The facilitative role of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) has been widely acknowledged, and students’ attitudes toward GenAI have a significant influence on the adoption of GenAI technologies. While current scales can assess students’ attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI), they are not tailored to GenAI. Therefore, the reliability and validity of the existing scales require reconsideration. To address the research gaps, this study was to develop and validate a scale to assess Chinese university students’ attitudes toward GenAI-assisted EFL learning. Our study comprises two separate samples. As for Sample 1 (n=379), we used an exploratory factor analysis to develop a scale consisting of 15 items that we categorized according to three dimensions (affect, behavior, and cognition), explaining a total variance of 65.719%. As for Sample 2 (n=418), a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that this three-factor structure was appropriate. In addition, we evaluated the scale’s criterion validity, internal consistency, and measurement invariance across genders, and found a strong performance across these measures. Thus, the scale developed in this study exhibited robust psychometric properties, and can effectively assess Chinese learners’ attitudes toward GenAI-assisted language learning in the context of Chinese universities.

Research on teachers’ digital literacies is a burgeoning topic in foreign language education; thus, understanding the status quo of teachers’ digital literacy development is an important prerequisite for the emerging field of technology-empowered foreign language education. Using questionnaires and interviews as the research methodology, the present study aims to assess the development of the digital literacies of 316 English teachers in elementary and secondary schools in China and to identify the factors that influence the teachers’ development of digital literacies. The results has revealed that the overall development of teachers’ digital literacies is desirable, and the ranking of the dimensions of teachers’ digital literacies is as follows: digital morality > digital attitude > digital awareness > digital ability > digital knowledge. In addition, factors such as age and educational background have a significant impact on the development of teachers’ digital literacies, while gender and school location have no significant impact. Digital nativity significantly influences teachers’ digital literacy. Finally, corresponding countermeasures to intervene in and to improve the development of foreign language teachers’ digital literacies are proposed, echoing the call for AI-empowered foreign language teaching and the facilitation of teachers’ professional development.

ChatGPT, based on a wide range of pre-trained Internet text data, can assist in completing translations and creative writing. This study, however, is an experiment on writing a research paper with the help of ChatGPT. We selected a research topic and used ChatGPT to generate each section of the research paper — title, outline, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and references — according to the prompts provided. The results reveal that ChatGPT can successfully write an entire paper based on hypothetical data, generating high-quality text with appropriate content and language quickly and efficiently, which saves a significant amount of time and effort. The limitations are also obvious, including the use of outdated studies, inconsistent arguments, irrelevant and illogical explanations of the results, and incredible citations. We suggest integrating ChatGPT into academic writing courses offered at tertiary institutions. Teaching students to effectively use it could be made the core of the instruction. For instance, students may learn to ask questions, give correct and specific prompts, identify mistakes or problems in the generated texts, as well as ensure the texts’ accuracy, consistency, and credibility, and be knowledgeable about the topic selected for the paper. Students should learn to follow academic conventions and avoid plagiarism.

The human-AI interactive language-learning environment, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), presents new opportunities for self-regulated learning (SRL). However, the specific manifestations of SRL within this environment still require further exploration. To address this, a three-level coding has been conducted using MAXQDA 12 software, based on grounded theory by analyzing retrospective logs and interview data from 30 graduate students majoring in English. In addition, a theoretical saturation test has been performed to check the coding results with the aim of identifying the specific manifestations of SRL in human-AI interactive language-learning environments and to construct a theoretical model of SRL. The SRL model that has been developed in this study consists of three phases: personalized learning planning, SRL implementation, and reflection on learning process and outcomes. The personalized learning planning phase includes a needs analysis, experience seeking, goal-plan setting, and recommendation and selection of learning resources. The SRL implementation phase encompasses task completion, human-AI collaborative assessment, human-AI monitoring and regulation, human-AI supportive guidance, and community interaction. The reflection-on-learning-process-and-outcomes phase focuses on summarizing effective outcomes and identifying areas that requires improvement. This three-phase SRL model not only expands the theoretical perspectives on SRL, but also provides intervention strategies to enhance learners’ SRL capabilities in human-AI interactive language-learning environments.

