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Chief Wh-question Making Errors by the Undergraduate Level EFL Learners: An Analysis
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
140-144
Received:
12 May 2021
Accepted:
31 May 2021
Published:
9 June 2021
Abstract: Wh-questions play a significant role in improving a language learner’s overall language development. The use of wh-questions not only helps build learners’ vocabulary and develop their ability to produce contextually appropriate and meaningful sentences but also consequently helps improve their conversational and social skills. By stimulating complex responses from the learners, wh-questions also help promote their critical thinking and reasoning skills. Unfortunately, many EFL learners are unable to ask grammatically correct and contextually appropriate wh-questions during conversations that prevent them from developing their communication skills and eventually negatively affect their overall language learning process. The goal of the present study was to find out the major wh-question making errors by the EFL learners at the undergraduate level. With a wh-question generating instrument, the study collected and analyzed samples from 50 undergraduate students at Bangladesh Agricultural University. Each student was instructed to make 10 wh-questions and hence the total number of questions analyzed by the researcher was 500. A total of 341 errors were identified inclusively where the majority of errors (155 out of 341) was marked in the auxiliary verb category. The second large number of errors consisted of a total of 88 wh-questions that were incompatible with the given answers/contexts. A considerable number of errors were also found in the wh-word (50 out of 341) and content word (37 out of 341) categories. However, a very insignificant number of errors were identified in the preposition category (11 out of 341) whereas no errors were found at all in the determiner category. The study basically attempted to make the learners aware of their major wh-question making errors, so that, they can minimize the errors in their conversations, and can better develop their communication skills, and improve their overall language development.
Abstract: Wh-questions play a significant role in improving a language learner’s overall language development. The use of wh-questions not only helps build learners’ vocabulary and develop their ability to produce contextually appropriate and meaningful sentences but also consequently helps improve their conversational and social skills. By stimulating compl...
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Pronouns in the System of Parts of Speech
Rakhim Zakievich Muryasov
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
145-154
Received:
24 May 2021
Accepted:
10 June 2021
Published:
21 June 2021
Abstract: There are no school and university grammars on Indo-European (I-E) and Turkic languages, as well as no studies on the theory of parts of speech, in which the problem of pronouns is regarded from various perspectives. This class of words does not have a general semantic feature that is characteristic of all its categories, as is the case in other auto semantic parts of speech – nouns and verbs. It is not possible to specify syntactic functions that are common to all pronouns. Their morphological and paradigmatic characteristics are also heterogeneous. For example, personal pronouns have a declension paradigm that is not represented in other parts of speech. Their distinctive feature is suppletion within the case paradigm. The analysis of grammatical studies shows that there are significant differences in the definition of the quantitative composition and nomenclature of pronouns both within the same language of different authors, and in different languages in typological terms. Significant quantitative differences are revealed between different categories of this part of speech in all the languages under analysis – from 1 to 77. There are no clear boundaries between pronouns proper and the so-called pronominal words. The article presents a typological description of the types of morphological structure of all categories of pronouns in different languages. The classifications of the categories of pronouns are contradictory. Thus, the status of the so-called reflexives is defined differently: some linguists consider them as amplifying forms of personal pronouns, while others grant them the status of an independent category. In typological terms the indefinite pronoun they in English, man in German, on in French and their grammatical equivalent in Russian – the form of the 3rd person plural are of great interest. The paper also reveals the inverse relationship between the morphological structure and the one or multi-meaning of pronouns, namely: the simpler the morphological structure of a unit, the more multifunctional it is, and, vice versa, the more complex the morphological structure is, the poorer this unit is in functional and semantic terms.
Abstract: There are no school and university grammars on Indo-European (I-E) and Turkic languages, as well as no studies on the theory of parts of speech, in which the problem of pronouns is regarded from various perspectives. This class of words does not have a general semantic feature that is characteristic of all its categories, as is the case in other au...
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Lexical Anglicisms in the Era of Economic Globalization: A Sociolinguistic Analysis
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
155-160
Received:
13 April 2021
Accepted:
15 June 2021
Published:
28 June 2021
Abstract: The future of a language is characterized by the interaction of different subjects, which favour their expansion, preservation, limitation or even extinction. The number of speakers, communication context and large economic blocs of the superpowers and transnational enterprises, determine the main factors of language change. Despite the interest of the more developed nation states in protecting minority languages, the policies of the supranational self-government cause the evolution or cultural and linguistic loss of communities. Of course English is dominant, but few other languages are gaining a greater relevant role in the global communication. English was the international language of communication in last century, but globalization effects are opening new scenarios. The economic and financial relations among different states have facilitated the spread of the most productive countries. The languages of supranational states have assumed a more prominent value in the international relations. In this respect, the global market has developed an identity, a feeling and a consciousness sense, which have interrupted the absolutely cultural and linguistic hegemony of English. Nevertheless Italian and Spanish languages have been affected by an increase of anglicisms. The written interactions between the two Romances languages with English is often manifested with cases of lexical importation or substitutions. In any case, economic globalization and new technologies have intensified contacts. In one hand, they have spread the language and culture of a few populations. In other hand, they have significantly limited their use to the others. As mentioned above, we consider that the spread of a language mostly depends on three factors: 1) The quantitative sizes of human groups, 2) The economic power of the large states and 3) The area in which a language is stated, as a vehicle of communication. With regard to Romance languages, we understand the reasons because Spanish is growing exponentially. To the large number of Spanish speakers, the Hispanic bloc, in terms of human potential and natural resources, and the function of vehicular language in various communicative contexts.
