Trans-temporal Discursivities: AI Translation, Colonial Memory, and the  French Media Representation of Malaya

Ng Li Wen; Shanthini Pillai

Trans-temporal Discursivities: AI Translation, Colonial Memory, and the French Media Representation of Malaya

Ng Li Wen, Shanthini Pillai

Abstract

This study investigates the media representations of Malaya in French colonial newspapers between 1936 and 1941, with emphasis on the role of editorial gatekeeping and the mediating effects of contemporary AI-assisted translation. It demonstrates how AI translation technologies reshape access to and interpretation of French colonial newspaper narratives, influencing how non-European cultures were understood. It also reveals how gatekeeping mechanisms operating within the French newspapers determined the selection, framing, and circulation of images of Malaya. Focusing on archival articles from Paris-Soir, the study adopts a qualitative and interpretive research design based on purposive sampling. Articles were accessed through AI-assisted translation, which is treated not merely as a technical aid but as an additional mediating layer in the interpretation of colonial-era texts. Semiotic analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis are employed to examine textual and visual elements, including headlines, narrative structures, and imagery, in order to identify dominant representational patterns. The findings show that French newspapers framed Malaya as a strategic and modernising space within imperial and commercial networks, with emphasis on infrastructure development, trade, and aviation. These representations were shaped by institutional gatekeeping and editorial filtering practices that prioritised metropolitan interests while marginalising indigenous voices, local social realities, and political tensions.

Keywords: Media representation: French newspapers; AI-assisted translation; Malaya; Gatekeeping

ABSTRAK

Kajian ini menyiasat representasi media tentang Malaya dalam akhbar-akhbar kolonial Perancis antara tahun 1936 dan 1941, dengan memberi penekanan kepada peranan penapisan maklumat (editorial gatekeeping) dan kesan pengantaraan terjemahan berbantukan kecerdasan buatan (AI) kontemporari. Kajian ini menunjukkan bagaimana teknologi terjemahan AI membentuk semula akses dan interpretasi terhadap naratif akhbar kolonial Perancis, sekali gus mempengaruhi cara budaya bukan Eropah difahami. Ia juga mendedahkan bagaimana mekanisme penapisan maklumat yang beroperasi dalam akhbar Perancis menentukan pemilihan, pembingkaian (framing), dan penyebaran imej-imej tentang Malaya. Dengan memfokuskan kepada artikel arkib daripada Paris-Soir, kajian ini menggunakan reka bentuk penyelidikan kualitatif dan interpretif berdasarkan persampelan bertujuan. Artikel-artikel diakses melalui terjemahan berbantukan AI, yang tidak dianggap sekadar sebagai bantuan teknikal tetapi sebagai lapisan pengantaraan tambahan dalam menginterpretasikan teks-teks zaman kolonial. Analisis semiotik dan Analisis Wacana Kritis (CDA) digunakan untuk meneliti elemen tekstual dan visual, termasuk tajuk utama, struktur naratif, dan imejan, bagi mengenal pasti corak representasi yang dominan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa akhbar-akhbar Perancis membingkai Malaya sebagai ruang yang strategik dan sedang mengalami pemodenan dalam rangkaian imperial dan komersial, dengan penekanan kepada pembangunan infrastruktur, perdagangan, dan penerbangan. Representasi ini dibentuk oleh amalan penapisan maklumat institusi dan penapisan editorial yang mengutamakan kepentingan metropolitan di samping meminggirkan suara peribumi, realiti sosial tempatan, serta ketegangan politik.

Kata kunci: Representasi media; Akhbar Perancis; Terjemahan berbantukan AI; Malaya; Penapisan maklumat (Gatekeeping)

Keywords

Media representation: French newspapers; AI-assisted translation; Malaya; Gatekeeping

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