CiteSpace was employed in this study to investigate the trends, features, and key topics in overseas studies of second language (L2) written corrective feedback (WCF) from 1996 to 2024 based on the Web of Science database. The results revealed that research on WCF in countries other than China has increased. The studies were mainly published in linguistics and education journals, and featured the integration of psychology and computer science. Starting from the debate about the effectiveness of WCF, research on WCF underwent four shifts in the research foci, namely from external factors to internal psychological factors, from the effects of WCF to its process, from a micro perspective to a macro one, and from teacher and peer feedback to digital intelligence-empowered feedback. Future Chinese studies of WCF could adopt a dynamic, macro perspective to explore the effects of the feedback that is provided by automated writing evaluation systems and large language models on L2 writing performance based on theories such as the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Researchers could further emphasize learners’ cognitive and affective individual differences and their engagement with feedback, and could examine learners’ and teachers’ feedback literacy. It is also suggested that researchers should improve data collection methods by integrating eye tracking, keystroke logging, and neuroimaging techniques to investigate WCF in more depth.

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly reshaping the language service industry, and is having a profound impact on its supply-demand dynamics, the industry structure, and the overall industry ecosystem. GenAI’s enhanced capabilities have led to increased productivity and supply chain flexibility, driving demand growth and structural shifts in the industry. This expansion of the value chain, while presenting new opportunities, also challenges the traditional translator’s role. As traditional translators encounter potential shifts or transformations in translation tasks, new and specialized roles, such as data annotation and model training, are emerging, requiring language service professionals to develop an evolving skillset. To navigate this evolving landscape, language service education must adapt to cultivate a new generation of professionals capable of thriving in the GenAI era. The study analyzes the multifaceted impact of GenAI on the language service sector and provides insights into and recommendations for educational innovation and talent development strategies to ensure a sustainable future.

The rapid development and extensive application of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have catalyzed transformations in the organizational structure and service models within the language services industry. This paper analyzes the impact of AI technologies on the language services market from both international and domestic perspectives by focusing on the demand and supply sides. It summarizes the developmental trends in the language services industry and provides recommendations for enhancing the industry’s growth and competitiveness. The research results indicate that AI technologies have permeated all the processes involved in language services and have established a human-in-the-loop translation model. Language service providers are strengthening their strategies for digitalization and intelligent development, and are transitioning toward knowledge processes outsourcing providers and global content strategy services providers. It is essential to increase the intelligent construction within China’s language services sector to further professionalize and internationalize the language services industry, to enhance the planning of standard language service systems, and to focus on professional talent development.

With the gradual implementation of the “Four New Disciplines” Construction that encompasses new engineering, new medical science, new agriculture, and new liberal arts, teaching and learning reforms have set higher standards for materials use. Effective materials use plays a vital role in the development and cultivation of top talents against the backdrop of the “Four New Disciplines” Construction. Addressing the challenges associated with practical materials use, this study explores how English language teachers can interpret and adapt textbooks. It first illustrates four key aspects of textbook interpretation: compiling principles, theme selection, input material, and activity design. Furthermore, it discusses how to adapt textbooks in alignment with teaching practices while adhering to key principles. This study aims to provide insights into more effective consumption of materials, fully achieving educational goals, and advancing the “Four New Disciplines” Construction.

Due to the positive turn in second language education, the multidimensional concept of “flow” has attracted the attention of researchers in this field. Flow not only positively influences learners’ academic achievements, engagement, and well-being, but also has profound implications for second language teacher education. In this article, Flow Theory is introduced by explaining its concept, components, and model. The current state of flow-related research in the context of second language teacher education is then reviewed. Building on existing research findings in the field of second language education, the implications of Flow Theory for teacher education are explored. Future research endeavours could investigate the antecedents and consequences of teachers’ “flow”, as well as the interactive mechanisms of flow between teachers and students, thereby providing novel perspectives for the professional development of second language teachers and the enhancement of teaching effectiveness.

