freebody, 1982). This is an ideal thing if a tester will test 1 type of item in
one time (Heaton, 1990). In addition to this, size of test items will be clearly on the
40
learner’s level and time span for beginners’ small item which will be less complicated
but for advanced level more lengthy and difficult items will be chosen.
The last section of this essay will give the complete idea of test types with respect to
the three levels of learners with examples. Firstly, for beginner level, we have three
types of test items: word matching, making new similar sound words and sentence
matching. At this level, the testees have to recognize sentence with same order. Last
one at this level, we have picture and sentence matching. Secondly, for intermediate
and advanced level, we have a bit longer and tricky test items, e.g. cloze passages and
summaries comprise two to three paragraphs. Additionally, we will have picture
description tests and the testees will be shown them pictures, and they are supposed
to describe them, e.g. cubic or pyramid (intermediate). For advanced level, we will
include true false and multiple choice questions based on instructional manuals or
argumentative essays.
In nutshell, my point of view is about that these tests are useful in assessing the
knowledge of target language of the learners. Moreover, mastery in fluency and the
logical reasoning also helpful the student in real life situation, providing more linking
and comprehending knowledge.
“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”
References
Anderson, R. C., & Freebody, P. (1982). Reading comprehension and the assessment
and acquisition of word knowledge. Center for the Study of Reading Technical Report;
249.
Arshad, A., Shakir, A., & Ahmad, M. (2020). A Review on the Principles of a Reading
Comprehension Test Construction to assess the Test Takers at different levels.
Hamdard Islamicus, 43(1&2), 123-138.
Carlisle, J., & Rice, M. (2004). Assessment of reading com-prehension. In A. Stone, E.
Silliman, B. Ehren, & K.Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy (pp.521–555).
New York: Guilford Press.
Heaton, J. B. (1975). Writing English language tests: A practical guide for teachers of English as a
second or foreign language. Longman Publishing Group.
Snyder, L., Caccamise, D., & Wise, B. (2005). The assessment of reading
comprehension: Considerations and cautions. Topics in Language Disorders, 25(1),
33-50.
41
Listening Comprehension Tests: A Review Study
Adeeba Kousar
This essay explains about important features of listening comprehension test. Firstly,
defines listening comprehension skills and its approaches, what does listening
comprehension test intend to measure? Secondly, it discusses the difference between
spoken and written languages, and conversational features which are signified in
comprehending the spoken message. Thirdly, it explains the listening tests and their
categories, and which type of test items should be selected for testing listening skills?
Fourthly, it discusses the skills and sub-skills of language that can be measured
through the listening comprehension test and from where the content should be
selected for the listening comprehension tests? Additionally, do test developers design
testing items by keeping in view the contextual material? Moreover, how many levels
of learners should be for the listening comprehension test? How many instruments are
used for testing listening skills? How many test items for the listening comprehension
should be selected? What should be the administration process and time for the
listening comprehension test? At last, principles used for the construction of checklist
of listening comprehension tests.
O’Malley, Chamot and Kupper in 1989 have broadened the concept of listening
comprehension. According to him, it is an active process during which the listener
constructs meaning through using signs from contextual information and from existing
knowledge, while rely upon many strategic resources to perform the task requirement.
Nadig in 2013 attempts to explain that listening comprehension is the different
processes of understanding spoken language and includes knowing speech sounds,
comprehending the meaning of single words, and understanding the syntax of
sentences. Hamouda in 2013 defined listening comprehension as it refers to the
understanding of what the listener has heard and it is his ability to repeat the text in
spite of the fact that the listener may repeat the sounds without real comprehension.
Listening comprehension is defined as one’s ability to comprehend spoken language at
the discourse level including conversations, stories, and informational oral texts that
involves the processes of extracting and constructing meaning (Kim, 2016).
Basically, there are two approaches which are used in constructing the listening
comprehension tests: product-oriented and process-oriented approach. In product-
oriented approach, the emphasis is on achieving the desirable outcome, while in
42
process-oriented approach the main focus is on the progress and development of the
desirable process. It emphasizes on the wrong answers and focus is on the problem in
listening comprehension but not on the listening itself. It can change the classrooms
from teacher-centeredness to learner-centeredness. So, process-oriented is more
attractive and useful than product-oriented approach.
Listening comprehension tests higher-order skills that requires language competency

(including vocabulary) and cognitive skills. Listening comprehension test is used to
measure the listening skill in EFL classroom. It has its own test items which not only
measure listening skill but also some other sub skills which are connected to it.
Listening comprehension test intends to measure both auditory and oral skills because
these two skills are interrelated and it is time saving to test these skills in one test but
it needs more attention because measuring two skills at a time can create the problems
for test developer.
Spoken language is different from written language in certain ways. Spoken language
is a complex process than the written language in certain ways as a result of the large
element of ‘redundancy’ that it contains. While writing, language learners focus on the
grammar and arrangements of words to convey the message, on the other hand, in
spoken language learners have to focus on the phonological and grammatical features
also the arrangements of words, because the rise and fall of pitch in speech can change
the meaning of message. In spoken, language learners also use physical actions such as
gestures, eye movements and slight change in breathing to convey and to clarify
message. The conversational features such as repetition, hesitation and grammatical re-
patterning are all the examples of redundancy which are signified in comprehending
the spoken message. These features help in testing purpose. Firstly, to distinguish
between phonemes is the ability to understand the verbal messages. Secondly,
unprepared speech is usually easier to understand than carefully prepared (written)
material when the latter is read aloud.
Listening tests are used to measure the hearing ability of the learners. For the purpose
of convenience, listening tests are divided into two broad categories: (i) tests of
phoneme discrimination in which identification of stress and intonation patterns can
be tested, and (ii) tests of listening comprehension. According to Heaton (1990), test
items which should be selected for the listening comprehension are:
 phoneme discrimination tests

