China’s economic growth and improved international status have created an urgent need for high-level international communication capabilities to support national development in the era of AI. The objective of enhancing China’s capabilities in this regard is to cultivate high-level talents who possess a “5+5” set of skills: the five mindsets of “global vision, national standpoint, political acumen, economic thinking, and cultural inclusiveness”, and the five communication abilities of live broadcasting, resource integration, current affairs collection and editing, and translation and interpreting from a foreign language into Chinese and vice versa. To help cultivate international communication talents in the era of AI and put China’s interpreting talents at the center of the international stage, we have constructed the discipline of multimodal interpreting (MI). This research is grounded in the theory of Marxist materialism, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important thought on international communication, and the theories of interpreting communication studies (ICS) and communication interpreting studies (CIS). Beginning with the practice of interpreting, it reviews the evolution of interpreting studies and proposes a new perspective on the construction of the MI discipline, which integrates “practice-teaching-research” (PTR) with the aim of achieving improved interpreting practice, teaching, and research. This paper not only emphasizes the importance of interpreting practice and teaching but also enriches the theoretical connotations of interpreting studies, ICS, CIS, and embodied-cognitive interpreting studies, expands interpreting research ideas, and enhances international communication capabilities in the era of AI.

Any new academic theory or new discipline must have a new research object and a new theoretical system. The paper argues that transknowletology performs the same function as translatology, both of which aim to study the translation of knowledge. The processing and translation of knowledge has always been carried out according to different disciplines, fields, and genres. The goal of transforming local knowledge into global knowledge through translation is to enable target-language readers to have the same understanding and perception of the translated text as source-language readers do of the original text. Therefore, it is necessary to process the original knowledge by selecting appropriate linguistic forms, rhetorical devices, and discourse modes based on the specific communication methods and audiences of the different disciplines to which the knowledge belongs, rather than interpreting or reflecting on the knowledge. This study suggests that for transknowletology to achieve breakthroughs, it must draw on perspectives from international communication studies, systemic functional linguistics, and language for specific purposes (LSP) theory to provide a theoretical basis for the processing or translation of disciplinary knowledge.

Citation data currently serve as the most reliable indicator of scholarly impact. By performing a citation analysis on highly cited literature from 21 core journals, this study delineates the landscape and developmental features of contemporary translation studies in China. The findings reveal that traditional domains, such as culture, strategy, literature, interpretation, and teaching, form the core research areas of the field. However, significant new hotspots have also emerged, including the construction of indigenous theories, the integration of translation technology, and the service of national strategies. Theoretical research demonstrates a shift away from a primary reliance on Western theories towards a dynamic dialogue between Chinese and Western perspectives, as well as the rise of local theories, with frameworks such as Ecological Translatology gaining substantial influence. The study identifies several challenges, including a lack of original topics within popular fields, a dearth of focused perspectives, and a discernible gap in international scholarship, particularly with respect to audiovisual translation. These findings offer a systematic framework for understanding the discipline’s trajectory and charting future research directions.

The English translation of The Three-Body Problem (2014) by Ken Liu has set the highest record for sales of English translations of contemporary Chinese literature and for global library collections, marking a significant milestone in the translation and international dissemination of contemporary Chinese science fiction. In this article, the perspectives of transmission and reception were employed to analyze how the English translation of The Three-Body Problem achieves communication and interaction with English-speaking readers through various elements of peritexts and epitexts based on paratext theory with the hope of providing original perspectives and new approaches for the dissemination and acceptance of Chinese contemporary literature. It is suggested that the main text of the English translation serves as an intrinsic force, while the paratexts function as extrinsic forces. By interpreting, deepening, and extending the main text, the peritexts and epitexts both provide support for the main text, forming an organic and dynamic system that expands the communicative space and channels of The Three-Body Problem, collectively facilitating its dissemination and reception in the English-speaking world.

Corporate websites are not only the crucial online communication medium for companies, they are also typical platforms for multimodal resources. In this cross-cultural study, which was inspired by the GeM model and cross-cultural theories, the multimodality of Chinese and US corporate websites were compared by adopting a corpus-based approach. The results show that both Chinese and US corporate websites are dominated by text-typographic and photo-pictorial elements, followed by diagram-representational and video-animated elements. However, the Chinese sites tend to employ more multimodal elements in total and more text-typographic and video-animated elements compared to the US sites. The Chinese sites featured more news and photos that are arranged in an atomized and compartmental format, while the US websites often use larger-sized pictures as backgrounds on which other elements are embedded in a more complex manner. In addition, the Chinese sites display more indicative elements with interactional functions to assist readers to navigate the sites and to build rapport with the audience. Finally, the Chinese sites use more QR codes and include more videos and flash videos, while the US sites display more social media icons. Conclusions about corporate multimodal discourse are drawn and implications for corporate web communications in a cross-cultural context are provided.

