GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies

Sentence Processing in Indonesian-English Bilingual Children with and without Language Impairment

Angkita Wasito Kirana — 2025-11-28

Reading comprehension is shaped by syntactic complexity, working memory, and linguistic proficiency, especially in bilingual students with language disorders. This study examines how bilingualism and SLI influence sentence processing in syntactically similar languages, focusing on the effects of language features, impairment status, and syntactic complexity on comprehension accuracy, reading speed (RS), recall speed (RcS), and fixation duration (FD). Forty-four balanced bilingual elementary students (22 SLI, 22 typically developing) completed silent, self-paced sentence reading tasks in Indonesian and English. Comprehension accuracy, reading speed, recall speed, and fixation duration were analyzed via ANCOVA and MANOVA, controlling for sentence length, number of syllables, number of modifiers, and the number of propositions. Results showed that SLI status significantly impaired all reading performance indicators, regardless of language. Language type had no effect on accuracy or reading speed, but did affect recall speed, especially in English, reflecting working memory load. Syntactic complexity—particularly the number of modifiers and propositions—negatively impacted comprehension accuracy and recall, disproportionately affecting SLI students. Fixation duration patterns revealed that SLI students allocated more visual attention in English. The Group effect outweighed Language and Group × Language interaction, suggesting that broad cognitive-linguistic deficits contribute more to comprehension difficulties than language-specific features. Instructional strategies should target content chunking and memory scaffolds across both languages.

Realising the Supernatural in Baba Malay Folktales: A Transitivity Analysis

Kit Yee Tang — 2025-11-28

The examination of Baba Malay folktales enables further exploration of this endangered minority language and provides insight into Peranakan Chinese culture. This paper examines how supernatural elements are realised through linguistic choices in six Baba Malay folktales in the contemporary book Chrita-Chrita Baba (by Kenneth Y.K. Chan). Applying Halliday and Matthiessen’s (2014) transitivity analysis from Systemic Functional Linguistics, the texts were analysed to answer two research questions: 1) How are supernatural themes realised in the Baba Malay folktales through the transitivity categories of process, participant and circumstance, and 2) What transitivity patterns are associated with supernatural characters in these folktales? The transitivity analysis reveals that clauses featuring supernatural entities in subject position predominantly instantiate material processes (e.g., pi ‘go’, bikin ‘make’, kasi ‘give’), positioning these figures as dynamic agents within the narrative. Such representation reflects culturally embedded ideologies attributing agency and causal power to supernatural forces, reinforcing communal views in which the supernatural is perceived as an active and determinative presence in human affairs. The difference found between carrier and token participants in relational clauses suggests that the narrative describes, rather than defines, the supernatural characters. The rare association of temporal and spatial circumstances with supernatural beings also shows their otherworldly nature. This study demonstrates how transitivity choices linguistically construct cultural beliefs about agency and otherworldliness in Baba Malay storytelling. The findings extend current scholarship on Baba Malay and Peranakan Chinese culture by detailing the vocabulary and transitivity patterns through which supernatural elements are represented in the folktales.

Acceptable or Plagiarized? Thai University Students’ Evaluations of Academic Texts

Parinda Jantori — 2025-11-28

University students are expected to develop an awareness of correct and ethical approaches to writing. This awareness includes the ability to determine the suitability of academic texts that are written based on references made to other sources. This study aims to examine Thai university students’ evaluation of the acceptability of academic texts that were paraphrased. Recent research from the region had indicated that university students had an incomplete understanding of acceptable academic writing. To further examine this phenomenon, this current study employs a mixed-methods approach where students had to rate the acceptability of three paraphrased versions of a text and provide their views on what constituted acceptable paraphrase through a survey. The survey was distributed to university students enrolled in an undergraduate-level academic writing course. A total of 104 students completed the survey by providing their ratings of acceptability. Among these, 89 students provided qualitative responses to share their views on what acceptable paraphrase is. The quantitative results indicated that many students were able to identify texts that were paraphrased completely; nonetheless, the qualitative responses revealed that students’ perceptions towards paraphrased revolved around form, that is, the substitution of words and reorganization of text. This reaffirmed existing studies from the Thai context, but it also provided new insights about how students viewed academic writing.