 tests of stress and intonation
 statements and dialogues
 testing comprehension through visual materials
 understanding talks and lectures
43
Major skills of language which can be measured through the listening comprehension
test are speaking, grammar, vocabulary and reading, whereas in sub skills these tests
measure pronunciation skills. In pronunciation skill, it intends to measure the
important features such as stress, intonation, rhythm and juncture. For the beginner
and the intermediate learners, the content should be selected for the listening
comprehension test from the material provided to the learners in classroom, and the
test should be from the material they have already practiced. For advance learners, the
material for the test can be taken from the real life speech. The context should be
neutral, however, it is often hard to avoid ambiguity that means, and the testing items
for the listening comprehension tests should be contextually developed. There are
three levels of learners for listening comprehension tests and those levels are: (i)
Beginners, (ii) Intermediate, and (iii) Advance. Instruments used for the listening
comprehension tests are tape recorder, videotape, pictures, diagrams and note paper.
Tape recorder and videotape are used by learners to listen the provided material which
is spoken by native or may be from non-native speakers. They listen the given recording
and identify the pictures and diagrams by listening the recorded content and
sometimes they are asked to write the concept on notepaper what they have heard. In
TEFL listening tests, ten test items are enough in one listening comprehension test.
The process of administrating test and time depends on how many number of items has
provided in the test, one minute is enough for one item for beginner and intermediate
learners while for advance learners, seconds are much for solving the items.
There are three principles used for the construction of checklist of listening
comprehension tests (Heaton, 1990): (1) the testees receive note paper and take notes
while they listen to the lecture. They are then given the question paper usually
consisting of multiple-choice items. (2) The testees receive the question paper first and
are given a few minutes to glance through it. Learners then hear the lecture and work
through the questions. The questions are generally in the form of (a) multiple-choice
item, or (b) true/false items, or (c) incomplete sentences Completion, however, it is not
usually recommended as the testees face difficulty during item solving that involves
listening, reading and writing skills simultaneously an extremely difficult operation
even for native speakers. Even multiple-choice items may cause confusion, since the
testees have to listen while reading carefully by reading all the options and making
right selection. Indeed, if these particular procedures are to be adopted, it is perhaps
the best to use true/false type items since this reduces the amount of reading and the
selection to be made. (3) The testees listen to the lecture and then receive the question
paper. They read it through and then listen to the lecture given a second time.
44
Conclusion
To conclude, the listening comprehension test is not only about to test listening but it
can also measure other major and sub skills which are related to the listening
comprehension. And we should use process-oriented approach while constructing the
listening comprehension tests as it will make the test more attractive.
Reference
Ahmadi, S. M. (2016). The importance of listening comprehension in language learning.
Azizinia, H., Sadeghoghli, H., & Mohebkhah, V. (2017). A Study of English Listening
Comprehension Improvement via Product-vs. Process-Oriented Tactics: The
Case Study of Shiraz EFL Learners. International Journal of Research in English
Education, 2(3), 22-31.
Heaton, J. B. (1990). Writing English Language Tests. New York.
Su, S. W., & Liu, C. H. (2012). Teaching listening comprehension skills: A test-
orientated approach. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(3), 458.
Kim, Y. S. G., & Pilcher, H. (2016). What is listening comprehension and what does it
take to improve listening comprehension? In Interventions in Learning Disabilities
(pp. 159-173). Springer, Cham.
45
A Much Needed Paradigm Shift: Discussing the Possibility
of Utilizing Alternative Assessments in the ESL Classroom
in Sri Lanka
Sachin Wanniarachchi
English Language Teaching Unit,
Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka
Wayanthi Egodage
Department of English Language Teaching
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka
The desideratum to shift from conventional assessment methods to novel and

alternative assessment methods has become a sine qua non in current pedagogic
practices in Sri Lanka. Incorporating alternative assessments into the ESL classroom
can divert monotonous and mundane assessment methods that intimidate the learner.
Lorna (2006) elucidates that “assessment is a process which uses diverse tools created
to ratify the knowledge gained by students” (Lorna, 2006, p. 29). However, the validity
of the process utilized for the ratification of the students’ knowledge required in the
21st century is debatable.
Morrow, Shanahan and Wixon (2012) accentuate that “assessment choices are crucial
for successful student preparation; the assessment should emphasize critical reading,
writing and higher order thinking skills” (Morrow, Shanaha, & Wixon, 2012, p. 37). It
is rather questionable whether orthodox assessments can boost critical thinking while
providing the learner to amalgamate what he/she has learnt in the class into
application. Another conundrum that evokes from the discussion is how far does
traditional written examination satisfy the skills required in the 21 st century?
Analogizing the two types of assessments, i.e. traditional assessments and alternative
assessments, it is conspicuous that traditional examinations hinder critical thinking,
impede collaboration, leadership and creativity while depriving the student of the
exposure to information literacy, media literacy and technology literacy. Although the
utilization of conventional assessment methods has been detrimental to the Sri Lankan
ESL learner, the authority deliberately perpetuates the practice without alteration for
a considerable period. This leads to the repercussion of producing incompetent ESL
learners who lack critical thinking skills and innovative skills.
Knuth’s dogma (1991) is apt to fathom the repercussions of utilizing traditional