From the perspective of language communication, language influence is defined in this article and its generation mechanism and measurement methods are explored systematically. First, the concept of language influence is clarified and made concrete based on the argument that it emerges from the process of language communication and is a key indicator of communication effectiveness. Second, the generation mechanism is analyzed in detail across the three dimensions of language power, the transmission and reception phases, and language influence. It has been found that language influence is generated throughout the entire dynamic process of language communication. The realization of language influence follows the path of “language power → transmission and reception phases → language influence”, and its resulting effects ultimately feed back to strengthen language power, initiating a new cycle of language communication. Finally, a Language International Influence Evaluation Index System (LIIEIS) has been constructed using six observational indicators to provide a quantitative assessment of the influence of 25 languages. The aim of this article is to offer valuable insights for understanding the current global language landscape and to enhance the international status and influence of the Chinese language.

Although the terminology that is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) may appear dull and difficult to comprehend, understanding the underlying motivation will make the terminology easier to learn. In an interdisciplinary context, we can use cognitive linguistic theories to conduct research on the terminology that is used in TCM. Both linguistic and TCM researchers have obtained research results using this method. Previous theories of motivation have contributed to improvements in the theory of the motivations underlying TCM terminology; these motivations can be divided into external motivations and internal motivations. In this paper, we present a supplement and an amendment to the former theories of linguistic motivation, as we believe that cultural motivations should be included in internal motivations. As a component of internal motivations, cultural motivations can be divided into various types, such as philosophical thought motivations and family culture. Cultural motivations have influenced different aspects of the production of TCM terms to various degrees during different periods. The motivation of philosophical thought is mainly embodied in the three aspects of the metaphorical cognitive model of the corresponding holographic medical view of nature and man, the metaphorical cognitive model of Yin and Yang theory, and the metaphorical cognitive model of the five elements theory. The philosophical thought in TCM terminology can explain the meanings of quite a number of TCM terms, making the learning of TCM terms simple, interesting, and efficient.

Translating for museum serves as a vital component of cultural communication, including essential features, processes, and evaluation criteria. This paper explores these topics through the lens of Gadamer’s hermeneutics, identifying the understanding mode and dialogical character in the formation of a common understanding during the translation process. It concludes that the criteria for translating for museum should move beyond traditional notions of straightforward equivalence, emphasizing the importance of participation in the creation of sensus communis. By integrating theory with the self-constructed Parallel Corpus of Translated Introductive Texts of Chinese Museums — History Exhibition (PCTITCM-HE), this study analyzes the differentiated practice in museum text translation. Our findings reveal the significant role of evaluative statements in shaping audience perceptions or prejudice and the impact of informative statements in fostering new understanding. Ultimately, this research aims to advance the quality of museum text translation in China.

Social media platforms offer new channels for intercultural communication and relevant studies are emerging consistently. In this article, we review 272 relevant studies that were published in SSCI journals from the four aspects of disciplines, theories, topics, and methods. The findings showed that the number of scholarly publications contributed by various disciplines in this field has increased since 2008. The underpinning theories included intercultural communication, sociology, and information science, and the trendy research topics in the past decade included social media intercultural instruction, intercultural corporate communication on social media, cross-cultural differences in social media and privacy concerns, multilingual communication on social media, cross-cultural differences in social media users’ behaviors, and the role of popular culture in transcultural communication on social media. Furthermore, the popular research methods included online surveys, qualitative analyses, content analyses, and discourse analyses. The study’s findings have academic, practical, and pedagogical implications for domestic researchers and practitioners.

The advent of generative AI, with its advanced machine learning and natural language processing capabilities, presents transformative opportunities for the translation service industry, translation education, and other sectors, while also introducing significant security risks. In the era of generative AI, translation security risks are characterized by multiplicity, embeddedness, and ubiquity, which pose great challenges to translation security governance. Based on an analysis of the sources and characteristics of translation security risks in the era of generative AI, this paper proposes the following governance strategies: adhering to a holistic view of national security, balancing comprehensive demands such as technological value creation, sensitive data protection, and national security maintenance, and adopting a governance model that integrates technology, education, and institutions. Priority should be given to technological solutions such as AI and blockchain to address technical problems, and efforts should also be made to strengthen science popularization and professional education to raise the public’s awareness and enhance their security capabilities in the use of generative AI translation. Furthermore, policy and legislative measures should be considered to control governance costs and improve governance effectiveness.