Reclaiming Dignity: A Recognition-Based Reading of Gangubai Kathiawadi

Irwan Sumarsono — 2025-11-28

This study analyzes Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi through the lens of Axel Honneth's recognition theory, focusing on the efforts to achieve dignity through a prestigious profession. While sex workers in India are often victims of shame and exclusion, the film serves as a narrative counter depicting how Gangubai managed to turn stigma into empowerment. This study employs qualitative content analysis methods to examine scenes and dialogues, exploring how Gangubai navigates three domains: love, human rights, and solidarity. The findings of the study show that this degree is achieved by assuming the role of a mother figure in her community, by demanding legal and political recognition for sex workers, and by earning social esteem as a respected leader. By making dignity a central theme, the study moves beyond conventional discussions of marginalization and stigma by offering a new look at how Bollywood films reimagine sex workers as agents of empowerment and justice. This analysis places Gangubai Kathiawadi as a significant cultural text that redefines womanhood and advocates for the recognition of marginalized identities.

Coercive or Discursive: A Critical Study of Carceral Dystopian Society in Bina Shah’s Before She Sleeps

Salman Ali — 2025-11-28

The term dystopia describes a society where all conditions appear to be working against individuals. The concept of dystopia has been present since time immemorial. However, the previous century of world wars, natural disasters, and the worst human conditions like pandemics, famine, and mass atrocities make it more complex in today’s world. This study investigates Bina Shah’s novel Before She Sleeps of dystopian account through the theoretical framework of Michel Foucault’s concepts of panopticism and carceral society while contesting the panoptical nature of power. It carefully observes the selected text by focusing on how surveillance mechanisms, power structures, and punitive procedures align with Foucault’s ideas of coercive and discursive power structures in relation to dystopian fiction’s ability to offer a sight of subversion and negotiation. However, a keen examination of novel’s plot and characters reveals that the Green City—which represents power—substantiates its role as a coercive agency exercising its control by means of social institutions, but at the same time it goes against Foucault’s idea which says, ‘power is discursive’, especially when we come across the structure of Panah (an illegal safe-haven for rebel women). It also highlights the ability of dystopian genre to offer a sight of subversion and negotiation by creating strong and rebellious characters, such as the women of Panah, even in the face of acute coercion and censorship. This exploration adds to a profound comprehension of dystopian writing and its importance in the contemporary discourse on oppressive society, authoritarian government and the misuse of advanced technology.

Cultural Conceptualisation of Spinel in Persian Poetry

Kaluash Zhetpisbayeva — 2025-11-28

Numerous research studies have explored the physical properties of gemstones, their socio-cultural significance, esoteric meanings, and remedial uses, yet their role in human life often extends beyond conventional perceptions. Gemstones not only serve as decorative elements but also possess dynamic qualities, symbolizing beauty as a living substance. In contemporary discourse, gemstones can be regarded as cultural elements, integral to global perceptions and multifaceted metaphors. In Persian poetry, which is characterised by its rich imagery and allusions, gemstones are frequently employed as descriptive motifs. To aid non-Iranian speakers in understanding Persian literature, this article seeks to uncover the cultural conceptualisation of gemstones, with a focus on spinel, through the lens of Cultural Linguistics. Using the analytical framework of Cultural Linguistics, the authors interpret 824 Persian lines (mesrâ) through qualitative analysis. This analysis reveals six cultural metaphors and schemas along with three distinct cultural categories. Furthermore, quantitative analysis demonstrates the distribution of cultural cognition among poets, illustrating how they project their thoughts and emotions through spinel, thereby creating a shared mental space. These identified conceptualisations of spinel transcend conventional perceptions, highlighting the culturally embodied nature of Persian poetry, in which poets, akin to jewellers, intricately weave pearls of thought and emotion into a cohesive thread of rhyme and meter.

