Sociolinguistic research on varieties of language and language variation, along with the necessity for meeting "equivalence" in terms of the appropriateness of the variety to the context have been well recognized in the formulation of a translation theory. However, the treatment of variation has always been restricted to dialect and has not…

This paper examines the English language from an international perspective, highlighting its role, attainments, power, use, and cultural influence. It begins by discussing the use of English versus the use of Arabic as a language of higher education in Jordan, delineating conflicts between the two languages and defining both in terms of their…

English prepositions are generally considered difficult to teach to nonnative speakers, for a variety of reasons: the large number of possible meanings for many prepositions, which change according to the context in which they are used; the lack of a written guide to usage; and, for native Arabic speakers, the commonly-used grammar-translation…

This study examined the interlanguage syntax of Arabic speaking learners of English in the area of the noun phrase, focusing on the closed system elements that can occur before or after the noun head, the noun head and pronouns in line with Quirk and Greenbaum's (1977) treatment of the noun phrase. Participants were 25 Arabic speaking English…

This study examined learners' productive competence in collocations and idioms by means of their performance on two interdependent tasks. Participants were two groups of English as a Foreign Language undergraduate and graduate students from the English department at Jordan's Yarmouk University. The two tasks included the following: a multiple…

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of lexical choice errors made by native Arabic-speaking learners of English in written compositions indicated that first-language interference is a major variable in lexical choice. Results lend support to the development of problematic word lists to help learners adopt practical strategies for improving…

This study investigated the effect of a set of predictors of success in both the undergraduate English program and in all other subjects. Academic data for the graduates of an Arab university's English department during three years were analyzed. The predictor variables examined were: (1) total scores on the secondary school certificate…

English departments in Arab universities have been in an uncertain state from their beginning for lack of specific policy on the emphasis to be given to English or comparative literature, English or general linguistics, or a combination. Leanings toward English literature have always been evident, but course offerings and faculty recruitment show…