Creating a high-quality teaching workforce is crucial in building China into an education powerhouse. In the new era, the emergence of novel liberal arts, the integration of ideological and political curricula, and the digital transformation of education pose fresh challenges to the professional development of foreign language teachers. An exploration of the new connotations of professional development for foreign language teachers in universities within the context of the new era is presented first via a literature review. Data were gathered via questionnaire surveys and interviews to assess the current status and influencing factors of professional development amongst foreign language teachers at colleges and universities in China. The study’s findings revealed that teachers generally acknowledged the interdisciplinary nature of foreign language disciplines and XXXtilizatio the importance of course-based ideological and political education, as well as digital literacy. However, there is still scope for improvement in conducting interdisciplinary research, implementing course-based political education pathways effectively, and improving digital teaching capabilities. Furthermore, the factors that influenced teachers’ professional development encompassed both internal and external dimensions. Internally, the six dimensions were career development stages, educational background, research interests, knowledge structure, teacher cognition, and individual agency. Externally, the three dimensions were academic leadership, the selection and XXXtilization of teaching materials and methods, and the developmental environment of the foreign language discipline. Lastly, based on the requirements and concepts pertaining to teacher development in the new era, practical suggestions to bolster the comprehensive literacy of foreign language teachers are offered with the aim of providing insights for promoting teachers’ professional development.

The relationship between resilience and emotion regulation remains a crucial yet insufficiently explored domain within foreign language education. This mixed-method study investigated the interplay between these psychological constructs amongst English teachers in Chinese senior high schools. The findings indicated that, on average, these teachers demonstrated high levels of both resilience and emotion regulation, with each sub-dimension exceeding the norm, albeit with individual variations. A notable positive correlation between resilience and emotion regulation was evident. This study’s findings emphasise the importance of addressing teachers’ emotional well-being and the necessity of cultivating an ecological environment that promotes the development of both resilience and emotion regulation skills.

In recent years, Eco-Translatology, an interdisciplinary paradigm that integrates ecological wisdom and translation studies, has experienced remarkable advances in both theory and practice. As the prologue to the sequel Eco-Translatology: Translation Dao and Translation Art — a follow-up to the seminal monograph Eco-Translatology: Construction and Interpretation that was published a decade ago — emerging developments in the field are described in this article. Key discussions include a holistic reinterpretation of Eco-Translatology, its life-oriented translation Dao (guiding principles) and source-oriented translation art (practical methodologies), value orientation, eco-translatological cultural construction, and philosophical essence, as well as novel reflections on the discipline’s evolution within AI-driven contexts. These insights are anticipated to enhance the understanding of Eco-Translatology’s theoretical framework while fostering deeper, more systematic research trajectories.

Using a grammaticality judgment test and a Chinese-to-English translation test, the paper explores the acquisition of verbal and adjectival raising constructions by 90 Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). The results revealed that the [EPP] feature was successfully reassembled in the intermediate and advanced groups. No difference between the two types of raising constructions was found because the movement of the argument was triggered by the [EPP] feature in both constructions. In addition, the animacy of the argument influenced the selection of lexical items in the construction of numeration. Both the intermediate and the advanced groups were inclined to producing DP-phrase raising constructions with an inanimate argument; however, expletive-it raising constructions were produced by both groups when the argument was animate. No difference between verbal and adjectival raising constructions was found. The argument in this paper is that the preference stemmed from the semantic relationship between the argument and the verb, as well as due to first language (L1) transfer.

The creation of large language models has led to a revolution in language services, which have become the new-quality productive force. This paper presents the argument that artificial intelligence (AI) language services are the new-quality productive force, describes the shift from traditional language services to AI language services, defines the concept, the connotations, the market, and education in AI language services with the aim of drawing attention to both the industry and to research on AI language services.

