研究生: |
吳宗明 Wu, Tsung-Ming |
---|---|
論文名稱: |
以語料庫為本之台灣英語學習者學術寫作的非正式用法探討 A Corpus-Based Study on Informal Expressions in Taiwanese EFL Learners’ Academic Writing |
指導教授: |
陳浩然
Chen, Hao-Jan |
學位類別: |
碩士 Master |
系所名稱: |
英語學系 Department of English |
論文出版年: | 2017 |
畢業學年度: | 105 |
語文別: | 英文 |
論文頁數: | 173 |
中文關鍵詞: | 學術寫作 、語料庫分析 、學術英文 、非正式 、語域意識 |
英文關鍵詞: | academic writing, corpus analysis, English for academic purposes, informality, register awareness |
DOI URL: | https://doi.org/10.6345/NTNU202202888 |
論文種類: | 學術論文 |
相關次數: | 點閱:218 下載:23 |
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學習者語言表現中往往帶有顯著的學習者特色。先前研究指出的一項學習者特色即是學習者會在英文學術寫作中使用非正式用法:在正式文章中使用口語用語。各式各樣針對學習者學術寫作的研究發現學習者在許多不同面向使用非正式用語;然而,先前的研究卻鮮少系統系地探討學習者在學術寫作中的非正式用法。因此,本文試圖透過:(1)文獻法的方式以及(2)語料分析的方式,系統性地探討學習者於正式英文學術寫作中使用的非正式用法現象。
本研究回答以下三個研究問題:(一)、透過早期研究的彙整,哪些是學習者於英文學術寫作中常用之非正式用法?(二)、台灣英語學習者是否於正式的學術寫作中使用了早期研究發現之非正式用法?(三)、除了早期研究發現的非正式用法外,台灣英語學習者是否於正式的學術寫作中使用了其他的非正式用法?
透過文獻法的方式—即研究者透過文獻彙整,整理出一系列學習者於正式學術寫作中常使用之非正式字詞—第一個研究問題可以得到解答。
為彙整出學習者常見之非正式字詞,研究者參考了二十二份學術寫作相關資料:包含了學術寫作指南、早期學術寫作之研究發現等。一共編匯出兩百五十個非正式字詞表。這兩百五十個非正式字詞表正可以用以檢視台灣英語學習者於正式學術寫作中非正式用法的使用現象。如此一來,第二個研究問題—台灣英語學習者是否於正式的學術寫作中使用了早期研究發現之非正式用法?—亦可得到解答。
至於最後一個研究問題—除了早期研究發現的非正式用法外,台灣英語學習者是否於正式的學術寫作中使用了其他的非正式用法?—則須透過語料分析法加以檢視。
語料分析法乃本文探討學習者非正式用法的第二項方式。研究者建置了兩個學術寫作語料庫:其一由一千五百篇國際期刊論文所組成,一共近一千兩百萬字,皆為應用語言學相關之研究論文;另一語料庫由四百九十四篇臺灣碩士研究生之碩士論文所組成,一共近一千兩百萬字,一樣皆為應用語言學相關之研究主題。研究者採用關鍵詞以及關鍵字串的方式先找出學術寫作中可能之非正式字詞,再透過學術口語語料庫—近九百萬字—找出潛在非正式用法。研究假設是:若某一可能的非正式字詞能在學術口語語料中找到對應,則該可能的非正式字詞即為帶有口語色彩之潛在非正式用法。研究者最後再透過文獻法彙整出之非正式字詞表判定學習者使用之非正式字詞—若學習者學術寫作中可發現非正式字詞表之字詞,則該字詞為非正式用法—此即為第二個研究問題的解答方式。針對第三個研究問題,研究者採用口說—寫作偏向表找到其他尚未列在非正式字詞表之非正式字詞。研究者再針對可疑之非正式字詞進行質性探討,以確保分析語料之可信度。
本研究結果發現學習者使用許多非正式字詞:臺灣學習者總共使用了一百一十五個非正式用法於碩士論文寫作。其中,九十個非正式用法可在研究者彙整之非正式字詞表中找到對應。另外的二十五個非正式用法為具有臺灣學習者特色之字詞—這些非正式字詞並未收錄在研究者參考之二十二篇文獻中;僅在本研究中被指出。
本研究並提出了四項可能造成正式學術寫作中非正式用法的原因:口語的影響、母語轉移、教學導致之因素以及教科書因素。本研究結果並可作為編寫學術寫作學習教材時之參考—透過非正式用法讓學習者了解口語和學術寫作之語域差異性。
EFL learners were found to use language expressions with learner features. One of the learner features identified in previous studies was learners’ informal language expressions in academic writing. Learners may use spoken-like language or colloquial language in formal academic writing, as identified in Gilquin & Paquot (2008) and other studies. Given that studies of various research interests have discovered a number of informal language expressions, however, there seemed to be few studies systematically exploring the informal language expressions employed by EFL learners. This study attempted to bridge this gap by first compiling an informal expression list from the preceding research and second by comparing two academic writing corpora, a Taiwanese EFL learner corpus and a research article corpus, with each consisting of 12 million words, to garner language with learner features due to learners’ insensitivity to register difference.
Specifically, three research questions were proposed in this study. (1) What are the informal expressions, based on the preceding research? (2) Are there any informal expressions used by Taiwanese EFL learners, with reference to the findings in previous studies? (3) Are there any other informal expressions used by Taiwanese EFL learners?
To answer the first research question, the research referred to 22 research articles and academic writing manuals and compiled a list of 250 informal items (informal expression list). The study then utilized the informal expression list to uncover the informal expressions in Taiwanese EFL learners’ academic writing. Regarding the third research question, the research utilized the spoken-likeness continuum to uncover the informal expressions unable to be identified with reference to the informal expression list.
As has been discussed, this study compared two academic writing corpora, a master thesis corpus and a research article corpus. This study employed keywords and key clusters as the method to generate possible informal expressions in Taiwanese EFL learners’ academic writing. Subsequent to the generation of keywords and key clusters, an academic spoken corpus, with approximately 9 million words, was used as the reference to single out the potential spoken-like expressions. The potential informal expressions were then referred to the informal expression list. With reference to the informal expression list, the informal expressions in Taiwanese EFL learners’ academic writing can be spotted, which was the solution to the second research question. The study subsequently constructed a spoken-written or a spoken-likeness continuum to uncover other informal expressions unable to be spotted with the informal expression list. The spoken-likeness continuum served to reveal the relative spoken-likeness of the suspicious informal items. The researcher then examined the context of these suspicious informal items to uncover the informal expressions.
Many informal expressions were uncovered in this study, such as got, besides, find out, plenty of, a lot of and as a matter of fact. A total of 115 informal expressions were discovered in Taiwanese EFL learners’ academic writing. In particular, 90 informal expressions were uncovered with reference to the informal expression list. The other 25 informal expressions were found to be uncovered in previous studies but they were found in Taiwanese EFL learners’ academic writing.
Several possible causes for the informal language expressions were proposed, such as the influence of speech, L1 transfer, teaching-induced factors, and textbook influence. The findings of this study can serve as EAP learning materials for academic writing instructors to raise EFL learners’ register awareness.
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