By addressing the problem of cultural identity imbalance caused by deviations in language outlook, this paper aims to inform the implementation of the core task of “fostering virtue through education” in China’s new era of foreign language education. It systematically explores how foreign language education shifts from the perception of “language as a tool” to a “linguistic worldview” by way of transformation logic and various implementation paths. This paper proposes five practical dimensions for the transformation of foreign language education: cultivating the competence of foreign language teachers, reforming talent cultivation models, reforming curriculum systems, selecting teaching materials, and integrating foreign language education development across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Foreign language education does not deny the “instrumental nature of language”; instead, it injects the “soul of worldview” into the “tool theory”, unifying “language skill cultivation” with the shaping of values. The ultimate goal is to cultivate students who are “double-excellent”: possessing foreign language talent alongside both a sense of national identity and an international perspective.

Harmonious discourse analysis is an approach to ecological discourse analysis developed by Chinese scholars based on their understanding of the interrelationships and interactions between language and ecology. Its philosophical foundation lies in traditional Chinese ecological concepts, particularly the principle of harmony, while its theoretical framework is grounded in systemic functional linguistics. This problem-oriented approach adheres to the idea of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. This paper provides an overview of harmonious discourse analysis and synthesizes international scholarly evaluations of the framework. The paper aims to stimulate greater attention to research on the relationship between language and ecology, and to encourage Chinese scholars to further explore the role of language in fostering harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Ideological and political teaching in a mixed foreign language classroom with students from multiple ethnic groups and countries (regions) is a complex system. It involves the interpretation of ideological and political education, the professional landing of foreign languages, and the coordination and identification between nationalities and cultures. Based on the field investigation of six first- and new-first-tier city universities, this study focuses on the curriculum design of ideological and political teaching of foreign language courses with the aim of building a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, explains the connotation and dimension of ideological and political education in multi-ethnic and multi-country and regional mixed classrooms at the theoretical level, and analyzes the realistic dilemma of implementing ideological and political education in cross-cultural classrooms. At the practical level, the paper puts forward a systematic teaching implementation path based on the sense of community of the Chinese nation, and focuses on the following aspects: (1) the dual track of ideological and political education content system in multi-ethnic and multi-country and regional mixed foreign language classrooms; (2) the sharing of teaching mode and the gradation of teaching platform; (3) the technological innovation and incentive of curriculum evaluation system;(4) the guarantee and implementation of the curriculum coordination mechanism. The two levels support each other, and the four implementation paths are coordinated and unified. They provide effective pathways for implementing ideological and political education that strengthens the consciousness of the Chinese national community in multi-ethnic and multi-country and regional mixed classrooms.

Harmonious discourse analysis is a novel ecolinguistic framework introduced by Professor Huang Guowen in 2016, developed specifically to address the Chinese linguistic and cultural contexts. This article examines harmonious discourse analysis through three key dimensions of it: its historical evolution, its classification within the broader field of ecolinguistics, and its three foundational components. The review reveals three significant insights. First, the development of harmonious discourse analysis has followed two primary trajectories: its progression from its initial conceptualization to gaining international scholarly recognition, and its evolvement from establishing systematic analytical models to embracing more diverse analytical practices. Secondly, this approach is rooted in critical ecolinguistics and eco-critical discourse analysis. Harmonious discourse analysis, in its narrow sense as harmonious ecolinguistics, represents an advancement of ecological discourse analysis. This concept is grounded in systemic ecolinguistics within the Chinese context and falls under the umbrella of micro-ecolinguistics. It draws on the rich traditions of Chinese ecological wisdom centered on harmony. Third, the fundamental meanings of the three elements — “harmony as context”, “discourse as object”, and “analysis as approach” — reflect three linguistic perspectives, constructive, functional, and evolutionary, embedded within this emerging analytical framework. The article calls for further investigation into the emerging research areas, including harmonious discourse system, harmoniousness of discourse, and harmonious analysis of discourse.