In his speech at Oxford University, Hinton introduced the basic principles of artificial neural networks while also criticizing Chomsky’s stimulus poverty theory. This article points out that the way in which “digital intelligence” learns language is not exactly the same as the way in which humans learn language. While human language acquisition involves both innate and acquired factors, digital intelligence needs to learn from large-scale language data and does not encounter the issue of stimulus poverty, as it lacks innate factors. However, we cannot deny the existence of stimulus poverty in human language because digital intelligence does not have this issue. We cannot equate digital intelligence with human intelligence; nor can we neglect the differences between them.

Research concerning the cognitive effects on bilingualism spans over a century, progressing from an early view of bilingual disadvantage, through a period emphasizing on bilingual advantage, to the current debate in which both perspectives coexist and challenge each other. Clarifying this issue is essential not only for understanding human cognitive mechanisms, but also due to its theoretical and practical implications in the teaching of foreign languages. The first focus in this paper is on tracing the origins of the debate, followed by a summary of the key points of contention, and an examination of the current state of the discussion regarding bilingual advantages in three core areas: executive function, creative thinking and theory of mind. The findings suggest that the complexity of both bilingualism and cognition, compounded by ambiguities in the definitions, components, and measurements thereof, underlies the on-going debate. Thus, future research should increasingly adopt the frameworks and methodologies of dynamic systems theory to comprehensively and multidimensionally analyze the effects of bilingualism on cognitive abilities.

In recent years, research on teachers’ psychological development has gained significant momentum within the field of foreign language teacher education. As a pivotal component of teacher development, teacher immunity serves as a crucial metric for assessing teachers’ mental well-being and promoting their overall psychological health. The concept of teacher immunity is provided first in this paper, followed by an overview of the current state of research in this area. Recommendations for future research are then provided, encompassing research content, perspectives, and contexts, with the aim of enriching the understanding of foreign language teacher immunity and fostering the professional growth of foreign language teachers.

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.

In terms of discipline attribution and the theoretical integration of studies of eco-translatology, the research pedigree and thinking forms of Eco-Translatology require systematic summarization and theoretical refinement in order to reveal the entire profile of the eco-translatological theory system. The research pedigree of eco-translatology consists of theoretical research, descriptive research, and applied research. Of these, the “quadrilife-oriented view” draws on the field of general theory for theoretical research, the “trilife-oriented configuration” is the object of its descriptive research, and “green translation” is the new issue of its applied research. Thinking forms of Eco-Translatology consist of life-oriented thinking, existence-oriented thinking, and eco-thinking. Life-oriented thinking is referred to as “translation as textual transplant,” existence-oriented thinking involves “translation as adaptation/selection,” and eco-thinking is related to “translation as eco-balance.” The systematic formation of the eco-translatology research pedigree is of tremendous importance in the construction of the eco-translatological discourse and knowledge systems.

This paper presents an investigation of Chinese freshmen’s English receptive collocational knowledge and its relationship with vocabulary breadth knowledge and lexical frequency using the British National Corpus-based vocabulary size test and a collocational knowledge test. The results revealed that the participants had poor performances in English collocational knowledge, which lagged behind the development of vocabulary size, there was a relatively high correlation between receptive collocational knowledge and vocabulary size (r=0.51) although the correlation was not significant for the low vocabulary group, and there was a low correlation between receptive knowledge and lexical frequency (word frequency and collocational frequency) (r=0.21); for high vocabulary size group, the correlation was slightly higher than it was for the low vocabulary size group. The results revealed the neglect of collocation when teaching English vocabulary at primary and high schools, which suggests that a fundamental change is needed in English teaching pedagogies in the initial stages by moving from “grammar+words” model towards “focusing on collocation” teaching, and that sufficient language input should be provided to enhance the frequency effect of collocation.

