A history of terminology is a history of professional discourse. Terminology is the basic element of professional discourse, and the construction of a system for terminology is a mirror of the progress and direction of any discipline. This paper presents an outline of the ideas underlying the compilation of A Dictionary of Translation Studies in China (Second Edition), and introduces the editorial policy, the selection principles, and the editorial practice of the dictionary. It reveals that the amount of literature on Chinese translations occurs in tandem with improvements in the translation discourse system. The dictionary has witnessed the conception, birth, and development of the discipline of translation.

This article answers questions concerning the naming of Translator Behavior Criticism as why“translator behavior”is for the theory but“translator’s behavior”is more often seen in the studies, why“行为”is expressed as“behavior”instead of“action”or“act”, why the“theory”cannot be refereed to as“idea”, why “translator behavior studies”can also be taken to be translation theory discourse as well as why“utility-attaining”is a term but“beyond utility-attaining”is not, and under what condition could“beyond utility-attaining”be a term, and the like. Doubts need to be cleared by the initiator of the theory in time so that the theory and the relating studies could be developed in its right way.

The xu-based continuation writing tasks provide new approaches to teaching foreign languages, and the facilitating effects of continuation writing tasks on the acquisition of foreign vocabulary have been thoroughly substantiated. This review presents a discussion of the theoretical background and the facilitation mechanism of the xu-argument, followed by a summary of the status quo of the research on the facilitating effects of continuation writing tasks, including the types of tasks that are used to promote vocabulary acquisition, the research paradigm adopted to collect the data, and the factors that are assumed to influence the facilitating effects. Specifically, research on the facilitating effects of continuation writing tasks on the acquisition of foreign vocabulary has involved (1) a limited number of task types, omitting tasks with greater alignment magnitude, such as multi-turn continuation writing or cross-type continuation writing; (2) has frequently adopted a traditional paradigm with a sole focus on the depth or quality of vocabulary knowledge, overlooking the indispensable role of lexical fluency; and (3) has identified alignment magnitude and foreign-language proficiency as factors that influence the facilitating effects, with little attention having been paid to cognitive and emotional factors. The corresponding trends and prospects are also discussed in this review.

According to the xu-argument proposed by Wang (2016, 2017), languages are acquired via xu (a Chinese word with the meaning of continuation), and highly efficient language learning can be achieved through xu. We hold the view that the learning effect of xu can be promoted if language learners have fully developed competence in xu, hence the term xu-competence. What is xu-competence? Is there any evidence supporting the analysis of xu-competence? How might foreign-language teaching and research benefit from research on xu-competence? To answer these questions, an analytic model of xu-competence is proposed in the present paper with the aim of not only explaining what xu-competence is, but also of validating the power of xu-argument research. It points out that xu-competence, or competence in interaction and alignment is, in essence, a dynamically composed cluster of cognitive abilities and interactional skills. Evidence from cognitive research, educational research, and empirical xu-based research is then examined in this paper, and the value and challenges of xu-competence research are also discussed.

In order to better understand the role of input in written products, the focus in this study was on input processing from the perspective of noticing to explore the influence of Chinese English learners’allocation of noticing on writing outcomes in the continuation task. Input processing was recorded via the research methods of thinking aloud, notes, and immediate retrospective interviews, and was coded based on the three aspects of meaning, form, and organization. A correlation analysis to determine the proportion of noticing and the corresponding analytical scores (content, language use, and organization) was conducted. The results revealed that the noticing of meaning accounted for the highest proportion in the two tasks, followed by the noticing of organization and form. The noticing of form had a direct impact on writing outcomes, as the proportion of the noticing of form was negatively correlated with lexical complexity and positively correlated with accuracy. The focus on form during input processing was directly linked to the output results; therefore, in teaching practice, attention should be paid to the quality of learners’attention. This stimulates deep processing, thus facilitating effective language acquisition and internalization.

In this study, a Latin square design was adopted to examine the impacts of task type on the immediate learning of second language (L2) vocabulary. In addition, we tested the applicability of the type of processing-resource allocation (TOPRA) model from the novel perspective of the form-meaning mapping component. Fifty-one first-year non-English majors were recruited as participants; they learned a total of 24 words in the following three conditions: a semantic task, a formal task, and no task. A vocabulary test was administered immediately after the completion of the learning phase to measure the free recall and cued recall of the 24 words. The results of the first language (L1) free recall subtest showed that the task type had a significant effect on the learning of the semantic aspects of word knowledge, with the semantic task promoting and the formal task impeding the learning of the semantic aspects of word knowledge. The results of the L2 free recall subtest indicated that the task type had no significant effect on the learning of the formal aspects of word knowledge. The results of both the L1 and the L2 cued recall subtests showed that the task type had a significant effect on the learning of the form-meaning mapping component, with both the semantic task and the formal task impeding the learning of the form-meaning mapping component. These results partially supported the TOPRA model. This study has pedagogical implications for teaching L2 vocabulary.