Abstract: The future of a language is characterized by the interaction of different subjects, which favour their expansion, preservation, limitation or even extinction. The number of speakers, communication context and large economic blocs of the superpowers and transnational enterprises, determine the main factors of language change. Despite the interest of...
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A Multidimensional Analysis of Letters to the Shareholders by Chinese and American Advanced Equipment Manufacturing Companies
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
161-168
Received:
12 June 2021
Accepted:
22 June 2021
Published:
30 June 2021
Abstract: Initially proposed by Biber, the multidimensional analysis is used to examine the linguistic variation among different registers, shedding light on the linguistic features and differences among different genres. Through the tool of MAT, this study compared the register features in the letters to the shareholders by Chinese and American advanced equipment manufacturing companies (AEMCs). It is found that: 1) the letters to the shareholders by Chinese and American AEMCs are both informational, non-narrative, contextually independent, non-overt in expressing views, abstract and well-planned, belonging to the text type of learned exposition; 2) In comparison, the letters to the shareholders by Chinese AEMCs are relatively more informational, narrative and abstract, but less dependent on context and lower in on-line informational elaboration while letters by American AEMCs show more features of interaction with the readers, focusing on the present actions, context-dependence and on-line informational elaboration; 3) The key linguistic features that account for these differences include nouns, nominalizations, first-person pronouns, present tense verbs, past tense verbs, phrasal coordination, phrasal coordination, prediction modals, conjuncts, passives, demonstratives and that-clauses. 4) The future Return on Equity (ROE) of the Chinese AEMCs is related to the dimensions of “explicit/context-dependent references” and “on-line informational elaboration”. 5) In comparison to the previous study, industry is found to have an effect on the linguistic variation of letters to the shareholders. This study gave a comprehensive view of the linguistic features and differences in the letters to the shareholders by Chinese and American AEMCs and had some pedagogical implications for business English teaching and learning.
Abstract: Initially proposed by Biber, the multidimensional analysis is used to examine the linguistic variation among different registers, shedding light on the linguistic features and differences among different genres. Through the tool of MAT, this study compared the register features in the letters to the shareholders by Chinese and American advanced equ...
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A Correlative Study on Epistemic Modal Use and Tolerance of Ambiguity: Based on Functionalist Theories in Second Language Acquisition
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
169-179
Received:
24 May 2021
Accepted:
7 June 2021
Published:
2 July 2021
Abstract: Given the importance of epistemic modal use in academic writing, this study aims to investigate how well Chinese PhD students use English epistemic modals and whether their achievement in using English epistemic modals is correlated with their degree of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) as a learning style. Fill-in-the-blank exercises were designed to test the participants’ use of epistemic modal verbs in English. Based on theories about matching, embedding and form-function mapping in second language learning, this study analyzed the errors that participants made when they chose modal forms in English to express epistemic functions/meanings conveyed by Chinese modal verb “会” (hui) in different syntactic contexts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure the participants’ degree of TOA and IBM SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical calculation of the correlation coefficient between the participants’ scores of TOA and their scores in using epistemic modal verbs. It was found that the degree of TOA is significantly correlated with epistemic modal use, i.e., the less tolerant of ambiguity a participant was, the less successfully he/she did in using epistemic modal verbs. The results of this study carry implications for language teaching and indicate the necessity of enhancing acquisition of epistemic modality and raising students’ tolerance of ambiguity.
Abstract: Given the importance of epistemic modal use in academic writing, this study aims to investigate how well Chinese PhD students use English epistemic modals and whether their achievement in using English epistemic modals is correlated with their degree of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) as a learning style. Fill-in-the-blank exercises were designed to t...
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The Use of Metaphors and Similes in Political Discourse in Ghana
Emmanuel Amo Ofori,
Charlotte Ogbedee Laryea,
Benjamin Kubi,
Vera Yayrah Fiawornu
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
180-187
Received:
15 June 2021
Accepted:
24 June 2021
Published:
8 July 2021
Abstract: In this study, we examine how ordinary citizens use metaphors and similes in their contributions to political discussions in Ghana. We argue that the use of these figurative language devices is a subtle means by which citizens expose politicians and question their competence in handling national issues. They also serve as means of minimizing direct vilification of politicians in the political space of Ghana. In fact, when metaphors and similes are employed within a particular discourse, one has to understand the context in which they have been used as well as the specific communicative function they convey in order to arrive at the desired interpretation. Using Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory, data collected from purposively selected and transcribed radio recordings as well as online commentaries, were critically analysed. The analysis revealed that ordinary citizens use metaphors and similes to surreptitiously expose the way and manner in which politicians run the country. Also, metaphors and similes serve as communication tools to mitigate the effect of otherwise direct attacks on politicians in Ghana. This study has implication for the relationship between political communication and society.