Toward the end of 2020, a novel online greeting construction, instantiated by “Good morning, Laborers!” went viral on Weibo or WeChat Moments of the young netizen group. Despite its superficial form of greeting, this construction serves both self- and in-group banter functions. As its syntactic and semantic features cannot be indicated from its components or from existing linguistic structures, it can only be stored as a construction in the speakers’ mental grammar. Classic construction grammar research has extensively explored grammatical constructions; however, emphasis on the constructional variations used by specific social groups is lacking, and the social information stored in these constructions has seldom been addressed. Drawing on insights from Embodied Cognitive Sociolinguistics (ECS), this paper begins by refining the embodied principles of linguistic structures from a socioecological perspective, encompassing the self in action, the audience in the virtual friends’ circle, and prevailing societal events. Subsequently, based on these principles, it systematically describes the constructional information stored in viral online greeting construction and explores the factors that contribute to its popularity and productivity. This study found that online viral construction mainly serves the purpose of temporarily constructing the speaker’s social identity. Its meaning-making mechanism can be attributed to four embodied-cognitive operations: the generic metaphor of split “subject-self”, scenario metonymy, the contrast of virtual-real situations, and the construal of audience roles. It also claims that ECS aligns with the foundational principles of the third wave of language variation research in terms of its theoretical underpins and research goals.

The Register-Functional (RF) approach, pioneered by Biber and his colleagues, highlights the importance of the situational characteristics and the communicative purposes of a register that account for its grammatical complexity. The major contribution of this approach includes the identification of phrasal modifiers that contribute to grammatical complexity in academic English and the proposal of hypothesized language developmental stages based on corpus research. In this paper, I present an introduction to the theoretical foundation of RF and its advantages, and provide a review of the development of English writing over the past decade using the RF approach as the framework. Based on a synthesis of the existing research, five aspects are recommended for future research, namely subcategorizing the functions and meanings of the lexico-grammatical patterns that are included in hypothesized language developmental stages, encouraging more case studies that investigate the linear/non-linear developmental trajectory of phrasal complexity features, integrating the use of automatic tools to diversify RF research methods, exploring the most effective modes for teaching phrasal complexity features in source-based writing classes, and applying the RF approach to other languages to establish a system for complexity features that can be adapted to different languages. Taking the characteristics of teaching English in China and research into account, three specific directions are recommended to advance research using the RF approach.

How can translator behavior/act be well defined? Can we develop an operable analytical framework of translator behavior/act, based on a certain theory or paradigm, to produce new knowledge through systematic research? This study provides a preliminary reflection on these questions from the perspective of Cognitive Translatology. Specifically, it explores the levels and embodied attributes of translator behavior/act to further clarify the goals, dimensions, problems, analytical categories and methods of cognitive research on translator behavior/act, and to identify the aspects that distinguish the embodied cognitive approach from previous studies.

Evolutionary psychology attempts to explain human thinking and behavioral patterns from the perspective of adaptive evolution in natural and social environments. Previous studies have largely overlooked the perspectives of cognitive linguistics and evolutionary psychology, resulting in subjectivity and bias in the analytical process. This study considers the nutrition of pragmatics and relevance theory, combined with cognitive frameworks, to analyze the significant contributions of these theories in explaining and interpreting critical discourse analysis (CDA). Cognitive linguistic methods can reduce the subjectivity in CDA by providing more explanatory models that enhance the scientific and reliable nature of discourse analyses. Future CDA should focus more on the construction of cognitive representations by the addressee to verify the rationality and validity of the psychological modules or mechanisms proposed in evolutionary psychology.

Four forums on translator behavior studies and two seminars on local cultural translation and dissemination have greatly advanced the studies of translator behavior criticism, which has entered a new phase. By reviewing the academic achievements regarding criticisms of translator behavior since the first forum in 2019 and examining the development of Zhou Lingshun’s thoughts on translator behavior studies, it has been found that a research path of “constructing theory-verifying the validity of the theory-strengthening the evaluation of the theory-taking roots in practice” has been established over the past five years (2019-2024) with the aim of “sustainable development”, exhibiting the following characteristics: First, theoretical construction, particularly the construction of the social dimension, is constantly being strengthened via the construction of a trinity evaluation system of “text-behavior-society” to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of translator behavior. Second, translator behavior criticism theory is investigated from both practical and academic perspectives through various means, such as publications, Q&A sessions, dialogues, and specialized columns, with its utility and operability being greatly improved. Third, the theory has been assessed in terms of its academic, innovative, and scientific value from multiple perspectives. Fourth, theoretical constructions and interpretations are closely correlated with practice, with theories guiding practice and practice extending the theory.

