The use of translated materials in assessing aphasia patients in Qatar: Problems and solutions

Authors

  • Tariq Khwaileh Department of English Literature and Linguistics Qatar University
  • Michael Grosvald Department of English Literature and Linguistics Qatar University

Keywords:

Arabic, aphasia, assessment, psycholinguistics, language, clinical

Abstract

In Qatar, as well as in other parts of the Arabic-speaking world, assessment of patients who have suffered CVAs or other injuries leading to language deficits typically includes the use of surveys and questionnaires that have been translated into Arabic, generally from English. Such materials are used to assess the impact of the CVA on language, communication, quality of life, and social activities. The use of translated materials is commonplace because assessment materials specifically developed for the Arabic language and culture are unavailable. The shortcomings of translated materials have not been widely recognized. Unfortunately, the simple truth is that many of these translated materials are unsuited for use in the local context, and this can have a significant impact on the lives of patients post-CVA. In this paper, we discuss this issue in some detail and propose a multiphase solution to mitigate the problems of using translated materials.

 

References

Abou El-Ella , T. K. Alloush , A. M. El-Shobary , N. G. El-Dien Hafez , A. I. Abd EL-Halim & I. M. El-Rouby (2013) Modification and standardization of Arabic version of the Comprehensive Aphasia Test, Aphasiology, 27:5, 599-614.

Boudelaa, S., & Marslen-Wilson, W. D. (2010). ARALEX: A lexical database for Modern Standard Arabic. Behavior Research Methods, 42, 481-487.

Christos PJ , Chemaitelly H, Abu-Raddad LJ, Gehani AR, Deleu D, Mushlin AI. Prevention during the epidemiologic shift to chronic illness: a case control study of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease in Qatar, Journal of Local and Global Health Perspectives 2013:4. http://dx.doi.org/10.5339/jlghp.2013.4.

CVA Association. (2013). CVA Statistics Report.

Goodglass, H., & Kaplan, E. (1983). Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (2nd ed). Philadelphia, PA: Lea and Febiger.

Grodzinsky, Y. (1984). The syntactic characterization of agrammatism. Cognition, 16, 99-120.

Grodzinsky, Y. (2000). The neurology of syntax: language use without Broca‟s area. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 1-71.

Khan FY, Yasin M, Abu-Khattab M, et al. (2008). CVA in Qatar: A First Prospective Hospital-based Study of Acute CVA. Journal of CVA and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Vol. 17, No. 2, 69-78.

Khwaileh TA, Mustafawi E, Howard D and Herbert R (2016). An aphasia battery for Qatari/Gulf Arabic. Front. Psychol. Conference Abstract: 54th Annual Academy of Aphasia Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.fpsyg.2016.68.00026.

Mimouni, Z., & Jarema, G. (1997). Agrammatic aphasia in Arabic. Aphasiology, 11, 125-144.

Mimouni, Z., Kehayia, E., & Jarema G. (1998). The mental representation of singular and plural nouns in Algerian Arabic as revealed through auditory priming in agrammatic aphasic patients. Brain and Language, 61(1), 63-87.

Paradis, M., & El Halees, Y. (1989) Bilingual Aphasia Test (Arabic version) Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Parr, S., Pound, C., Byng, S., & Long B., (1999). The Aphasia Handbook. UK: Connect Press.

Sallam, T., El-Tamawy, M., Hassanein, A., Abd El-Nasseer, M., Hosney, H., El-Hattab, O., El-Faiuomy, N., & Waly, A. (2002). Kasr El-Aini Arabic Aphasia Test (KAAT) Simple, Standardized, Valid Reliable Test for Egyptian Patients, Literate and Illiterate. Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery, 39(2), 381-395.

Zabbal, Y. (2002). The semantics of number in the Arabic noun phrase. University of Calgary: Unpublished Master Thesis.

Downloads

Published

05/28/2019

How to Cite

Khwaileh, T., & Grosvald, M. (2019). The use of translated materials in assessing aphasia patients in Qatar: Problems and solutions. Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 38–49. Retrieved from https://arjals.com/ajal/article/view/176

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2019): Regular Issue

Section

New Articles

License

By submitting to AJAL, authors agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors grant the journal right of first publication, with the work for an indefinite period of time after publication.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.