Skip to main content
Abdullah Alqarni

Abdullah Alqarni

Research student

School of Modern Languages

Email
AlqarniA1@cardiff.ac.uk
Campuses
66a Park Place, Room PGR Suite, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3AS

Overview

My name is Abdullah Alqarni, a PhD candidate in Translation Studies at Cardiff University, UK, specialising in the sociology and history of translation. I earned my MA in Translation Studies with distinction in my thesis from the University of Leicester, UK, in 2017.

I began my professional journey in academia at King Khalid University, KSA, where I completed my BA (Hons) in English Language and a Higher Diploma in Education, initially serving as a Teaching Assistant. Subsequently, I advanced to the role of Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Bisha.

At Cardiff University, I've held roles such as Deputy Theme Lead for Transnational Cultural and Visual Studies and Lecturer in Translation Studies, and worked as a Teaching Assistant of Translation Theories.

My research interests include the sociology of translation, history of translations, bibliographies of translations, and the intersection of translation with AI. I have collaborated with organisations such as YMCA, Translators without Borders, and Boom Cymru TV Ltd.

Research

My research interests include the sociology of translation, history of translations, bibliographies of translations, and the intersection of translation with AI.

My current PhD thesis is informed by Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theory, specifically utilising its heuristic concepts of field, habitus, and capital. This theoretical framework is applied to explore translation activities within the field of English Self-Help Literature translated into Arabic. The thesis investigate this specific field of translation as a socially situated activity, delving into the dynamics of its social agents and the broader sociocultural context.

In addition to my PhD thesis, I am currently working on four projects, which are as follows:

  1. Towards a Socio-historical Analysis of Translation Bibliographies in Saudi Arabia: Revealing Realities, Insights and Opportunities

  2. Mapping the Subtitling Field in KSA before and after Saudi Vision 2030: A Sociological and Historical Analysis.

  3. A Comparative Quality Evaluation Study on English to Arabic Machine Translation: Neural Machine Translation Systems vs. Large Language Model Based Machine Translation Systems.

  4. Mapping the Landscape of Audiovisual Translation Research in the Arab World: A Scientometric Analysis.

Thesis

The Sociocultural Dynamics of Translating English Self-Help Literature into Arabic in Saudi Arabia: A Bourdieusian Perspective

The thesis critically investigates the translation of English-language self-help literature into Arabic in Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2016, through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social practices. It explores the socio-cultural dynamics of translation production by combining bibliographical data, interviews with translation co-producers, and analysis of selected paratexts. The study traces the history of this translation field, identifying key production phases and examining the influence of political, religious, and economic factors. It highlights how the translation of self-help literature is impacted by these forces, revealing the role of censorship, sponsorship, and self-censorship in shaping the field. The thesis also discusses the influence of publishing houses' financial motivations and social connections on their practices. By applying Bourdieu’s analytical tools to the unique context of Saudi Arabia, the study contributes to the understanding of translation sociology, particularly the role of religion and institutional hierarchy in shaping publishing practices. Additionally, it offers insights into multi-method research design, utilising translation bibliographies, interviews, and paratext analysis.

SUPERVISORS

Funding sources

  • University of Bisha, KSA.

  • Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau, London.

Teaching

  • Teaching assistant: October 2012–November 2017 King Khalid University, Bisha
  • Lecturer in Translation Studies: November 2017–September 2018 University of Bisha, Department
    of English. Bisha, Aseer, KSA.
  • Course Mentor for “Working with Translation”: February 2020–May2020, Co-organized by Cardiff University, UK and FutureLearn
  • Teaching assistant in Translation Studies: September 2021–July 2022 Cardiff University , Department of translation studies.

Biography

My name is Abdullah Alqarni, a PhD candidate in Translation Studies at Cardiff University, UK, specialising in the sociology and history of translation. I earned my MA in Translation Studies with distinction in my thesis from the University of Leicester, UK, in 2017.

I began my professional journey in academia at King Khalid University, KSA, where I completed my BA (Hons) in English Language and a Higher Diploma in Education, initially serving as a Teaching Assistant. Subsequently, I advanced to the role of Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Bisha.

At Cardiff University, I've held roles such as Deputy Theme Lead for Transnational Cultural and Visual Studies and Lecturer in Translation Studies, and worked as a Teaching Assistant of Translation Theories.

My research interests include the sociology of translation, history of translations, bibliographies of translations, and the intersection of translation with AI. I have collaborated with organisations such as YMCA, Translators without Borders, and Boom Cymru TV Ltd.

Honours and awards

  • My research won the IATIS Solidarity & Scientific Excellence Award, along with ten other participants.

Professional memberships

  • Member of the International Association for Translation and Interpreting Studies (IATIS).

  • Member of the Committee of the Saudi Observatory on Translated Publications (SOTP).

Academic positions

  • Teaching Assistant: October 2012–November 2017, King Khalid University, Bisha.

  • Lecturer in Translation Studies: November 2017–September 2018, University of Bisha, Department of English, Bisha, Aseer, KSA.

  • Course Mentor for “Working with Translation”: February 2020–May 2020, co-organized by Cardiff University, UK and FutureLearn.

  • Deputy Theme Lead for Transnational Cultural and Visual Studies: 2020–2021, School of Modern Languages, Cardiff University, UK.

  • Teaching Assistant in Translation Studies: September 2021–July 2022, Cardiff University, Department of Translation Studies.

Speaking engagements

  • Presenting my research in the 4th online summer school on translation and interpreting history at the Centre for Translation Studies at the University of Vienna between the 1st and 8th of September 2021.

  • Ppresenting my research at the 7th conference of the International Association for Translation and InterculturalStudies (IATIS), which was organised by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona between the 14th and 17th of September 2021.

  • Presenting my research in Translation Studies Forum, which was organised online by Athra for translation and publishing on the 10th of November 2021.

  • Presenting my research in the 2nd International Symposium on Translation and Knowledge Transfer: New Trends in the Theory and Practice of Translation and Interpreting (TRAK), which was organised online by the University of Córdoba in Córdoba between the 18th and 19th of November 2021.

Committees and reviewing

  • Reviewer for The Translator Journal.

Supervisors

Dorota Goluch

Dorota Goluch

Senior Lecturer

Specialisms

  • Translation
  • Sociology of Translation
  • Translation Studies
  • Translation Bibliographies
  • History of Translation