assessments- a consequence of using traditional assessments is that students tend to
46
memorize facts with little opportunity to practice higher-order thinking skills. It is
conspicuous that through traditional assessment methods, the students are not
assessed according to their creativity, innovativeness and skills yet, their capacity to
memorize. For instance, rote learning practices are highly encouraged in the Sri Lankan
ESL classroom. Students are advised to memorize dialogues provided in the text book
and the learner is assessed based on his/her capacity to memorize. This is highly
disadvantageous to the ESL learner since ESL assessments should be diagnostic,
providing instructors with space to scaffold the learner when necessary while
identifying the issues that their students encounter. Alternative assessment focuses
more on the students’ strengths, therefore authorizing the instructor to get a more
accurate view of students’ achievement, of what they can do, and of what they are
trying to do. It should also involve identifying what students know and what they can
do in the language. (North Carolina State Department, 1994, p. 14) It is practically
impossible to accommodate aforementioned factors within the scope of traditional
assessments. Moqbel (2018) cites Richards and Renandya (2002) in order to reiterate
that “In EFL classrooms traditional assessment often fails to meet the interest of
teachers in identifying what their students can do in the language” (Rihard &
Renandya, 2002, p. 336). The project Assessment, Articulation and Accountability
(1999) evinces six rationales for alternative assessments and most of them are
applicable to the local pedagogic practices.
 To address realistic tasks

 To include good instructional tools
 To communicate what we value
 To meet the students’ different learning styles
 To capture complex outcomes
 To collaborate and interact with students
Sri Lankan textbooks of English deliberately avoid socio-political realities of the local
sphere while introducing examples from foreign cultures which are totally alien to the
local ESL learner. This alienation leads to a perplexity that widens the gap between
English language and the learner himself. Most of the examples provided in the text
book are not realistic and culturally appropriate to the local learner of English. Hence,
the students are assessed in terms of student’s potential to grasp a culture unknown to
them. The necessity of alternative assessments arises here, where students are assessed
based on their ability to cope with authentic practices. Third point highlights that both
what we value and assessed should be aligned. Even though the importance of
speaking, reading and listening skills are given much prominence in Sri Lankan ESL
classes, they are not properly assessed in any of the examinations. Hence, the student
infer that only writing skills should be prioritized and not the other skills. It is not
47
surprising to fathom that majority of the ESL learners (including the students who have
obtained an ‘A’ pass for English) depict a clear dearth of speaking, listening and reading
skills in the classroom. The fourth point depicts how alternative assessments cater to
the different learning styles of the ESL learners. In a class of mixed competency levels,
students select the most convenient method of assessment. Hence, one may select
journals over presentations or vice versa. This diversity is advantageous in assessing the
student since, evaluating the student on what they integrate and produce is more
productive than evaluating what they are able to recall and reproduce (Macias, 2002,
p. 339).
In many of the universities, traditional assessment marks the end of the course and
most of the courses do not provide the learner with feedback obstructing the learner to
overcome his mistakes. The case is similar in most of the government universities in Sri
Lanka. Even if the feedback is provided, the student is not equally assessed in all four
skills. The assessment is rather seen an end in itself than an integral part of instruction.
Since peer evaluation, self-evaluation and teacher evaluation are considered essential
parts in alternative assessment, this issue can be mitigated when alternative
assessments are incorporated into the ESL classroom while lessening the stress and
anxiety in students (Huerta, 2002, p. 338).
A significant problem observable in the ESL classroom in implementing alternative

assessments is the resistance of the students to take part in assessing the peer and
themselves, thinking that assessing is primarily the teacher’s job and not theirs.
Debunking the fallacy that only the teacher can assess the student in the ESL classroom
has been an essential desideratum. Most of the ESL classrooms are highly teacher
centered where banking concept of education (Freire, 1968) is accepted. Freirian
dogma on banking concept of education, where the students are encouraged by the
teacher to memorize mechanically display a close similitude to the conventional
methods used to teach speaking skills in the conventional ESL classroom.
Aforementioned method can curb one from learning the target language that
submerges his consciousness. However, the remedy, liberating education which fosters
authentic and critical thinking and, “thinking that is centered about reality” (Freire,
1968, p. 64) deals with the emergence of critical consciousness (Freire, 1968, p. 64).
Further, Freire hypothesizes that conventional rote learning practices barricade the
learner from being autonomous. For instance, it is debatable whether the memorization
of dialogues which is popular in the local ESL classroom can be applied in authentic
situations.
48
References
Afsahi, S. E., & Tabrizi, H. H. (2017). Iranian EFL Teacher's Assessment Literacy and
inclination towards the use of Alternative Assessment. Journal of Applied
Linguistics and Language Research, 283-290.
Bachelor, R. B. (2017). Alternative Assessments and Student Perceptions in the World

Language Classroom. The TELTA Journal.
Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing. Oxford University

Press.
Bachman, L. F., (2002). Some reflections on task-based language performance

assessment. Language Testing, 19(4), 453-476
Cuesta, P., Mayorga, J., Padilla, Y., & Mayorga, A. (2019). Alternative Assessment Tools
for the Writing Skill Development of EFL learners. European Scientific Journal.
Dietel, R. J., Herman, J.L., & Knuth, R, A. (1991). What does research say about assessment?
NCREL, Oak Brook. Retrieved from:
https://es.scribd.com/document/150546037/What-Does-Research-Say-About-
Assessment
Freire, P. (1968). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Seabury Press.
Huerta-Macias, A. (2002). Alternative assessment: Response to commonly asked
questions. In J. Richards & W. Renandya (Eds.) Methodology in language teaching:
An anthology of current practice (pp.338-343). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
Lorna, E. & Steven, K. (2006). Chapter 5: Assessment of Learning Rethinking Classroom