Liberal Humanism and Technology in Don DeLillo’s The Silence (2020)

Mohammad Amin Salarzaey — 2025-11-28

Considering Don DeLillo's The Silence (2020) in the context of the contemporary crisis in humanistic values, in this article we shed some light on it in terms of its relation with the discourse of liberal humanism, particularly vis-à-vis technology. Arguably, the novel’s ambivalent stance on technology originates in an ambivalence at the core of liberal humanism: the belief in progress and the anxiety that it may transform humanity beyond recognition. The concern with humanism and its bearing on technology could further be seen in DeLillo's questions about identity, individuality and affectivity. We maintain that rather than considering DeLillo’s novel as a “posthumanist” one stressing the sinister aspects of technology, as many studies suggest, it could be approached as a liberal humanist work displaying an ambiguously liberal portrayal of the impact of technology on humanity. Considering the novel in the light of the broader discussions of the ambivalences of liberal humanism, we offer a fresh perspective on the figuration of technology in it, arguing that technology is presented as partly partaking of the category of the uncanny, as both immensely empowering and menacing, as simultaneously “familiar” and sinisterly alien. As such, DeLillo’s most recent novel to date presents technology as both “human” and “posthuman”; for, it has both enhanced human possibilities and has problematized the very idea of being human.

Warnings in Learners’ Dictionaries: Do They Help to Correct Errors and Learn Usage?

Anna Dziemianko — 2025-11-28

The paper aims to investigate the effect of warning messages in monolingual English learners’ dictionaries on the accuracy of error correction as well as immediate and delayed retention of usage. An attempt is also made to see whether the position of information useful for task performance in entries affects error correction and learning. Two types of warnings are investigated: deduction-oriented warning boxes and induction-oriented standalone examples of errors. In an online experiment, 162 upper-intermediate learners of English corrected errors in 18 sentences with the help of purpose-built dictionary entries. Three types of entries were created: with boxed warnings, with standalone examples of errors, and without any warnings. In all of them, the distribution of information relevant to task performance was strictly controlled; it was placed in entry initial, medial and final positions. Their results show a significant and positive role of warnings in monolingual learners’ dictionaries (MLDs). Both warning types considerably improve error correction accuracy as well as immediate and delayed retention of usage, with warning boxes outdoing standalone examples of errors in all three respects. Entries without any warnings are the least effective. The position of relevant information in entries proves to be inconsequential for error correction or learning usage. The paper argues for the inclusion of warnings in monolingual English learners’ dictionaries and suggests that they be better adjusted to the needs of speakers from specific mother tongue backgrounds.

Language-Indexed Affective-Motivational Profiles of Japanese Major Undergraduates: A Q Methodology Study

Talaibek Musaev — 2025-11-28

Research on emotions in second-language learning has typically treated affect as a global learner trait and has rarely examined how affective experience is systematically shaped by specific structural and sociopragmatic features of the target language. This study addresses that gap by investigating how affective-motivational configurations in Japanese learning are indexed to distinct linguistic loci: orthographic processing, lexical deployment, clause-level comprehension, and sociopragmatic calibration. Using Q methodology, thirty-three undergraduates majoring in Japanese rank-ordered 45 self-referential statements about concrete linguistic encounters and motivational-evaluative appraisals on a forced quasi-normal distribution. Data were analysed using by-person centroid extraction with varimax rotation and triangulated with post-sort justifications, whereas follow-up interviews were conducted to corroborate interpretations. The analysis reconstructed three structurally independent profiles that together explain 39% of the study-sample variance across three factors. Factor 1 is a Mastery-Oriented Intrinsic Engagement, characterized by translation-free comprehension and orthographic consolidation with minimal social anxiety; Factor 2 is an Affective Overload and Motivational Depletion, marked by linguistic overwhelm under evaluative pressure and depleted persistence; and Factor 3 is a Resilient Persistence with Sociopragmatic Anxiety, exhibiting sustained motivation despite public speaking stress. The findings show how appraisals of control and value are configured around learners' phenomenological encounters with Japanese linguistic features, not only general learning conditions. Overall, the patterns indicate that emotions and motivation in this sample vary with the particular linguistic features engaged rather than reflecting a single global disposition.