This study explores Chinese college students' behavioral engagement with Sino-US peer feedback and its influencing factors in second language writing. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of initial and revised essays, peer feedback and reflective journals reveal that: (1) For the genre of movie review, there is no significant difference in Sino-US peer feedback uptake among Chinese college students, whereas the frequency of revisions triggered by American peer feedback is significantly higher than that triggered by Chinese peer feedback. (2) Feedback uptake shows a marginal correlation with explicitness but no correlation with feedback focus. Revision modes are influenced by feedback explicitness, while revision behaviors are influenced by feedback focus. (3) Behavioral engagement is influenced by multiple factors such as individual characteristics, context and society. The study may provide some implications for the design of peer interaction activities.

Translation for international organizations has received scanty academic attention to date. Drawing on the theory of the State Translation Program, this paper discusses the concept, characteristics, and functions of supranational translation practices. Using relevant literature such as memoirs of and interviews with liaison officers, this study examines translation activities within the United Nations, specifically focusing on China’s peacekeeping operations. The study reveals the significant and indispensable role of translation in UN peacekeeping operations, whose mission is to maintain peace and security worldwide. Characterized by supranational objectives, professionalism, and diverse agents and roles, supranational translation has made outstanding contributions to China’s peacekeeping units in terms of internal coordination, external communication, and cultural diplomacy. The study will provide insights to inform our efforts in cultivating talented translation professionals for international organizations and in building a community of shared future for mankind.

Lexical inferencing strategies play a significant role in second language (L2) lexical development and discourse meaning construction. The present study explored an effective and appropriate mode for delivering lexical inferencing strategy instruction to Chinese EFL learners. Sixty-one undergraduates majoring in English were recruited, with 30 assigned to an experimental group that received a year-long strategy instruction and 31 to a control group that received no specific strategy instruction. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed to compare the lexical inferencing performances of both groups prior to and after the instruction period. The results showed that: (1) there was no significant within- or between-group difference in terms of the types and percentages of knowledge sources used, indicating that the instruction had no significant effect on these variables; and (2) there was a significant increase in the post-test lexical inferencing success rate in the experimental group alone, suggesting that the instruction significantly promotes the learners’ lexical inferencing competence. These results, to some extent, confirm the effectiveness of long-term L2 lexical inferencing strategies instruction in the classroom.

The effects of learning conception and engagement on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' willingness to participate in virtual reality- based (VR-based) instruction and their oral performances were investigated in this study. The data were obtained via two surveys (learning conception and learning engagement) and students' audio-recorded oral performances. The results indicated that students' learning conception in the virtual environment included four factors, namely improving presence, increasing motivation, enhancing interaction, and extending learning. Students' learning engagement in the virtual environment consisted of four factors, which were cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social engagement factors. The regression analyses revealed that the factors of learning conception and learning engagement were correlated, and that emotional engagement was associated with being more likely to participate in VR-based instruction. The study provided empirical evidence for using VR in language instruction.

The State Translation Program plays a vital role in strengthening China’s international communications capabilities. Translation practices at the local level, deeply rooted in distinctive regional cultures, constitute a fundamental component of a country’s state translation practice. It is these diverse regional cultures that fashion the unified identity of the national culture. Regional cultural cognition not only directly affects the implementation and effectiveness of the Regional Translation Program, but also indirectly influences national cognitive behavior, which affects the State Translation Program. This paper clarifies the connections between the concepts of regional cultural cognition and those underlying the State Translation Program, analyzes the differences between the translator and their audience in terms of cultural recognition, and proposes countermeasures to regional cultural cognition in the State Translation Program. The goal of this research is to enhance the role of regional culture in the State Translation Program from a cognitive perspective, guiding the Regional Translation Program to assume more responsibilities within the State Translation Program and thereby improving China’s international communication capacities in all directions.

In the era of digital intelligence, the potential applications of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in foreign language education have become increasingly significant. In this context, understanding how teachers can leverage ChatGPT to provide personalized feedback remains an urgent issue requiring further investigation. This study examined teacher feedback texts and ChatGPT-generated feedback texts as case studies, analyzed their respective characteristics, and explored students’ perceptions of these different types of feedback through interviews. The findings indicate that teacher feedback is characterized by indirectness, richness, pertinence, and personalization, whereas ChatGPT feedback exhibits clear procedural features. Students demonstrated understanding and appreciation of both types of feedback, with their expectations and needs influencing their perceptions. Accordingly, when using ChatGPT to support writing feedback, teachers can draw on their human-AI negotiation competence and feedback literacy, assuming multiple roles: “screener” of feedback content; “polisher” of feedback language; “excavator” of language teaching affordances; and “educator” in the feedback process. This study offers practical guidance for foreign language teachers on integrating ChatGPT into personalized feedback practices, thereby enhancing the quality of foreign language writing instruction.

