Semantic Confusion of the Term in Cultural Pages for Students of College of Arts (University of Baghdad)

Abstract

The research is exposed to an important issue, related to communication obstacles that prevent the media message contained in cultural topics published in local newspapers to reach the hands of the readers; or related to lack of awareness of aspects of that media message, Because it contains immersed vocabulary in elitism where, sometime, the average reader of the newspaper of medium-sized educated, and even the academic reader are unable to decode it and understand its significance.

After determining the problem of the study and the tools that the researcher wants to use to accomplish his research, a sample of students of college of Arts at the University of Baghdad was selected. As they are closest to the specialization is concerned. This choice came to the assumption of the researcher that the problem extends beyond the general readers to affect those close to the specialization of university students at the departments of literature.

The researcher reached a number of results, which is that the discourse adopted in the cultural pages, is an elitist discourse does not fit the level of the general readers. Readers, as well, suffer from the frequent use of editors of translated terms, as well as blurry in the brainstorming, in addition to the lack of suspense in the drafting the topics, which made the readers away from follow-up cultural pages.

The study also revealed a decline in readers’ interest in cultural topics, which had a low percentage in the penultimate sequence of the bottom of the list of priorities for their favorite pages in the newspapers they read.

The researcher developed a number of proposals to address the phenomenon in question, which can be summarized as follows:

1. The need to include cultural topics that contain translated terms for some illuminations that clarify the meaning of the term to the reader and help him to understand and absorb the subject.
2. Avoiding semantic overlap and lack of understanding of the meaning of the term, the researcher recommends not to use complex terms; and replace them with understandable vocabulary.
3. The need to avoid editors to the method of exaggeration in reviewing the linguistic abilities; and adopt an interesting method in presenting the cultural material.
4. Using annual coupons to see the views of readers and their suggestions in order to identify the obstacles faced by them in understanding the topics.