The intrinsic connection between sensual narratives and artistic resonance lies in sensory perception. Grounded in sensory experiences such as vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, narrative construction relies heavily on vivid descriptions of these modalities. To translate the emotionally compelling force of a text effectively, it is crucial to reconstruct sensory experiences in the target language to enable readers or audiences to empathize with the characters’ emotions and experiences. The English translation of Chen Ran’s feminist novel, A Private Life, is examined in this study by analyzing how sensory narratives are rendered cross-linguistically and cross-culturally. Concrete examples are used to investigate the strategies that were employed to convey the sensory dimensions of the original text, and the methods for introducing contemporary Chinese literature to global audiences through “literary” translations are explored. The findings revealed that shifts in sensory representation within translations altered the degree of bodily presence and weakened or enhanced the emotional impact of the work, thus providing insights for translators of Chinese fiction.

Translators play a pivotal role in translation activities, which has received much attention in translation studies both in China and across the world. This study employs a bibliometric approach to examine journal articles related to translators’ behavior in the Web of Science Core Collection database. The research findings reveal that (1) sociological concepts, the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) paradigm, and empirical-experimental methods are utilized by the international translation studies community to delve into translators’ behaviors in classical text translation, self-translation, slang translation, web search for translating, and translation revision, as well as to investigate the correlation between translator behavior and psychological cognition; (2) the international community does not regard “translators’ behavior” as a distinct field but addresses it as an object in translation sociology, translation process research, translator competence research, and cognitive translation studies. International studies on translators’ behavior are scattered across various fields of translation studies, whereas domestic studies on translator behavior has developed into a mature research field characterized by practical terms, a systematic theoretical framework, and diverse topics. Nevertheless, frequently used methods in international studies, including corpus-assisted methods, ethnographic methods, experiment-based methods, and triangulation, can also offer valuable insights into China’s translator behavior studies.

The English series Legends of the Condor Heroes was produced via a collaborative translation effort, and the translators’ behaviors jointly determined the communication effect. In this article, the Translator Behavior Trinity Evaluation System and three semantic frameworks of translation criticism are combined for the first time to compare the translator behavior of Anna Holmwood and Gigi Chang based on their translations of the English series Legends of the Condor Heroes. The results revealed that, according to the semantic framework of behavior criticism from the perspective of behavior-text and the semantic framework of text criticism according to the perspective of text-language, the two translators exhibited different behaviors due to having diff erent identities. As a result of having a dual social role as a translator and as a copyright agent, Holmwood paid particular attention to the acceptability of the translation and her translator behavior tended to be utility-attaining. Having a dual social identity as a translator and as a member of the Chinese diasporic community, Chang attached importance to the adequacy of the translation; hence, her translator behavior tended to be truth-seeking. Despite these differences, based on the semantic framework of eff ect criticism according to the perspective of behavior-society, the two translators’ English translations were evaluated positively in the English-speaking world, which revealed the eff ective communication of the English series Legends of the Condor Heroes.

The attitude of the Government of Japan (GoJ) toward the Belt and Road Initiative has gone through three stages, namely, the “questioning stage”, the “wait-and-see stage”, and the “stage of limited areas of cooperation with China”. Aiming at representing the GoJ’s attitude changes in discourse, the present study adopts the critical metaphor theory into the analysis of Japanese news discourse and builds a corpus based on the topic of the Belt and Road Initiative by the Asahi Shimbun. The analytical results suggest that the metaphors adopted in the three stages have shifted from conflict metaphors to journey metaphors and building metaphors, which implicitly represents the diachronic change in the GoJ’s attitude toward the initiative from conflict to cooperation in limited areas. Critical metaphor analysis is an effective construal operation for objectively reproducing the real attitudes, intentions, and values of social actors in news discourse.