Pemprofesionalan Pekerjaan Jurubahasa di Malaysia: Tinjauan dalam Kalangan Jurubahasa (The Professionalisation of Interpreting Work in Malaysia: A Survey of Interpreters)

Mohamed Zain Sulaiman — 2025-11-28

Walaupun bidang kejurubahasaan telah diamalkan sejak zaman berzaman di seantero dunia, sebagai disiplin akademik, ia masih baharu. Perkembangan bidang pengajian kejurubahasaan didorong oleh usaha untuk meningkatkan status jurubahasa sebagai profesion yang diiktiraf masyarakat. Di Malaysia, tahap pemprofesionalan bidang kejurubahasaan masih rendah dengan pelbagai cabaran berkaitan status, keterlihatan, identiti profesional, kredibiliti dan kawalan kualiti meskipun industri penterjemahan telah lama bertapak di negara ini. Makalah ini bertujuan meneliti tahap kesiapsiagaan dan sikap jurubahasa di Malaysia terhadap pemprofesionalan, serta meninjau bagaimana proses ini dapat dibentuk dalam konteks tempatan. Dua persoalan utama dikemukakan: (1) Apakah profil sosiodemografi dan pekerjaan jurubahasa di Malaysia? dan (2) Apakah pandangan mereka terhadap empat dimensi pemprofesionalan—status, pensijilan, pendidikan, dan latihan, serta sokongan institusi? Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah tinjauan soal selidik dengan teknik persampelan rantaian melibatkan 50 orang jurubahasa di Malaysia. Dapatan menunjukkan bahawa majoriti responden menyokong pemprofesionalan melalui pensijilan, pendidikan, latihan, dan penglibatan institusi, walaupun kebanyakan daripada mereka bekerja secara bebas tanpa pendidikan tinggi khusus dalam bidang kejurubahasaan. Pengalaman kerja didapati menjadi sumber utama keyakinan profesional mereka. Bagi mengukuhkan profesion, model pendidikan fleksibel berasaskan APEL dan program latihan khusus untuk pensijilan profesional dicadangkan bagi memperluaskan akses, menyokong pembelajaran sepanjang hayat, serta melahirkan jurubahasa kompeten yang diiktiraf dan relevan dengan keperluan industri semasa.

Kata kunci: Jurubahasa; pemprofesionalan; Malaysia; pensijilan; status

ABSTRACT

Although interpreting across the world has been practised since time immemorial, it remains a relatively young academic discipline. The birth and growth of interpreting studies have been driven by efforts to elevate the status of interpreters and transform interpreting practice into a profession that is socially recognised. In Malaysia, the level of professionalisation in the interpreting sector remains low, marked by challenges related to status, visibility, professional identity, credibility, and quality control, despite the long-standing presence of translation and interpreting practices in the country. This article aims to explore Malaysian interpreters’ readiness for and attitudes towards professionalisation, and to gain insight into how professionalisation might be shaped in the local context. Two key questions guide the study: (1) What are the sociodemographic and occupational profiles of interpreters in Malaysia? and (2) What are their perceptions of four core dimensions of professionalisation—status, certification, education and training, and institutional support? A survey using snowball sampling was conducted with 50 interpreters across Malaysia. Findings show that most respondents support professionalisation through certification, education and training, and institutional involvement, even though many work independently and lack formal higher education in interpreting. Professional confidence appears to stem primarily from work experience rather than academic credentials. To strengthen the profession, this study recommends flexible educational models incorporating APEL, alongside specialised training pathways leading to professional certification. Such approaches can broaden access, support lifelong learning, and help develop competent interpreters who are formally recognised and equipped to meet contemporary industry demands.

Keywords: Interpreters; professionalisation; Malaysia; certification; status

Three Decades of Malay Linguistics Research: A Scientometric Analysis of Trends, Impact, and Emerging Directions

Lalu Nurul Yaqin — 2025-11-28

The study presents a scientometric analysis of the development of Malay linguistics research over the past three decades. Due to rapid technological changes in linguistics and policy needs, this study examines publication trends, institution and country contributions, themes, and co-citation cluster networks to provide an overview of the field's intellectual structure. The study utilises CiteSpace version 6.3. R3 Advance to analyse records from the Scopus database (1994-2024). The findings indicate substantial growth in publication output, with Malaysia publishing the most papers, followed by Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara, and International Islamic University of Malaysia are the top contributing institutions to research in Malay linguistics. The emerging themes indicate a shift in research focus from traditional linguistic studies toward computational linguistics, digital text processing, and AI-driven applications. The key research clusters were identified, spanning dialectology, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and computational linguistics. Among influential contributors, Asmah Haji Omar, with a citation count of 55 and burstness of 4.08, is the most influential author, significantly shaping the discipline. The GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies has the highest citation bursts (1.81), which are crucial in advancing research in computational linguistics, sociolinguistics, and language identity. This study provides critical insights into the evolution of Malay linguistics research, offering valuable evidence to guide researchers and education policymakers in formulating strategic policies for academic innovation and disciplinary advancement.

