•The study proposes a core expression approach that can be used to identity second language (L2) English learners’ attempts to use lexical bundles in academic prose.•Incomplete or incorrect lexical ...bundles produced by L2 writers often involve definite articles.•L2 writers tend to omit definite articles where the articles are required as part of lexical bundles.
This study investigated the use of definite articles embedded in lexical bundles in L2 writing. The distribution of articles has been traditionally considered to be restricted by the adjoining noun within the noun phrase. However, this traditional account may not apply when definite articles are embedded in lexical bundles (LBs), groups of three or more words that frequently occur in a register, e.g., is one of the, in addition to the, the center of the (Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad, & Finegan, 1999). Furthermore, previous studies have claimed that L2 writers use fewer and less varied LBs than native speakers (e.g., Ädel & Erman, 2012), but little is known about how learners actually use LBs. This study examines a learner corpus to analyze the use of LBs that include definite articles in their internal structure, using an innovative method to identify errors in definite article use. The learner corpus used for this analysis consists of 630,380 words of L2 English academic writing samples produced by Korean college students. First, the corpus was analyzed in search of LBs previously identified in academic genres (Biber et al., 1999; Biber et al., 2004). In a second stage, the search extended to core expressions extracted from each LB (e.g., one of is the core expression in the bundles is one of the and one of the most). The findings suggest that previous reports of learners’ infrequent use of LBs might be partly due to learners’ attempted but incomplete or incorrect LBs and that LB errors often involve definite article use. Finally, the study classified article errors into omission, addition, and misformation (Dulay et al., 1982). The most frequent error was the omission of required definite articles within LBs. The paper includes suggestions for further research and for the use of lexical bundles as a pedagogical tool in the teaching of definite article use.
While it lacks a definite article, Mandarin makes a principled distinction between unique and anaphoric definites: unique definites are realized with a bare noun, and anaphoric definites are realized ...with a demonstrative, except in subject position. The following proposals account for these facts: (a) bare nouns achieve definite interpretations via a last-resort type-shifting operator
, which has a unique definite meaning; (b) demonstratives can occur as anaphoric definites because they have a semantic argument beyond their nominal restriction that can be filled by an index; and (c) bare nominal subjects are topics. A principle called Index! requires that indexical expressions be used whenever possible. Mandarin is contrasted with Cantonese, which, like English, is shown to have access to an ambiguous definite article.
European Portuguese (EP) generally manifests a systematic use of the definite article with anthroponyms in communicative immediacy (in the sense of Koch & Oesterreicher, 1986). In Brazilian ...Portuguese (BP), there is a well-documented variation in the use of determiners in these contexts. A vast body of literature on this phenomenon in BP varieties shows that -among other internal factors- the extralinguistic factor of proximity between speaker and referent crucially affects the usage of the definite article with anthroponyms (cf. Amaral, 2007; Callou & Silva, 1997; Campos Júnior, 2010; de Carvalho, 2017; Lima & Moraes, 2019).This paper analyses the variable use of definite articles preceding anthroponyms in rural varieties of Madeiran Portuguese (MP) in contexts of communicative immediacy. The results of a qualitative and quantitative analysis based on a corpus of semi-directed interviews and free conversations between elderly rural speakers, suggest that in MP rural varieties, anthroponyms may occur without definite articles in communicative immediacy contexts. Furthermore, building on the findings of previous studies regarding the significance of the factor of proximity between speaker and alluded individual, this study proposes a categorization of intersubjective proximity considering different types of kinship and social relations. Thus, the data suggest that along this continuum of proximity, anthroponyms alluding to members of the nuclear family most commonly occur without definite articles in rural MP varieties.
•We examined neural responses to sentences with double violations.•Objects were incongruent on lexico-semantic grounds, as well as referential interpretation.•A P200-N400 effect was observed (not a ...P600 effect, as expected).•ERP effects confirm that semantic anomaly can be derived from independent sources.