Utilising the three-dimensional discourse analysis model of Fairclough (1992), this paper focuses on a corpus-based examination of the linguistic characteristics of Singapore’s diplomatic discourse and an analysis of the depiction of China via the collocations and concordances of the word “China”. The results of critical discourse analysis revealed that China is perceived politically as a responsible major nation that exerts a positive influence on international and regional affairs. Economically, it is a close and amicable partner to Singapore, boasting a robust economy with a vast market and a favourable business environment and, as a nation, while it is encountering developmental challenges, it has the confidence to overcome them. Furthermore, China’s image is influenced by Singapore’s diplomatic strategies, its interest demands, and its Eastern values. This study highlights the importance of discourse in image construction and provides academic support for the promotion of China’s image.

The practical and instrumental rationalities of translation have significantly influenced the perception of the function and value of translation studies. A major reason for the long-term marginalization of translation studies in institutionalized academia lies in its failure to systematically and effectively explore translation’s practical value, and to construct a scientific disciplinary, academic, and discourse system. The disciplinary construction of translation studies began when linguistics incorporated it as a subdiscipline, followed by a wave of cultural translation studies that focused on literary text translation. Language serves as the medium of translation, culture as one of its contextual elements, and literary translation encompasses complex translation issues. Therefore, the traditional research approaches and orientations in translation studies are not only justified but will continue to constitute essential components of the field. However, the function of translation studies should not be limited to exploring the intrinsic value of translation; it should also investigate its extrinsic effects, namely how translation impacts the development of human civilization. Extending this to pragmatic translation studies, its scope should encompass practical translation studies, pragmatic translation studies, and appliable translation studies. This paper emphasizes that constructing a discourse system for pragmatic translation studies and strengthening its pragmatic research have urgent disciplinary needs and practical significance.

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of peer interaction on learning engagement in English classrooms through the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy. The study’s participants were 1,143 non-English majors; the quantitative data were analyzed via a descriptive analysis, a multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modeling. Some of the participants were then invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that the content and mode of peer interaction were both positive predicters of the three dimensions of learning engagement; while the perception of peer resources positively predicted cognitive and behavioral engagement, it did not significantly affect emotional engagement. Moreover, peer interaction was a direct positive predicter of learning engagement in English classrooms; it also indirectly affected learning engagement via academic self-efficacy, with academic self-efficacy playing a mediating role in the relationship between peer interaction and learning engagement in English classrooms. The transcription and analysis of the interviews confirmed these quantitative results. The study enhances the understanding of the path relationship between peer interaction and learning engagement in English classrooms, thereby providing insights for teachers to improve learning engagement through both peer interaction and academic self-efficacy.

Multimodal diplomatic discourse plays a pivotal role in promoting diplomatic ideologies, advancing diplomatic endeavours, and shaping national images. Conducting research on multimodal diplomatic discourse is extremely important for enriching the understanding of diplomatic discourse studies and for deepening the exploration in this domain. This paper is based on an analysis of the classification of multimodal diplomatic discourse, and describes its distinctive features and the underlying translation principles. The key characteristics of multimodal diplomatic discourse encompass its political nature, multimodality, visualisation, compatibility, and interactivity. These attributes have a profound influence on the principles that guide the translation of multimodal diplomatic discourse. Given the objective of constructing effective multimodal diplomatic discourse, translation should adhere to the principles of fidelity, coordination, and cultural adaptability to ensure the accurate and comprehensive communication of meaning.

The systematic and theoretical expressions of discourse on the rule of law with Chinese characteristics embody China’s legal wisdom, rule-of-law thoughts, and values. The translation and dissemination of these expressions play a significant role in shaping the Chinese image of the rule of law, constructing a holistic discourse system, and extending the impact of the rule-of-law discourse. In light of this, the connotations and features of the rule-of-law discourse with Chinese characteristics, based on the chapters related to the rule of law in the four volumes of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, are explored in this paper with a particular focus on examining the application of the strategies of standardization and communication in the translation of rule-of-law discourse. The aim is to provide inspiration and effective approaches for promoting Chinese rule-of-law thoughts accurately and increasing the impact of the international dissemination of Chinese rule-of-law discourse.