Based on three morphological types of languages, this paper selected 45 language samples to explore the argument alignment patterns of world languages, particularly their splits and factors. The results were as follows: (1) languages that lack inflectional morphemes usually use particles and syntactic means to exhibit their argument alignment patterns, which are not neutral; (2) the proportions of ergative languages are different in languages with different morphological types, and agglutinative languages account for the largest proportion; (3) nominative-accusative languages and ergative-absolutive languages both have nominative-accusative pattern and ergative-absolutive patterns; (4) the implicational universal of case markers satisfies the hierarchy: nominal case markers > pronoun case markers; that is, noun phrase case markers entail pronoun case markers; and (5) the ergative-absolutive alignment patterns tend to use the markers in the hierarchy from left to right: nominal case markers > pronoun case markers > cross-referencing.

Supranational communities have assumed an increasingly pivotal role on the global stage, intertwining its activities with the shared future for humanity. Translation at this level functions as operational mechanism for such communities and warrant greater scholarly attention. This form of governance-oriented translation initiated by supranational communities to safeguard their interests, achieve their goals, and promote their values, is conceptualized as the “supranational translation program”. Endowed with the attributes of supranationality, supranational interests, and translanguages, the supranational translation program is an indispensable avenue for internal self-governance as well as engagement in regional and global governance. In the context of building a global community with shared future, a systematic exploration of the supranational translation program’s conceptual framework, technical implementation and supervision mechanisms can provide theoretical support for supranational communities’ translation initiatives and facilitate China’s deeper participation in global governance.

The initial acquisition of expressions of passive meaning by three Mandarin-speaking children is investigated in this paper. It has been found that children initially express passive meanings using the simplest patient-subject structure, “S_p+VP,” which has the same syntactic and semantic features as adults' production. Typical marked passive “bei” (被) sentences, which contain two arguments, are produced three to five months later. Furthermore, all the verbs in the “S_p+VP” structure has been used in the one-word sentence stage. The findings have revealed that the expression of passive meaning has experienced the construction process from single verb to single-argument patient-subject sentences to marked “bei” (被) sentences. The passive expression “S_p+VP” is an absolutive-like structure, which forms part of the ergative-absolutive or nominative-accusative language pattern, while the marked passive “bei” (被) sentences form part of the nominative-accusative language pattern. The initial acquisition of the expression of passive meaning by Mandarin-speaking children has shown a transitional character from an absolutive-like structure to a nominative-accusative pattern. Children initially acquire single-argument patient-subject sentences to express passive meanings. Input is a necessary but insufficient condition for this acquisition, and the decisive factor should be that the “S_p+VP” structure meets an utterance's demands in terms of syntax, semantics, and function expression to the greatest extent.

Guided by the theory of translator behavior criticism, this paper examines legal translation through two dimensions: intra-translation and extra-translation. From the extra-translation dimension, the contemporary imperative to communicate rule of law narratives in China effectively positions legal translation at a critical forefront. The finite capacity of translators, contrasted with the infinite range of translatable legal texts, underscores the strategic importance of text selection. Furthermore, establishing sound professional ethics is a prerequisite for translators engaged in legal translation services. From the intra-translation dimension, the distinctive features of legal language and the unique nature of legal translation necessitate a high degree of fidelity to source texts. Synthesizing both dimensions, legal translators must seek an optimal balance along the truth-seeking-utility-attaining continuum to enhance the appropriateness of translator behavior. Truth-seeking demands that legal translators uphold principles of strict accuracy and consistency, while utility-attaining requires clarity and concision, and stylistic standardization to facilitate cross-cultural legal communication.

Discourses of metatranslation refer to translators' discussions about translation in translated works, and they are frequently seen in paratexts such as the introduction, afterwords, and the translated text itself. There are usually many discourses of metatranslation in works written in non-native languages or about non-native cultures, works which, on the whole, can be considered to be translations (without original texts). Some displaced (non-native language or non-native culture) written works are taken as examples in this paper in an attempt to describe the manifestations of explicit and implicit discourses of metatranslation, particularly those relating to the translation of terms and culturally loaded words. Their potential roles are summarized, such as embodying an author's or a translator's views on translation, revealing the complexity of translation and enhancing the foreignness of translated works. As a new concept in translation studies, discourse of metatranslation deserves further research, which might also shed light on translation practice.