A key aspect of linguistic communication involves semantic reference to objects. Presently, we investigate neural responses at objects when reference is disrupted, e.g., “The connoisseur tasted *that wine“… vs. “…*that roof…” Without any previous linguistic context or visual gesture, use of the demonstrative determiner “that” renders interpretation at the noun as incoherent. This incoherence is not based on knowledge of how the world plausibly works but instead is based on grammatical rules of reference. Whereas Event-Related Potential (ERP) responses to sentences such as “The connoisseur tasted the wine …” vs. “the roof” would result in an N400 effect, it is unclear what to expect for doubly incoherent “…*that roof…”. Results revealed an N400 effect, as expected, preceded by a P200 component (instead of predicted P600 effect). These independent ERP components at the doubly violated condition support the notion that semantic interpretation can be partitioned into grammatical vs. contextual constructs.
Dynamics of Nominal Phrases Rus, Maria-Laura
Acta Marisiensis. Seria Philologia (Online),
09/2022, Letnik:
4, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract We focused in this paper on the “behaviour” of the noun, centre in a nominal phrase, in the presence or absence of different determiners: articles (definite, indefinite), demonstrative ...adjectives, possessive adjectives, indefinite adjectives, negative adjectives. We deal with more or less complex structures including compulsory or optional rules of nominal definite/indefinite determination or no determination.
Task motivation has recently gained prominence in second language (L2) research. However, its potential effects on the transfer of learning across tasks have not been investigated. The present study ...sought to deal with this issue through a mixed-methods approach. A total of 82 intermediate English learners took part in the study. Initially, they were tested regarding their knowledge of the English definite article. Then, they performed a consciousness-raising task that accentuated the article. Following the task, their task motivation was measured using a self-report questionnaire. After a few days, they completed another task requiring the knowledge of the article to see whether those who experienced higher task motivation on Task 1 were able to transfer the newly gained knowledge more efficiently to Task 2 compared to learners with low task motivation. Then, focus group interviews were conducted with learners representing both groups. Analysis of variance revealed that task motivation significantly affects transfer of learning. Moreover, thematic coding analysis of the qualitative data indicated that positive task appraisal, peer effect, increased effort, and activating self-regulation strategies were the major factors associated with high task motivation leading to efficient transfer of learning. The findings suggest some implications for pedagogy and research.
Bulgarian and Macedonian are the only Slavic languages with definite and indefinite articles. Macedonian is among the few languages that differentiate the definite article deictically. This ...innovative study presents a complete semantic analysis of nominal determination in both languages, including article-less nominal phrases.
In the vein of recent research at the intersection of semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics (Eckert, 2019; Beltrama, 2020), the current study illuminates the complex interrelations between ...encoded meaning, pragmatic reasoning, and the social matrix within which language is used and interpreted. Our empirical focus is spousal reference: specifically, the use and interpretation of the form the wife/husband, where use of a possessive pronoun (poss) instead of the is possible. We show that pragmatic reasoning over the relevant expressions’ form and semantics offers a principled set of core motivations for choosing the over poss in spousal reference. At the same time, we present an analysis of attested examples, meta-linguistic commentary on the wife/husband, and a matched-guise perception experiment that together show that how the expressions and the people who use them are ultimately evaluated depends crucially on multiple contextual factors, including whose spouse is being referred to, and—as research on language and gender would lead one to expect—whether the spousal term is wife or husband. Taken together, this study underscores the need for careful consideration of the role of both cultural and discourse context in social perception studies and, more generally, for a holistic approach to language use, variation, and interpretation.
•The phrase ‘my wife’ marks both possession and grammatical person, whereas ‘the wife’ is silent on the matter.•With ‘the wife’, speakers decrease distance with their addressee, or increase distance between themselves and their wife.•Speakers were rated variably kind, rude and extroverted depending on whether they used ‘the wife’ and ‘my wife’.•These effects depend significantly on grammatical person i.e. whose wife is being referenced.
