As in the First Edition, the general aim is still to provide a core text for upper undergraduates and postgraduates taking language, applied linguistics, translation and cultural studies courses in the UK and abroad. The book will also be of interest to teachers of languages, other applied linguists, and practising translators and interpreters.

It will include important updates in the light of the enormous growth over the past two decades in the theoretical study of translation and contrastive linguistics, and the wide-ranging practical applications of such studies. In this way, it will fill a gap by bringing together in a single volume an update on major issues of translation and contrastive linguistics, using new practical examples, and linking this to case studies that present new exploratory research of interest to both students and practitioners.

The book will also be of interest to up-and-coming translation and linguistics researchers embarking on small-scale research of their own, such as dissertations and term papers. While English and Arabic will remain the language pair used for illustrative purposes, the revised edition will ensure that the analytic tools and theoretical overviews presented are of much wider applicability across linguistic and cultural boundaries worldwide.