Taking Wing-tsit Chan’s and Frederick G. Henke’s translations of Chuanxilu, a representative work of new Confucianism, as a case study, this paper applies syntactic complexity analysis methods, including mean dependency distance, to compare translator behaviors between direct and indirect translators. The findings reveal that the indirect translation exhibits lower mean dependency distance and syntactic complexity, higher simplification, reduced normalization and explicitation levels, reflecting a translator’s prioritization of truth-seeking alongside complementary utility-attaining. In contrast, the direct translation exhibits higher mean dependency distance and syntactic complexity, lower simplification, increased normalization and explicitation levels, demonstrates a behavior of prioritizing utility-attaining with complementary truth-seeking. This study integrates extra-translational factors — including translation purpose, translator identity, and translation context —with the linguistic features of translated texts. By employing syntactic complexity as an analytical lens, it aims to contribute new perspectives and methodologies to research on extra-translational aspects of translator behavior.

Drawing on harmonious discourse analysis and the theory of the transitivity system, this study compares the ecological attributes of English and Chinese public signs relating to environmental protection, aiming to elucidate their similarities and differences and provide suggestions for environmental sign-making. The results reveal that English environmental protection-related public signs primarily rely on cognitive mental processes to represent the principle of conscience and relational processes to symbolize the principle of proximity. In contrast, Chinese public signs related to environmental protection primarily employ action processes to express the principle of regulation. This research suggests that Chinese environmental protection-related public signs should incorporate cognitive and relational processes, utilizing anthropomorphic techniques to foster a harmonious relationship between humans and nature. This would help raise the public’s awareness of environmental protection and increase their willingness to take action to protect the ecological environment.

Since the beginning of this century, foreign language attrition has drawn increasing attention from scholars, both in China and abroad, due to its unique research value. Based on a review of classical studies of language attrition, the existing research is categorized according to four types in this paper: longitudinal tracking, cross-sectional comparisons, mixed-method studies, and other approaches. Building on this synthesis, several widely acknowledged findings are identified: (1) the primary aim of research on attrition is to resist language attrition in order to better retain foreign language proficiency; (2) vocabulary remains the focus in the study of language attrition; (3) research methods are increasingly becoming interdisciplinary in nature; and (4) multiple internal and external factors interact in shaping the outcomes of attrition. Finally, a forward-looking perspective from four dimensions is presented in this paper, namely enhancing the systematicity and specificity of research methods, broadening and deepening the scope of the study, refining and integrating intra- and extra-linguistic factors, and innovating and expanding theoretical frameworks. It is hoped that this review will serve as a useful reference for future research on foreign language attrition.

The traditional concepts of subject and intersubjectivity in writing originate from Husserl’s phenomenological perspective and focus on human factors in writing activities. Consequently, the subjects of writing are limited to the writer and reader, while intersubjectivity is confined to their bilateral interactions. This paper proposes reconceptualizing these concepts from the perspective of Activity Theory, which views writing as a social activity. Using English scientific experimental reports as an illustrative case, the paper redefines the subject and intersubjectivity in writing, elucidating the connotations of the subject and the mechanisms of intersubjectivity. It argues that, as a form of social activity, the subjects of writing encompass not only the writer and the targeted readers but also the subject matter, the instruments and the written product itself as well as the socio-cultural contexts—both micro and macro—in which these elements are situated. The completion of writing activities emerges from dynamic interactions among these elements, forming the mechanism of intersubjectivity in writing. This intersubjectivity manifests primarily through three forms: sharing, interaction, and unification. This research aims to deepen understanding of the essential nature of writing, particularly scientific report writing in English, and to provide theoretical guidance for academic writing practice and pedagogy.

The current internal and external environment of foreign language education in China provides a prior reason for constructing a curriculum chain based on the “Spirit of Scientific Culture”. The core of this initiative lies in reconstructing the humanistic perspective and integrating the humanistic and scientific spirits, thereby establishing a transformative paradigm for foreign language education reform in China. This paradigm focuses on exploring and critically examining the spirit of scientific culture, alongside the writing, translation, and dissemination of related stories. Its primary goal is to cultivate students’ humanistic qualities and innovative thinking, empowering them to actively write about and articulate China through foreign languages. On one hand, it aims to achieve the objective of “cultivating students through moral education” by guiding them to develop rational thinking and sound values. On the other hand, it seeks to enhance students’ language proficiency and rhetorical skills by encouraging them to creatively transform vivid materials into compelling literary works. Through this process, students will acquire a deep understanding of the cultural codes and mechanisms underlying the use of both Chinese and foreign languages, ultimately enabling them to significantly improve their cross-cultural communication abilities.

