Culinary tourism has become a significant driver of destination attractiveness, particularly in culturally rich regions such as South Sulawesi, Indonesia. This study examines how cultural representation is conveyed in English culinary menu translations and how it contributes to enhancing tourism experiences. Employing a mixed-method approach, this study integrates qualitative analysis of translation strategies with quantitative data obtained from 27 respondents representing tourists, restaurant practitioners, and language experts. The findings indicate that while English menu translation is perceived as important and generally effective, cultural representation remains insufficient in the translated menus. Common issues include literal translations, lack of cultural explanations, and inconsistencies across menus. Strategies such as borrowing, descriptive translation, and amplification are identified as more effective in preserving cultural meaning while ensuring comprehensibility. The study concludes that culturally sensitive menu translation enhances tourists’ understanding, engagement, and overall experiences. This study recommends the development of standardized translation guidelines and the integration of cultural narratives to strengthen culinary tourism in South Sulawesi.
In this study, “de-Arabizing” is presented as a vital conceptual tool to analyze the process of negotiating one’s identity in the work of Laila Lalami, titled The Other Americans (2019). For this purpose, a complex theoretical framework consisting of concepts from disciplines including, but not limited to, literature, culture studies, sociology, psychology, and critical theory was developed. Specifically, Said’s theory of Orientalism (1978), Bhabha’s third space theory (1994), Hall’s processual understanding of the nature of diasporic identity (1990), and critical race theory (CRT) put forward by Delgado and Stefancic (2017) will be utilized. Close reading and narrative analysis will be used as primary analytical techniques to explore the construction of de-Arabizing through characterization, dialogue, structural features of the narrative such as multiperspectivity, and symbolic motifs. Through analyzing the various reactions to assimilation among members of the Guerraoui family, the current research will demonstrate that de-Arabizing may serve both as a survival technique and experience of traumatic dispossession, while still leaving room for transformation. Crucially, although the characters are primarily shown as caught in between cultures in Lalami’s narrative rather than occupying productive third spaces, there are indications of transformation at the end of the narrative.
This study examines subjectivity construction, stabilization, and disintegration in Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon, highlighting language as the main narrative mechanism for producing subjectivity. Using narratological, stylistic, and Lacanian psychoanalytic frameworks, the analysis views subjectivity not as a stable psychological essence but as a fragile, language-dependent formation via narrative discourse. Through qualitative close reading, the study analyzes Charlie Gordon’s first-person progress reports, focusing on linguistic markers of subjectivity, including spelling patterns, syntactic complexity, vocabulary range, narrative coherence, and self-referential expressions. The findings show early non-standard linguistic forms place Charlie at symbolic discourse margins, while subsequent linguistic stabilization allows reflective self-positioning and symbolic integration. However, this stability is temporary, as linguistic deterioration leads to narrative fragmentation and self-referential authority disintegration. A Lacanian reading of the Imaginary and Symbolic orders shows narrative coherence moments correspond to imaginary identification, while symbolic regulation introduces abstraction and alienation, and its breakdown results in narrative subjectivity disintegration. The study argues Flowers for Algernon constructs subjectivity as a precarious narrative achievement sustained through language, not an inherent psychological constant, offering a language-centered perspective to literary discussions of identity, narrative voice, and subject formation.
This paper examines how ideas of vulnerability and post-traumatic memory are fixed within the everyday lives of Afghan women through Nadia Hashmi’s The Pearl That Broke Its Shell (2014). Through the deeply entwined narratives of Shekiba and Rahima, who live parallel lives years apart, the study explores how gendered trauma is not only experienced but also transmitted across generations. Through an analysis of the Afghan custom of bacha posh, the paper suggests that the freedom associated with a male identity is often accompanied by uncertainty and conflict in constructing individual gender identity and selfhood. Rooted in vulnerability theory, gender performativity, and postmemory, the study introduces the concept of gendered hermaphroditism to describe this enforced oscillation between the two gender roles. The novel reveals inherited trauma as both a living condition and a site of narrative resistance.
This research article examines the discursive space of dystopian elements in Tlegenov’s novel “Seksen Altınşı Jyl” within Kazakh literature, as well as their reception by readers. The study is grounded in reader-response theory and explores not only the characteristics of the dystopian genre but also the levels of reader interpretation. The primary objective of the research is to assess readers’ perceptions of society through dystopian literature, to analyze the features of their understanding and reception, and to empirically determine the cognitive and emotional impact of the work. A total of 147 respondents voluntarily participated in the study. Data were collected via Google Forms and processed using the R statistical software package. The survey was structured according to a four-factor model: the first factor addressed familiarity with the work; the second examined the perception of its dystopian nature; the third focused on historical consciousness and social interpretation; and the fourth considered emotional impact and social significance. The results indicated that readers’ level of familiarity with dystopian prose is relatively low. This trend is characteristic of countries that have experienced totalitarian regimes and gained independence only toward the end of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, the historical period depicted in the novel was highly rated in terms of comprehensibility, and the political system and its ideology were perceived as realistic. The findings suggest that while dystopian literature may be challenging for readers to engage with, it holds significant social importance.
