Exploring Translation’s Role in Community Development from the Perspectives of Language Researchers and Postgraduates

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the roles of translation in community development based on perceptions of researchers and postgraduate students in the context of Yemen. Using a quantitative research design, the data were collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 86 Yemeni researchers and postgraduate students majoring in applied linguistics and translation studies. The analysis of the data was processed in SPSS software (version 20). The results revealed that they hold positive perceptions about the roles of translation in community development. Concerning participants’ gender, the results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between male and female participants in perceiving the roles of translation in community development. Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences in the perceived roles of translation between participants majoring in applied linguistics and those majoring in translation studies. The educational dimension of community development was rated based on the perceptions of researchers and postgraduate students as the first rank, which was the most influenced by translation, followed by the cultural dimension and social dimension. It was also found that there were statistically significant differences in the perceived roles of translation across some pairs of dimensions of community development. These differences were particularly found in the pairs of the social dimension and the economic dimension; the cultural dimension and the economic dimension; and the cultural dimension and the environmental dimension.