The Strong Minimalist Thesis of Generative Grammar posits that the Merge operation, in alignment with the economy principle, is conducive to deleting unnecessary elements in the course of language externalization. Consistent with such biological themes, it is inappropriate to use theta terms like AGENT/PATIENT to describe the semantic roles of the NPs (noun phrases) in Yi guo fan chi wu ge ren /Wu ge ren chi yi guo fan. This is because the relevant NPs are not the S-selected arguments of the relevant verbs; in such structures, the NPs are actually C-selected by the quantifier head of distribution Mei, which is responsible for the structures’ core semantics. Quantifier phrases that denote measurement are obligatory in this type of structure, whereas any definite NPs may undermine the core theta content of such sentences, which can be described as having a “for/use” meaning with corresponding variants. The absence of a quantifier head may create difficulty in terms of the perception and comprehension of such structures during communication; the verbs are optional due to their function as adjuncts. An analysis based on the local asymmetric C-command indicates that various sequences in linearity may be derived from the same structural configuration, thereby manifesting the Strong Minimalist Thesis’ three criteria of learnability, universality, and evolvability. The novel contribution of this article resides in its conjecture that such clauses can be categorized as a subtype of imperative sentences, whose noun phrases are inherently assigned partitive cases due to their number-denoting nature.

A text-mining approach was used in this study to investigate the thematic research areas, developmental trajectories, representative theories, and methodological features of 725 business English papers that were published in SSCI journals between 2001 and 2024. The findings revealed that research on international business English centered on five major thematic areas, namely business English teaching, corporate external discourse, corporate internal communication, English as a lingua franca, and the linguistic and quantitative analyses of business discourse. Research on international business English has experienced five major developmental phases: discourse strategy in business contexts (2001-2005), cross-cultural business communication and need-based business English teaching (2006-2010), English as a lingua franca and corporate discourse governance (2011-2015), transnational corporation discourse and specialized business English teaching (2016-2020), and digital and data-driven business discourse and business English teaching (2021-2024). In addition, the representative theories of international business English research were cross-cultural business communication theory, intertextuality and genre analysis theory, and rhetorical theory. Empirical research methods occupied a dominant position, and nonempirical research methods mainly pertained to viewpoint synthesis and theoretical construction. The investigation into the trajectory of research on international business English will enable domestic business English academics to trace international trends; it sheds light on and has implications for research on and the teaching of domestic business English.

The defeat of the American South in the Civil War not only destroyed the plantation economy, but also the racial order under slavery. The question “Who are we?” haunted people, floating in the South and created a unique landscape of identity in an era of a radical shift from the old to the new. By adopting the theory of three-presence relations proposed by Stuart Hall, the father of contemporary cultural studies, and conducting an analysis of Faulkner’s major novels such as The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom! and As I Lay Dying, the aim in this paper is to point out that, for Southerners with different skin colors, cultural identity is a never-ending process of production. Whether it is the Présence Européenne at the level of power and ideology or the Présence Africaine at the level of time and history, they are only the process of the Southerners of different colors discovering and confronting their collective history and cultural memory. It is only the Présence Américaine at the level of space and geography that provides them with an open platform for the construction of a racial identity that embraces diversity and difference, and reconstructs the identity of the United States of America in the midst of contradictions and conflicts accordingly.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop rapidly, the Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) program in China is experiencing multiple challenges, including responding to the national strategy of cultivating high-level translators and interpreters of Chinese into foreign languages, further improving students’ translation and interpreting competence to meet the requirements of the language service industry, and exploring the human-machine collaborative model in both translation practice and education with the assistance of translation technology. With years of practical exploration, Fudan University has developed an innovative training model for professional translators. Under the guidance of “the unity of knowing and doing, of translation practice and thinking” philosophy, a “government-industry-teaching-research” system based on the four dimensions of “work ethics, critical thinking, expertise, literature and culture” with the multidimensional integration of government policy and translation teaching, the translation industry and teaching, as well as translation practice and theory, has been designed. Grounded in rationales, a comprehensive analysis of typical cases, which is further supported by relevant employment data, is presented in this paper. The outcomes prove that, by directly addressing the challenges in the age of AI, the training model can cultivate translators and interpreters who are aligned with both the national strategy and with professional market demands, thus promoting the prosperity and development of professional translators’ education.