Assessment with Purpose in Mind. Western and Northern Canadian Protocol:
British Columbia, Canada
Morrow, L. M., Shanahan, T., & Wixson, K. K. (Eds.). (2012). Teaching with the common
core standards for English language arts. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction. (1999). Assessment, articulation,

and accountability, 1999: a foreign language project. Raleigh, NC: Author
Spurling, S., & Hyin. D. (1985). The impact of learner variables on language test
performance. TESOL Quarterly 19, 2: 283-301.
49
Uswa Sarwar
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
(Frederick Douglass)
In 1970, Goodman refers to reading as, “A psycholinguistic guessing-game.” Alderson

describes reading as the most extensively researched and the most enigmatic of the so-
called language skills. Process of reading has five aspects: phonics, phonemic
awareness, vocabulary, fluency and reading comprehension. The ability to read with
comprehension is one of the most helpful gifts that teachers give to their learner. It is
very important for language learner to have the ability to read with proper
understanding. In 1985, Perfetti claims- the definition of reading ability comes from
considering both speed and comprehension. Reading comprehension test intends to
measure the learner’s ability to comprehend written academic and non-academic texts.
Reading comprehension tests enable the learners: to recognize words and word groups,
to deduce the meaning by understanding word formation and contextual clues, to
understand explicitly stated information, to understand relations within the sentences,
to understand the text through lexical and grammatical devices, to perceive temporal
and spatial relationships of ideas, to understand conceptual meaning, to anticipate and
predict what will come next, to identify the main idea, to understand the information
not explicitly given, to skim and scan the text, to read critically and adopt a flexible
approach for the text, and help to know the weaknesses as well as strengths of the
learners.
As we know the importance of testing reading comprehension, we need to know the

principles for constructing it. So, here we have some principle for constructing reading
test in the guidance of Brown. In 2004, Brown gives principles for constructing reading
comprehension test that reading is a process of negotiating meaning. Therefore, the
texts for a reading test should be interactive. Learners should have mastered bottom-
up strategies (to assess separate letters, phrases, and words) at initial levels and top-
down strategies (comprehension abilities) at the elementary and advance levels. The
texts should support the development of formal schemata. There is no such technology
available as to measure what there actually is in the brain, reading comprehension
assessment should be carried out through inference and such texts be given as to enable
the learners to predict meaning.
50
The most important part of any test should be the content taking. The content should
have according to the ability of learners in reading skills because the students still have
no prior knowledge about the target language. Teachers have to decide the content
appropriately according to the students’ ability and knowledge and the content also
should be according to the teacher’s objectives. In 1978, Pearson and Johnson find that
implicit or explicit information, provided in questions, also influences the item
difficulty. The text selection should be different for different levels of learners. The
content for reading comprehension test should be readable, valid, suitable for learners,
meaningful, according to learners’ linguistics level and also familiar with learner. So, it
is good, if we take content from real world. Brown (2004) divides the reading test into
three parts: academic genre, job related reading and personal reading, and all these have
their own rules. Text should be taken from reading extracts, journals, newspaper
articles, literary texts, magazines, instructions from manuals of appliance, public
notices, opinion writings, advertisements, technical reports, directory extracts,
timetables, books and etc. We can follow the Bloom’s taxonomy (1952) for scoring the
learners. Bloom taxonomy’s (1952) first two levels help a lot for scoring reading
comprehension test. Reading comprehension test can be direct test as well as indirect.
Because if the teacher is using material from real life situation of reading, having the
students’ respond to question verbally and or in writing it can be direct test. But if
teacher should assess knowledge without authentic application it can be indirect test.
So, basically it depends on teachers how they construct reading test.
For reading comprehension test, we have few levels as discussed by Mohammad and
Brown describe the levels of reading comprehension differently. In 1999, Mohammad
says that these tests take place at three levels which are: literal comprehension,
interpretive or referential comprehension and critical reading. In 2004, Brown
describes two levels at reading comprehension which are: micro level and macro level.
According to many researchers, Brown’s levels are more reliable and well-structured.
Many language tests like TOEFL measuring at these levels (micro & macro) are
constructed. Anyhow, both have their own importance.
There is no specific time duration for reading comprehension test, so, teacher should
limit the time duration according to their need, test complexity and students’ reading
comprehension ability as well. For specify the time spam, teachers should also focus on
levels of learners. But it requires less time to administer for a given amount of material.
Some studies shown that the test will last no longer than 45 minutes and allow time
for slower candidates to complete within this time.
There are many ways and testing items to test the reading which includes: word
matching, sentence matching, pictures and sentence matching, intermediate and
advanced stages of reading, true/ false tests, multiple choice items short text, multiple
51
choice items longer text, completion items, rearrangement items, cloze procedure,
Open-ended and miscellaneous items, and Cursory reading. All these items are
measuring the reading skill and sub skills but all skills cannot measure at one time.
In 2000, Alderson insists that all test-developers face problems while deciding how
long the text length should be for different levels on which their test will base. Because
every writer describes the length of paragraph according to their own point which is
suitable for some cases but not in all basically it depends on situation of learners as well
as their ability. Other studies shown that the length for an extract ranges of the text
should be 50 to 100 words at beginner level, 200 to 300 words at intermediate level and
400 to 600 words at advance level of learners. The length of the shorter paragraph
should be 300 to 600 words and for longer paragraph length of words should be 600 to
1200 words.
In this essay, we described the importance of testing reading comprehension, what this
test intends to measure, principles for testing, testing items for reading comprehension,
from where the content should be taken, what should be the text is, length of the text,
scoring method of test, etc.
In conclusion, reading skills is one of the most important and critical skills of language
and it is difficult to isolate it from listening, speaking and writing because one skill can
overlap the other one. Testing the reading comprehension should seem easiest testing
skill but it is the most difficult one. Fluency, accuracy and flexibility needs to be tapped
in reading test. There is no best method for testing but somehow there has methods.
And a single test item cannot check all sub skills of reading at a time. Reading test has
lack of connection with real world text.
“Comprehension of reading is very important.”
(Yuill & Oakhill, 1991)
References
Ahmad, M., Shakir, A., Aqeel, M., & Siddique, A. R. (2017). Principles for Devising a
Reading Comprehension Test: A Library Based Review. Al-Qalam, 22(2), 86-104.
Arshad, A., Shakir, A., & Ahmad, M. (2020). A Review on the Principles of a Reading
Comprehension Test Construction to Assess the Test Takers at Different
Levels. Hamdard Islamicus, 43(1&2), 123-138.
Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of