As one of the world’s cradles of agriculture, China has long maintained an advanced level of agrarian civilization. China’s practical advantages in agricultural production have given rise to a large number of valuable and diverse agricultural classics, which have had a profound impact on the development of crop cultivation, production tools, and techniques worldwide. The impact of these agricultural classics can still be felt to this day, as they are deemed to be an essential constituent of China’s state project “Chinese culture going global through translation”. In this context, how many agricultural classics have been translated and the number of articles about their English translations that have been published are first addressed in this paper, followed by a systematic account of these articles in terms of their topics and theoretical bases, as well as the journals in which they were published and the classics on which they focused. The analysis revealed that only a small number of these classics have been translated, with studies of their translations having focused predominantly on certain specific texts. Furthermore, there is a noticeable lack of research from a broader macroscopic perspective, as well as an over-reliance on traditional research methodologies, among other identified issues. Finally, a summary of the paper’s limitations is presented and suggestions for future studies are provided.

The central task of the Communist Party of China on the new journey in the new era is to realize the Second Centenary Goal and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. From the perspective of Chinese Modernization, it is of great significance to clarify the ontological characteristics, historic missions and practical paths of Area Studies with Chinese characteristics. In terms of ontological characteristics, Country and Regional Studies in China not only has the common characteristics of similar studies in other countries, that is, “the study of thinking about how to change in a changing world”, but also has the Chinese characteristics based on national conditions, that is, “the study of the times guided by the concept of promoting a human community with a shared future”. In terms of historic missions, accelerating the discipline construction and practice of Area Studies is an inevitable requirement to promote Chinese modernization, an urgent need to build a human community with a shared future, and an integral component in accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. In terms of practical paths, this paper tries to answer the academic questions such as “for whom” “who will study” and “how to study” from the aspects of research objectives, research subjects and research principles, and finds out three practical paths: the unity of knowledge production and reality-driven demand, the unity of discipline construction and talent training, the unity of problem-oriented research and people-centered ideology.

The cooperation mechanism between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) has experienced more than 10 years of development since it was established in 2012. We reviewed and analyzed the research that Chinese scholars conducted on the CEECs during this period with the aim of providing reliable information and suggestions for researchers focusing on studies of the CEECs. We adopted the literature review method to systematically observe the academic work and disciplinary distribution that have been carried out from 2012 to 2022. The findings revealed significant improvements in the quantity and quality of the research on the CEECs. However, some problems need to be noted, such as the lack of specialized talents who are familiar with CEECs and insufficient interdisciplinary research. We provide strategic and academic research suggestions based on the study.

The prosodic cues in a speaker’s verbal output play a vital role in smooth, mutual communication for both parties. Research has shown that native English speakers can use prosodic cues during speech production to convey the intended meaning of an utterance. However, little is known about whether Chinese learners of English as a second language (L2) provide prosodic cues to achieve syntactic disambiguation when producing sentences in their L2. The present study aims to determine the precise prosodic cues that the Chinese learners of L2 English use to disambiguate prepositional phrase attachment (PP-attachment) sentences and whether these cues differ from those used by native English speakers. Under contextualized experimental conditions, Chinese college students who were learning English participated in a constrained task involving the verbal production of ambiguous English sentences with prepositional phrases. The results revealed that the Chinese college students who were learning English could use similar prosodic cues to those used by native English speakers to resolve the ambiguity in PP-attachment sentences. The findings highlight the interaction between prosodic features and implied meaning in English speech production, and suggest ways in which training in English prosody can improve not only Chinese learners’ pronunciation ability, but also their listening and reading proficiency.

As the categorization of thick translation remains a controversial issue, this paper presents an attempt to recategorize thick translation based on the analysis of its connotations and denotations from the perspective of its form and content; four criteria for classification are proposed. First, from the perspective of its form, thick translation can be classified as in-edition and out-edition types based on its location. The in-edition type can be classified as in-text and out-text types, and the in-text type can be further classified as in-sentence and out-sentence types. Second, based on its representing mode, thick translation can be categorized as overt and covert types; third, from the perspective of its content, thick translation can be semantic or cultural depending on the nature of its explanation. Fourth, based on the sources of its explanation, thick translation can be introductory or evaluative. Such elaborate recategorizations are theoretically important for understanding the nature of thick translation and for expanding the scope of its research.