As of early 2022, the “Library of Chinese Classics” series had translated and published 112 English versions of Chinese classical works. From a certain perspective, the domestic effort in translating Chinese classics into English could be considered to have reached a temporary conclusion. So, apart from continuing translations into other languages, what should be the next step for the translation of Chinese classics in China? This paper proposes four suggestions: historical documentation, comparative studies, expansion and in-depth exploration, and personnel training. Specifically, historical documentation involves examining and organizing the history of translating Chinese classics into foreign languages; comparative studies aim to enhance the quality of future translations through comparisons of different translations; expansion and in-depth exploration refer to continually broadening the scope of translated classics and deepening understanding and reflection of this scope; personnel training focuses on improving translators’ proficiency in Chinese, English, and cultural knowledge, particularly their ability to read classical Chinese. The author offers specific suggestions for each of these four aspects.

The State Translation Program (STP) concept system provides a “state” perspective for translator behavior criticism. The STP represents the mainstream of translation history; therefore, exploring translator behavior criticism from the “state” perspective is both reasonable and necessary. Based on the re-examination of translation practices, including Xuanzang’s translation of Tao Te Ching, the study finds that translation can be regarded as a “state-initiating act” that encompasses not only an interlingual practice but also a discourse and political practice. The subject of translation behavior can be understood as an integration of state, translation institution, translator community, and individual translator, and the attributes and types of translators display “three-dimensional” characteristics. From a state perspective, the translator’s behavior is focused on the state’s interests; the interaction between the two categories of individual translator’s behavior and translator community behavior reflects the trinity of the state will, collective will, and individual will. The state perspective inspires translator behavior criticism to probe the interaction between language, society, and the state, giving full play to the critical function of the STP theory.

The theoretical research on separable words in Modern Chinese since the publication of Word Formation in Chinese (Lu Zhiwei et al., 1957) is systematically reviewed in this paper. Among the studies, research based on traditional grammar has mainly focused on defi ning the nature of separable words, while research based on modern linguistic theories has analyzed the formation methods of separable words and has attempted to explain the underlying reasons for their existence in Modern Chinese. However, there are many inadequacies in these studies despite their explanatory strengths. In this paper, we argue that the study of separable words in Modern Chinese requires a more comprehensive and in-depth exploration of areas such as describing the phenomena entailed in separation, defining the forms of separation, identifying the typical characteristics of separable words, and conducting cross-language and cross-dialect comparisons. The seeming oddity in Modern Chinese, which appears to contradict Western theories about words, raises the question of whether it reveals certain unique properties or the essence of Chinese, or whether it should be understood within the context of universal phenomena in world languages. This necessitates further investigation and research.

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.

This study analyzes the “reality-cognition-language” and “interaction-conceptual metaphor-metaphorical expression” theoretical models of embodied linguistics based on “body and cognition”, with the help of Marx and Engels’ practical materialist perspective of language (including the material source of language production, the cognitive basis of language, and the practicability of the linguistic cognitive system in three aspects). In this study, we interpret and explain the practical materialist view of language in the context of embodied linguistics, which is the latest research on localized cognitive linguistics in China. We will also highlight the significance of the interaction between “body” and “cognition” in promoting the cutting-edge development of cognitive linguistics and further elaborate the significance of embodied linguistics for the contemporary development of the practical materialist perspective of language.

Language security is not only an important emerging field that requires a holistic approach to the expansion of national security, but is also one of the fundamental elements that impacts various aspects of national security. Viewed from the perspective of a holistic approach to national security, language security fully embodies the value of the application of language planning. This paper analyzes the security dimension of language planning studies, advocates for a comprehensive and systematic study of language security planning, and predominantly discusses advancements in language security planning studies across three dimensions: theory, method, and application. The aim of this study is to provide a theoretical foundation and practical references for establishing the disciplinary framework of national language security planning.