educational goals. Cognitive domain.
52
Brown, H. D. (2004). Language assessment principles and classroom practices. New York:
Longman.
Heaton, J. B. (1975). Writing English language tests: A practical guide for teachers of English as a
second or foreign language. Longman Publishing Group.
Mohamad, A. (1999). What do we test when we test reading comprehension. The

Internet TESL Journal, 5(12).
53
Oral Production Tests: A Review Study
Muhammad Rizwan Amanat
Language evaluation of any type demonstrates that what students know and can do
with language and how much they successfully learned in a given course which helps
their instructors to know about students’ strengths and weaknesses and on the basis
of that they can develop or modify their teaching strategies. Along with the other
language skills, testing speaking ability is the most important aspect in language
testing. There are various oral production tests which are intended to test the speaking
ability of the students and each test is designed according to level of the learners. These
tests require students to act, in the same manner as we do while talking and listening
to English in the real world, to describe, clarify, ask questions, set examples, and
address questions. It requires students to speak naturally rather than to give a prepared
speech. Oral production tests includes interviews, reading aloud tests, retelling of
stories, using pictures for assessing oral production etc. There are some shortcomings
of these tests and some researchers have also suggested few solutions for the problems
while administrating listening comprehension tests.
One important type of oral production test is an interview in which the student is
asked some questions by the interviewer which he has to answer only in the target
language. It will show the speaking ability and mainly the communicative competence
of the students that either they are being able to understand and answer the questions
properly and convey their messages in L2 successfully or not. Oral interviews offer a
realistic means of assessing the total oral skill in a natural speech situation. Some
researchers disagree with this saying that it is totally artificial and unrealistic because
students are placed not in natural real life speech situations but in examination
situations. They face the psychological pressure and they are also being susceptible to
using only formal register and specific tone during the interview
Another type of test used for testing speaking ability of the students is reading aloud
method. Many present day, oral tests include in which a student is given short time to
glance through a passage before reading it aloud. Though the ability to communicate in
natural speech situation is very different from such tests but still there are some
benefits of this item. Mainly, it is used to test the pronunciation as distinct from the
total speaking skills. So, it is more beneficial to use this test in combination with
another test which involves a natural speech setting. Tests that involve reading aloud
54
technique are helpful for testees to imagine actual situation in which testees may
require to act or perform such as asking or giving instructions or directions.
Another type of oral test become more useful when the retelling of stories in which
students can be given some stories to read and then they will have to retell the story to
the whole class in the target language by using their own words. In this way, students
face a real life situation of addressing the whole class. This type of tests are very
beneficial in assessing the phonological features of students language as well as the
intonation patterns which they are required to follow while telling the stories. The
criteria can be varied for different level of learners by selecting the difficulty level of the
text, changing the allocated time, changing the reading source, for example, a student
reads a story in his mother tongue and then he will have to describe this using only the
target language etc.
Another method which is quite useful in testing the speaking ability of the learners is
by using pictures. Pictures, maps and diagrams can be used in this test (Heaton, 1988).
There are many ways to conduct this test. It can be conducted individually by giving a
student some pictures asking him to describe what is happening in these pictures. Or
it can be assigned in pairs or in small groups in which there is a scene or an incident
given in the pictures. Teacher gives the students a sequence of pictures to rearrange.
Students can begin by describing their own pictures without showing it to the others
after each picture has been described; the group describes an appropriate sequence and
gives a number to each picture in a proper manner. Then the group members put them
down in the decided sequence. Similarly, discussing two pictures, describing a single
scene and different activities can be performed using this method. This will show
students’ ability to understand and convey their ideas sequentially, individually or can
be done in collaboration with a group. This activity will allow the examiner to test the
communicative competence of the learners.
There are many disadvantages or shortcomings of testing speaking ability such as

