Noun Phrases in ELF Authors’ Academic Writing
Main Article Content
Abstract
Studies of English academic writing have revealed a shift to a compressed style, with preferences for lexical and phrasal types of noun modifiers over clausal modifiers. However, condensed noun phrases may result in a loss of explicitness since they lack grammatical markers specifying the semantic relations between head nouns and modifiers. This study examines the types and characteristics of nominal modifiers in the academic prose of ELF, which has been found to be marked by explicitness and clarification to ensure efficiency of communication among non-native users. Data were from the introduction and method sections of 60 research manuscripts in language and linguistics submitted to a Scopus-indexed journal. The results show that ELF authors conform to the modern norm of academic prose, producing compressed noun phrases with lexical and phrasal modifiers, particularly adjectives, nouns, and prepositional phrases. However, these noun phrases are structurally explicit: many of them have only one or two modifiers, facilitating the comprehension process. Also, the most prevalent modifier is prepositional phrases, with prepositions explicitly signaling the semantic relationship between head nouns and modifiers. The results reflect the way experienced users shape ELF to achieve a balance between the contrasting goals of conciseness and explicitness, which are both vital in ELF academic prose.
Article Details
References
Alhasnawi, S. (2021). English as an academic lingua franca: Discourse hybridity and meaning multiplicity in an international Anglophone HE institution. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 10(1), 31-58.
Ansarifar, A., Shahriari, H., & Pishghadam, R. (2018). Phrasal complexity in academic writing: A comparison of abstracts written by graduate students and expert writers in applied linguistics. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 31, 58-71.
Ball, P., & Lindsay, D. (2013). Language demands and support for English-medium instruction in tertiary education: Learning from a specific context. In A. Doiz, D. Lasagabaster & J. M. Sierra (Eds.), English-medium instruction at universities: Global challenges (pp. 44-64). Multilingual Matters.
Biber, D., & Conrad, S. (2009). Register, genre, and style. Cambridge University Press.
Biber, D., & Gray, B. (2010). Challenging stereotypes about academic writing: Complexity, elaboration, explicitness. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9(1), 2-20.
Biber, D., & Gray, B. (2011). Grammatical change in the noun phrase: The influence of written language use. English Language and Linguistics, 15(2), 223-250.
Biber, D., & Gray, B. (2016). Grammatical complexity in academic English: Linguistic change in writing. Cambridge University Press.
Biber, D., Gray, B., & Poonpon, K. (2011). Should we use characteristics of conversation to measure grammatical complexity in L2 writing development? TESOL Quarterly, 45(1), 5-35.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Longman.
Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Discourse analysis. Cambridge University Press.
Chen, Y. H., & Baker, P. (2010). Lexical bundles in L1 and L2 academic writing. Language Learning and Technology, 14(2), 30-49.
Deterding, D., & Kirkpatrick, A. (2006). Emerging South-East Asian Englishes and intelligibility. World Englishes, 25(3), 391-409.
Downing, A., & Locke, P. (2006). English grammar: A university course (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Firth, A. (1996). The discursive accomplishment of normality: On “lingua franca” English and conversation analysis. Journal of Pragmatics, 26(2), 237-259.
Gotti, M. (2017). English as a lingua franca in the academic world: Trends and dilemmas. Lingue Linguaggi, 24, 47-72.
Hartley, J. (2008). Academic writing and publishing: A practical handbook. Routledge.
House, J. (2014). Managing academic institutional discourse in English as a lingua franca. Functions of Language, 21(1), 50-66.
Huddleston, R., & Pullum, G. K. (2005). A student’s introduction to English grammar. Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K. (2004). Disciplinary interactions: Metadiscourse in L2 postgraduate writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13(2), 133-151.
Jenkins, J. (2011). Accommodating (to) ELF in the international university. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(4), 926-936.
Jenkins, J., Cogo, A., & Dewey, M. (2011). State-of-the-art article: Review of developments in research into English as a lingua franca. Language Teaching, 44(3), 281-315.
Jitpraneechai, N. (2019). Noun phrase complexity in academic writing: A comparison of argumentative English essays written by Thai and native English university students. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 12(1), 71-88.
Kaur, J. (2011). Raising explicitness through self-repair in English as a lingua franca. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(11), 2704-2715.
Kirkpatrick, A. (2020). Englishes in the Expanding Circle: Focus on Asia. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 24(3), 551-568.
Lillis, T., & Curry, M. J. (2010). Academic writing in a global context: The politics and practices of publishing in English. Routledge.
Mauranen, A. (2010a). Discourse reflexivity – a discourse universal? The case of ELF. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(2), 13-40.
Mauranen, A. (2010b). Features of English as a lingua franca in academia. Helsinki English Studies, 6, 6-28.
Mauranen, A. (2018). English as a lingua franca in written discourse. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching (pp. 1-7). Wiley-Blackwell.
Mauranen, A., Hynninen, N., & Ranta, E. (2010). English as an academic lingua franca: The ELFA project. English for Specific Purposes, 29(3), 183-190.
Meknakha, H., & Timyam, N. (2023). Explicitness of Thai ELF users in tourism writing. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 16(2), 114-129.
Parkinson, J., & Musgrave, J. (2014). Development of noun phrase complexity in the writing of English for Academic Purposes students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 14(2), 48-59.
Ranta, E. (2018). Grammar in ELF. In J. Jenkins, W. Baker & M. Dewey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English as a lingua franca (pp. 244-254). Routledge.
Seidlhofer, B. (2005). Key concepts in ELT: English as a lingua franca. ELT Journal, 59(4), 339-341.
Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding English as a lingua franca. Oxford University Press.
Timyam, N. (2021). Thai ELF users’ characteristics of relative clauses. Manusya: Journal of Humanities, 24(2), 246-269.
Wu, X., Mauranen, A, & Lei, L. (2020). Syntactic complexity in English as a lingua franca academic writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 43, 1-13.