Pragmatic Adaptation in Digital Translation: The Influence of Technology on Translating Negative Politeness

Authors

  • Mohammad Issa Mehawesh

    Department of English Language and Translation, Faculty of Arts and Languages, Jadara University, Irbid 21110, Jordan
  • Aya Walid Akkawi

    Department of English and Translation, Collage of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman

    Department of English Language and Literature, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan
  • Rose Fowler Al­-Hawamdeh

    Department of Languages, School of Social and Basic Sciences, Hussein Technical University, Amman 11183, Jordan
  • Iman Mohammad Zuraigat

    Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Jerash University, Jerash 26150, Jordan
  • Shafiq Abdul Jabbar Banat

    Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Jerash University, Jerash 26150, Jordan
  • Natheer Mohammed ALOmari

    Ministry of Education, Irbid 21610, Jordan
  • Mouad Mohammed Al­-Natour

    Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Jerash University, Jerash 26150, Jordan
  • Haitham Mohammad Al­-Yousef

    Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Jerash University, Jerash 26150, Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.11342
Received: 4 August 2025 | Revised: 8 September 2025 | Accepted: 23 September 2025 | Published Online: 6 November 2025

Abstract

This research investigates the adaptation of negative politeness strategies in the requests of Jordanian and Omani students in digital communication. The study employs Brown and Levinson's politeness theory to examine how students from these two cultures use politeness strategies (indirectness, asking questions, apologizing, and minimizing imposition) in writing emails, text messages, and social media interactions. Data were collected from 60 students (30 Jordanian and 30 Omani) through semi­structured interviews, surveys, and observational inputs. The study finds variations across cultural expressions. For example, Omani students mostly put their questions in pairs, but they find single questions acceptable, while Jordanian students generally ask for things in single questions. Furthermore, the roles of digital translation tools, such as Google Translate and DeepL, are being studied concerning how they translate politeness strategies, particularly indirectness and hedging. The research found that such machine tools have not done very well in reflecting these pragmatic characteristics but instead, in many cases, lose markers of culture and politeness. Pragmatic adoption of digital translation will expressly enhance future research along with culturally aware translation tools. Future studies should investigate better ways to utilize digital devices in capturing the heterogeneous aspects of politeness across cultures. Moreover, Future researchers can investigate the reasons for misunderstanding the negative politeness strategies by native speakers when they interact with non­native speakers like Jordanians and Omanis.

Keywords:

Negative Politeness Strategies; Cultural Adaptation; Online Communication; Digital Translation Tools; Intercultural Pragmatics

References

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How to Cite

Issa Mehawesh, M., Akkawi, A. W., Al­-Hawamdeh, R. F., Zuraigat, I. M., Jabbar Banat, S. A., ALOmari, N. M., Al­-Natour, M. M., & Mohammad Al­-Yousef , H. (2025). Pragmatic Adaptation in Digital Translation: The Influence of Technology on Translating Negative Politeness. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(12), 420–440. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.11342

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 12 (December 2025): In progress

Article Type

Article

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Copyright © 2025 Mohammad Issa Mehawesh, Aya Walid Akkawi, Rose Fowler Al­-Hawamdeh, Iman Mohammad Zuraigat, Shafiq Abdul Jabbar Banat, Natheer Mohammed ALOmari, Mouad Mohammed Al­-Natour, Haitham Mohammad Al­-Yousef

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.