subjectivity of the examiner during interviews or separating the listening skill from the
speaking skill because listening is the input and speaking is the output and it proves
difficult to focus and assess them separately in a satisfactory manner. Another
disadvantage of such tests is that we cannot test large number of students in oral
production tests as we can do in testing other skills particularly the ones which
involves written tests. Then there is the lack of ability among students to communicate
their ideas correctly and most importantly some of them cannot pronounce all the
sounds correctly due to the influence of the mother tongue which brings the difficulty
in scoring criteria even at the same level of learners if not different. So, these are some
disadvantages whose solutions are still to be founded. This problem can be solved in
various ways such as selecting the teacher as an interviewer or taking interviews in
55
pairs keeping the fellow students together so that they feel comfortable in this situation
and feel free to answer the questions without any pressure. Types of questions and the
scoring criteria are varied according to the level of learners. They are carefully designed
to be marked according to specified criteria, and follow strict protocols in their
application, recording, and marking (Coombe, 2018).
The scoring criteria in oral production tests vary in accordance with each type of test.
As in interviews, the inside classroom scoring criteria varies from the outside classroom
scoring criteria. It varies when teacher is the examiner or when there is an external
examiner. All tests should be designed keeping in view the competence level of the
learners and the marking schemes are devised by the examiners for each level of learners
in which all the set patterns and rules are being mentioned such as there are separate
scores for general fluency, grammar, vocabulary, phonology, accuracy of narration
comprehensibility etc. So, if someone needs help in some area but he is good in another,
his scores will be mentioned accordingly. In some tests scores are mentioned on the
spot but in some the examiner records and then listens again to the recordings carefully
and by following the marking scheme, decides the students’ scores. Whatever the case
is the criteria should be based on the realistic expectations of what successful learners
can achieve at a particular stage in their development.
I personally agree with those researchers who supports the involvement of the
students’ class teacher as the examiner in order to obtain good and appropriate results
from oral production tests. It is more reliable because there’s a point of familiarity
which releases the stress factor of the students because they have some bonding
between them as the teacher is a familiar figure for the students as compared to some
external examiner and the classroom a realistic part of students’ life so they will be at
ease. Moreover, teacher already has some ideas about the students’ performance and
from such tests, he can assess them and modify his teaching strategies according to the
results more efficiently and it will prove more beneficial for the welfare of the students.
Another thing, is this that the combination of different oral tests will prove from
fruitful in evaluating students’ speaking ability because all tests at some extent assesses
distinct factors of speaking as reading aloud tests pronunciation, whereas the activity
using pictures is more helpful in assessing the comprehensibility of the students so the
combination of two or more tests will prove more helpful in getting the exact results
and making the process of evaluation more efficient.
References
Coombe, C. (2018). An A to Z of Second Language Assessment: How Language Teachers

Understand Assessment Concepts. London, UK: British Council.
56
Heaton, J. B. (1988). Writing English Language Tests: Longman Handbook for Language Teachers
(New Edition). London: Longman Group UK Ltd.
Komarudin, R. S. (2008). Testing Oral Production.
57
Translating Cultural Term in Novel A Student Named
Hidjo by Marco from Indonesia into English Version:
Category Material Culture
Lely Rahmawati
State University of Jakarta, Indonesia
This study essentially intentions at analyzing translation ideology in cultural-term-

translation of a novel entitled: A Student Named Hidjo written by Marco Kartodikromo
(1918) and translated by Paul Tickell into an English language text. This study has
followed the framework designed by Venuti (2004) who classified the ideology of
translation such as foreignization and domestication and the theory about techniques
of translation composed by Molina and Albir (2002). The writer has used a translation
approach designed by Newmark. This study has explored the different types of cultural
terms in translating the novel from one language to another. Keeping in view the
translation techniques i.e. adaptation, amplification, pure borrowings, and equivalent
description are available. In this study, two dominants techniques of translation,
namely amplification and equivalent description have been applied. It shows that the
translator wants to convey about the cultural terms in details, meanwhile the
domestication becomes the dominant ideology of translation, and it proves that the
translator still wants to preserve the originality from the cultural term of the source
language. Translation to TL (English) in this novel bestows a shift in the translating of
material culture in English version.
1. Introduction
Nowadays, translation has become a crucial issue. The definition of translation itself is
the practice of converting words or texts from one language into another. According to
Catford (2002), translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by
equivalent textual material in another language. Based on this viewpoint, translation
has become the arbitration to convey the message of certain information from the
source language (SL) to the target language (TL), especially for the people who do not
expertise about a certain foreign language, may not be able to perceive something
written in it and automatically they will not get the message of certain information.
One of the most universal languages used by many people to inform something to the
whole world is English. In fact, English has been used since many years ago as the
international language. In many aspects such as literary works, information of
technology and news are spread out to the world through English. Many books are
58
written in English and translated in Indonesian by the translators. The existence of
translators is needed, because many Indonesians do not understand English well.
Nida and Charles (2003) said that during translating the text, a translator must have a
translation competence in order to produce a good translation. Because the aim of
translation is to communicate the meaning of a SL text by means of an equivalent TL
text, but, sometimes the difference between SL and TL has the variation in their
cultures. As a result, it can challenge the process of translation. Yang (2010) says that
the translators must recognize the problem which s/he faced in the translation and also
can determine whether the texts are appropriate to publish or not. The translators
must identify the culture and situation from both SL and target TL.
Newmark (2001) stated that in translating a literary work, the concept of cultural term
is very popular, because culture implies to the form of life and its expression that are
distinctive to a society who uses a specific language as its means of expressions. Venuti
(2004) proposed two terms to define these two methods such as: first domesticating
and second is foreignization translation. Domestication and foreignization are two
element-ideologies of translation which contain cultural and linguistic perspective. A
translator pursues to assemble a target text as commonly as possible while using the
domestication in translating. S/he tries to diminish the weirdness of the different text
both in the SL and TL, as the result the readers not only through a fair and eloquent
style of translation but also the TL readers can feel like reading an original text. Machali
(2012) stated that, in foreignization translation, a translator pursue to make the TL
readers to the different culture of the SL and make them feel the differences in the
culture. In this case, the TL readers can admit that they are not reading an original but
the translated text.
Repeatedly, Kemppanen (2012) stated that the terms of domestication and