Since its inception, harmonious discourse analysis has gradually developed into a systematic approach; however, its ecosophy has not yet been clearly articulated. Drawing on Confucian and Taoist philosophy and integrating the concept of human “ecological niche”, this article proposes a human-oriented ecosophy — “Live and let live” — as the ecosophy for harmonious discourse analysis. This ecosophy encompasses six core principles: difference and diversity, tolerance and empathy, restriction and discipline, coordination and integration, now and future, and care and extending love. Through case-based illustrations, the article integrates this ecosophy into existing scholarship, aiming to advance the theoretical frameworks and practical applications of harmonious discourse analysis, ecological discourse analysis, and ecological education.

Within studies of translator behavior, research focusing on extra-translation factors has emphasized human-centeredness. Among these factors, psychological factors are closely linked to translator behavior. Taking translation anxiety as a key extra-translation factor, this study used student translators’ subjective ratings to compare the cognitive load elicited by simple and complex tasks. It then examined, across translation phases, how cognitive load and translation anxiety affected student translators’ cognitive resource allocation and translation quality. The results showed that the complex task elicited a higher cognitive load than the simple task in both the high- and low-anxiety groups. Both cognitive load and translation anxiety significantly affected cognitive resource allocation, with effects varying across translation phases. Moreover, the association between cognitive resource allocation and translation quality varied across cognitive load conditions and translation phases. Overall, these findings highlight the necessity of phase-based analyses that integrate process and product data in studies of translator behavior and have implications for future research.

The “text-behavior-society” trinity evaluation system of translator behavior is applied in this paper to examine Pearl S. Buck’s translator behavior through her work All Men Are Brothers based on comparative studies with parallel versions based on textual, behavioral, and social dimensions. Influenced by her distinctive cross-cultural habitus, Pearl S. Buck’s translator behavior was further guided by her translation purposes, which were closely related to the target readership and to the reception environment. In addition, three pairs of ideological paradoxes contributed to her complex cultural positioning, which ultimately resulted in a certain degree of inconsistency in her translator behavior. Due to the combined influence of these multiple factors, Buck developed a translation style that was marked by truth-seeking pragmatism. The unique style and strategies of her translation provide valuable insights for the dissemination of Chinese images and culture.

With the advancement of ecolinguistic research, the theoretical framework of harmonious discourse analysis with Chinese characteristics and for application in the Chinese context has been preliminarily established. However, the theoretical framework requires further refinement in terms of its scope of application and the breadth of discourse subjects. Drawing on material ecocriticism as theoretical foundation, this study proposes three key modifications to the theoretical framework of harmonious discourse analysis: (1) the addition of a “principle of mutualism” as a foundational principle; (2) the incorporation of a “character” element within the “tenor” component and a “convergence media” element within the “mode” component; and (3) the revision of the “tradition” element to “traditional media”. These modifications expand the applicability of harmonious discourse analysis across a broader range of discourse types while enhancing its practical utility and instructive value.

Translators are the primary agents in translation activities, and their behaviors emerge from the interaction between textual and extratextual factors. Taking Folding Beijing as a case study, this paper employed the double-centered evaluative system in translator behavior criticism to describe and explain Ken Liu’s translator behavior in rendering this Chinese science fiction novelette into English. The analysis revealed that Liu’s translator behavior prioritized target-culture reception, aligning more closely with a “society-centered” orientation. This orientation was influenced by Liu’s distinctive social identities within the target society. As a Chinese American with unique cross-cultural experience, Liu approaches translation as a means of facilitating equal dialogue and effective communication between Chinese and American cultures. Simultaneously, as an award-winning science fiction author, he negotiates flexibly between Chinese and Anglophone literary traditions, seeking fidelity to the source author’s original intentions while aiming for substantive literary effects. In this study, translator agency in the English translation of Chinese science fiction is foregrounded, the social motivations shaping such translations are elucidated, and suggestions for future research and translation practice are provided.

Pragmatic translation studies can be divided into ontological research and peripheral research. Over the past two decades, the translation community has focused on ontological research and has constructed the internal system of pragmatic translation studies. Although peripheral research has been discussed frequently, it lacks a systematic theoretical exploration. In this regard, in addition to clarifying the general and specialized theories of the internal system of pragmatic translation studies, the focus in this paper is on external system research, which has the four subitems of pragmatic translation history, pragmatic translation criticism, pragmatic translation teaching, and language services and the relationship between ontological research and peripheral research in pragmatic translation studies.