Syntactic Awareness and Reading Comprehension: A Systematic Review of Cross-Linguistic Transfer

Xinzi Ouyang — 2025-11-28

Syntactic awareness or the ability to reflect on and manipulate grammatical structures is a key component of reading comprehension. While individual studies show that syntactic awareness may support cross-language reading comprehension, prior literature reviews have not examined syntactic awareness as a distinct construct, leaving unclear how syntactic transfer varies across language pairs, learner profiles, and instructional contexts. A systematic literature review is therefore needed to clarify the extent and nature of this transfer in varied contexts. This article presents a systematic literature review synthesizing empirical evidence from 2015 to 2025 on how syntactic awareness transfers across languages to influence reading comprehension. Guided by PRISMA protocols, a total of 953 studies were selected from three databases, namely, ProQuest, Web of Science, and ERIC, and only 23 peer-reviewed studies were systematically reviewed regarding their research designs, participant demographics, language pairings, and methodological limitations. This review finds that current research is largely cross-sectional, using regression or structural equation modeling (SEM) with varied syntactic awareness and reading measures, and is dominated by studies on primary immersion learners and a narrow set of language pairings. Although previous research has produced mixed findings, this review finds overall support for the positive role of syntactic awareness transfer in reading comprehension across languages. However, this relationship is influenced by factors such as vocabulary and word reading. The review recommends the adoption of more longitudinal, experimental, and mixed-methods research designs, along with greater inclusion of adult participants and linguistically diverse populations. It also emphasizes the need to validate bilingual syntactic awareness instruments in order to deepen the understanding of syntactic awareness transfer in reading comprehension.

Cognitive Effort Verbalised in Self-reports: Investigating the Influence of Directionality in Translation

Marcelina Pietryga — 2025-11-28

This study investigates the traces of cognitive effort in two translation directions, L1-L2 and L2-L1, verbalised in the self-reports. Its aim is two-fold: to analyse how translation trainees generally verbalise cognitive effort experienced during the translation process and to investigate whether there are any differences in self-reports of cognitive effort in two translation directions. Therefore, I formulated two research questions directly corresponding to the aims. The method used to study this topic is retrospection in the form of self-retrospection. Translation trainees were asked to first translate a text and then verbalise all conscious decisions they made during the translation process. The verbalisations, under the name of self-reports of cognitive effort were divided into eight categories. The results indicated that participants referred to various aspects of cognitive effort, such as effort related to the drafting phase (Jakobsen 2002), style, punctuation and collocations, which served as fixed points of interest. What is more, seven out of eight categories of self-reports, but with different frequencies, appear in both translation directions. In some cases, the content of the categories also differs in each direction. I used a non-parametric Wilcoxon test to verify whether these differences were statistically significant. In the case of two out of seven categories that appear in both directions, the difference reached the level of statistical significance.

A Corpus-Based Frequency List of Arabic Sight Words for Grades 4–6

Ahmad Oweini — 2025-11-28

This study updates and extends the foundational work of Oweini and Hazoury (2010) by developing a new corpus-based list of Arabic sight words for grades 4-6 in Lebanese private schools. It addresses the lack of recent, systematic descriptions of high-frequency Arabic words and examines their role in reading fluency and comprehension. Fifteen commonly used Arabic reading textbooks were analyzed, and words were categorized by type and morphological structure. The findings confirm the dominance of functional words and reflect the influence of diglossia and Arabic orthographic complexity on sight word identification. Comparison with existing word lists and frequency dictionaries shows strong overlap but also highlights areas requiring revision. This updated frequency list offers educators and textbook designers linguistically grounded evidence for improving reading materials. The study also recommends expanding future research using digital corpus tools to support larger-scale frequency analyses.