foreignization are contemplated as strategies, methods, and ideologies of translation.
As long as the translators regard that their translation is adequate and precise, it means
that domestication and foreignization are dealing with ideologies. Newmark(1988)
classified the cultures specific terms into five groups such as: (1) Ecology which
indicates to distinct cultural terms on fauna, flora, hills, and winds; (2) Material culture
which refers to numerous types of clothes, national food, arts, artefacts, towns, and
transport; (3) Social culture which implies to cultural terms on work and convenience;
(4) Social organization which assign to customs, national organizations, concepts
(political, religious, and artistic) and activities; and 5) Gestures and habits which
implies to salute and manner intently associated toward the culture.
Furthermore, the technique of translation might be explained as the approached which

is used by translators while translating the smaller units in a language (phrases,
59
expressions, or words) from the SL into the TL. Molina and Albir (2002) introduce 18
techniques of translation, such as: (1) Amplification; (2) Adaptation; (3) Calque; (4)
Borrowing; (5) Description; (6) Compensation; (7) Established equivalent; (8)
Discursive creation; (9) Linguistic amplification; (10) Generalization (11) Literal
translation; (12) Linguistic compression; (13) Particularization; (14) (Modulation; (15)
Substitution (paralinguistic and linguistic); (16) Transposition; (17) Reduction; and
(18) Variation.
The focus of this research is on examining the ideology in translating of Indonesian

cultural terms into English with a focus on the terms of material-cultural such as
national food, clothes, arts and artefacts in the novel entitled A Student Named Hidjo.
The SL is based on Indonesian version. The English version becomes the TL of the
translation. This novel is written by Marco Kartodikromo (1918). It is the true story
novel about the birth of native intellectuals, who are born from the bourgeoisie, and
boldly contrast cultural life between traditional Javanese as colonized and Dutch as
colonizers in 1900s.
Nonetheless, translation ideology phenomena that appears in this novel such as

foreignization and domestication in the term of cultural items. A considerable research
has been conducted, such as from Rekinagara (2017) with the journal entitled
Foreignization and domestication of culture-related terms in Paulo Coelho’s English
version of adultery into Indonesian version of Selingkuh. This research has found that
mostly of the data uses the foreignization owing to the globalization era, as a result
many people have familiar with foreign terms.
The writer has not found yet the research about novel A Student Named Hidjo exactly
in the translation of cultural term category material cultures such as national food,
clothes, arts and artefacts.
3. Methods
The writer approach this study from Newmark’s (2001) perspective and intents at
finding the ideology in translating of cultural term toward novel A Student Named
Hidjo with the category of material cultures such as national food, clothes, arts and
artefacts into English version. Molina and Albir (2002) classified the ideology of
translation into two types such as foreignization and domestication.
In this research, the writer aimed at identifying translation ideology. The data analysis
began by classifying the cultural term category. The data of material culture is
evaluated by defining translation ideology itself. Finally, the writer pursued to bestow
the techniques of translation on the presence and the survival of material culture which
as used in the novel. The
60
4. Results and Discussion
Many Indonesian cultural terms appeared in the novel based on five categories as
proposed by Newmark (2001) i.e. ecology (flora, winds, fauna, etc.), material culture
(food, artefacts; houses, clothes, arts and transport); social culture (leisure and work);
social organization (political, religious and administrative; gestures and habits. Take a
look at Table 1.
Table 1. Indonesian Cultural Terms

Sr. Category Element
1 Clothes, National Foods, National arts, and Artefacts Material Culture
Total 8
The writer is presenting numerous examples which include representative data, on the
other hand to identify each element of material culture, exactly clothes, national food,
arts and artefacts, the writer only prioritized the interesting ones to be displayed.
Here are some of the examples which are analyzed by the writer. For example, Clothes,
National Foods, National Arts and Artefacts.
Table 2. Data 1
Data SL TL
Hari There is something special about
1 inikautampakluarbiasamemakaibe you today. You’re wearing formal
skap men’s shirt in Javanesse tradition.
In the data (1) above, the beskap is translated into formal men’s shirt through
domestication ideology. In this case, he admits the amplification technique of
translation because we can see that the translator proposes such techniques as are not
codified in the SL by clarifying paraphrasing. Actuallty, beskap is Javanesse traditional
clothes for men. The translator spreads domestication ideology in translating the text.
It is a labelled amplification since the translator adds some information to the meaning
of beskap in the SL.
Table 3. Data 2
Data SL TL
Saatitu para penarimembawakeris At that time, the dancers brought
2
di tanganmereka some knife in their hands.
In table 3, Keris is translated into knife. The real meaning for the Keris is the Indonesian
traditional weapon which shapes like a knife. The translator applies domestication
61
ideology to his translation. Keris has a length more than fifty centimeters, it can be able
to penetrate into the human body, and it is not only used to be as a weapon but also as
a spiritual object. The translator renders it into knife because the Keris correspond
with the knife. Keris are translated through technique of adaptation which uses a
translation shift in cultural environment. It happens to convey the message using a
different situation.
Table 4. Data 3
Data SL TL
In the middle of the pendopo,
Para penaridariwilayah Solo
the dancers from Solo began to
3 mulaimenari di
dance to the classic Javanese
tengahpendopodenganlagusrikaton
Melody Srikaton
In table 3, lagusrikaton is translated into Javanese Melody Srikaton with details. It means
that the translator applies the amplification technique of translation because of
explaining further about “melody srikaton” which has a meaning as the Javanese
traditional song. The translator applies domestication ideology of translation. It is
called amplification since the meaning for lagusrikaton in target language is Melody
Srikaton by adding the word Javanese. In this case, the translator adds the identity of
Melody Srikaton which has corresponds with Javanese.
Table 5. Data 4
Data SL TL
Gamelan yang dipukul para The musicians started playing gamelan
niaga, (a traditional Indonesian ensemble) ,
4
suaranyaamatnyaringterdengar and the voices of the singers from Solo
di telinga were clear and enchanting
In table 5, the term of gamelan table is named as a technique of equivalent description.

Since the translator gives an additional information using brackets. Hence, the
translator enforced domestication ideology in the text. Here, the translator explains
the informational about gamelan without omitting the word “gamelan” and as a result
the readers can know further about it.
Table 6. Data 5
Data SL TL
Some went to the Javanese
5 Beberapa orang melihatwayang orang
Puppet Show
62
In the data (5) above, wayang orang translated into Javanese Puppet Show by the translator
through domestication ideology. Here, he admits the technique of adaptation and
amplification in translating the text. The translator puts the word Javanese in the
translation of wayang orang into Javanese Puppet Show with the intent of suggesting
and asserting what the term the puppet show is used for in the context of the cultural
identity. Wayang orang literally means a traditional form of puppet from Central Java.
Table 7. Data 6
Data SL TL
Why are you wearing kebaya
Kenapakamumemakaikebaya?
6 (traditional dress of women from
BalasHidjo
Indonesia)? said Hidjo
In table 7, kebaya is translated into traditional dress for the women in Indonesia. Based
on the text, the translator applies domestication ideology and kebaya is translated
using equivalent description as the technique in translating the text. This translation
presents in case that the translator uses the term kebaya with a description of its
characteristics. Adding the information about kebaya will make the readers perceiving
about it easily.
Table 8. Data 7
Data SL TL
She ate a lot of Gudeg (young jackfruit
7 Diamakangudegdenganlahap
which is cocked with seasoning)
In table 8, gudeg is translated with adding information about it. The gudeg is Indonesian
traditional food. It is can be found in Java Island and has a sweet taste. The translator
applies domestication ideology to his translation. The translator restores it with an
explanation about gudeg because it is translated through establishing the technique of
equivalent description. Meanwhile, it can make the readers have the knowledge about
the description of gudeg.
Table 9. Data 8
Data SL TL
Diamenerima telegram She received a telegram from her
8
darisuaminya. husband
In table 9 telegram is translated into telegram. A telegram is a mailing service for

sending the letters and money. Based on the text, the translator uses foreignization
63
ideology and has still translated it through the technique of pure borrowing by using
the same term in TL.
5. Conclusion
This research concentrates on translation ideology in cultural term categories i.e.

national food, clothes, arts and artefacts and the techniques of translation which are
used in novel A Student Named Hidjo based on the ideology and techniques of
translation. This research declares the findings and suggestion. Based on the data
analysis, the writer has found translation ideology in cultural term exactly about the
category material-culture writing in this novel. According to the analysis that has been
conducted; they are foreignization and domestication. Techniques of translation which
are used in this novel in cultural term category are national food, clothes, arts and
artefacts namely: amplification, adaptation, pure borrowings, and equivalent
description. The scope of the research only stresses on the analysis of translation
ideology in the cultural term category national food, clothes, arts and artefacts and
techniques of translation. The main focus of the research is the identification of
category material-culture which applies to the novel entitled: A Student Named Hidjo.
Furthermore, for the suggestion of the next researchers, it would be fascinating to

explore and classify culture-specific terms in other categories such as: (1) ecology
which implies some cultural terms on fauna, flora, winds, and plains; (2) social culture
which refers to cultural terms on leisure and work; (3) social organization which
indicates to national organizations, activities, procedures, customs, and concepts
(religious, and political); and (4) gestures and habits which assign to the gestures and
habits that are related to the culture. Finally, the writer hopes that this research will
give a benefit and become the reference for those who want to study and explore more
about translation ideology especially in the cultural term.
References
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Machali, R. (2012). Cases of domestication and foreignization in the translation of

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Herskovits, A. (1985). Semantics and pragmatics of locative expressions. Cognitive

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Langacker, R.W. (2008). Cognitive grammar: A basic introduction. Oxford: Oxford

Morras, J. (2018). Base conceptual de la preposición entre y sus equivalentes de la

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Vandeloise, C. (1994). Methodology and analysis of the preposition in. Cognitive

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Anderson, R. C., & Freebody, P. (1981). Vocabulary knowledge. In J. T. Guthrie (Ed.),

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Meara, P. (1990). A note on passive vocabulary. Second Language Research, 6, 150-154.

Melka, F. (1997). Receptive vs. productive aspects of vocabulary. In N. Schmitt, & M.

Nation, I. S. P. (1983). Testing and teaching vocabulary. Guidelines, 5, 12-25.

Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge

Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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