Abstract: In this study, we examine how ordinary citizens use metaphors and similes in their contributions to political discussions in Ghana. We argue that the use of these figurative language devices is a subtle means by which citizens expose politicians and question their competence in handling national issues. They also serve as means of minimizing direct...
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A Pragmatic Approach to the Composition, Types, Functions and Interpretations of Chinese-specific Curse Guo Ma “ta ma de” and Its Variants
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
188-195
Received:
14 June 2021
Accepted:
29 June 2021
Published:
10 July 2021
Abstract: Guo Ma (Chinese-specific cursing terms) is a type of scolding expressions widely spread in colloquial Chinese, expressing such emotion as dislike, grudge, indignation. Searching the internet reveals that, while there are many comments and essays about this kind of words, a theoretically systematical discussion of their construction, pragmatic and textual function is rare. This paper, based on corpus observation and questionnaire analysis, aims at exploring the composition, types, functions and pragmatic forces of Chinese-specific cursing terms ta ma de and its variants. It is revealed that: (1) There are eight main types of Chinese-specific cursing words in ta ma de and its variants; (2) These cursing terms under observation convey not only negative attitude and emotion as traditionally recognized but also neutral or even positive attitude and emotion; (3) Chinese national curse ta ma de and its variants are phrases used not only to perform the pragmatic function of swearing but also play a grammatical cognitive function. The researchers do not intend to offer a deliberate justification for these terms but show that they are not diabolic expressions and deserve a full attention of linguists.
Abstract: Guo Ma (Chinese-specific cursing terms) is a type of scolding expressions widely spread in colloquial Chinese, expressing such emotion as dislike, grudge, indignation. Searching the internet reveals that, while there are many comments and essays about this kind of words, a theoretically systematical discussion of their construction, pragmatic and t...
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Research on the Properties and Meaning of Quantifiers in Natural Language
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
196-200
Received:
25 June 2021
Accepted:
9 July 2021
Published:
15 July 2021
Abstract: Whether in daily communication or philosophical discussion, there are many expressions involving quantifiers. Quantifiers are popularly used in oral language. This paper discusses some basic problems of Quantifiers in philosophy and natural language. one side, Quantifiers are important in philosophical research as they are involves in the basic issues of epistemology, especially in those of relations, truth, universals and existence. But quantifiers in Chinese are very often omitted in expression. On the other hand, we discusses quantifiers from linguistic perspectives, and explains some characteristics of quantifiers and some significance of quantifier theory. Quantifier theory can provide theoretical support and explanation methods for language research. This paper shows how the knowledge of quantifier and quantification can help to realize the ways of their working in our language and to have a better understanding of their contributions to the above philosophical issues. The understanding of quantifier syntax and semantics is helpful for us to enrich logic theory and provide resources for the development of logic theory.
Abstract: Whether in daily communication or philosophical discussion, there are many expressions involving quantifiers. Quantifiers are popularly used in oral language. This paper discusses some basic problems of Quantifiers in philosophy and natural language. one side, Quantifiers are important in philosophical research as they are involves in the basic iss...
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Study on the Influential Analysis of Cultural Context in English-Chinese Translation
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
201-205
Received:
21 June 2021
Accepted:
5 July 2021
Published:
15 July 2021
Abstract: Language is not only part of culture but also the carrier of it, different languages are embedded in different culture, the fact requires translators to not only take culture into account but also reflect cultural context and social reality in the processing of translation. Therefore, translation is the conversion between two languages, but also the collision between two cultures. Material culture-loaded words contain national cultural elements, so it is a difficult problem in translation to accurately convey the cultural connotation of material culture-loaded words to readers. The strong or weak condition of a cross-cultural awareness and the degree of understanding culture contexts influence the quality of translation directly. In cultural translation, the translator should take language and culture into consideration. When the culture of the source language is close to the culture of the target language, the translator can adopt domestication strategy to increase the readability of the target language. When the culture of the source language is very different from the culture of the target language, the foreignization strategy can be used to increase the communication between cultures. Moreover, different cultural phenomena cause different translation strategies. Based on the analysis of differences and similarities between the Western and Chinese culture, it is mainly explored the various translation methods by focusing on culture context in English-Chinese translations.
Abstract: Language is not only part of culture but also the carrier of it, different languages are embedded in different culture, the fact requires translators to not only take culture into account but also reflect cultural context and social reality in the processing of translation. Therefore, translation is the conversion between two languages, but also th...
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Linguistic Problems in Light of General Semiotics
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
206-214
Received:
22 June 2021
Accepted:
14 July 2021
Published:
22 July 2021
Abstract: This article is based on several primary postulates. Here is the leading one: A science, called semiotics, which is rapidly developing before our eyes, has not yet developed a standard and acceptable scientific paradigm for most of its followers. It is interpreted in various ways by schools that have arisen in different countries, relying on completely different positions. The school from the Estonian city of Tartu, for example, is guided by the fact that all signs arose in inanimate nature and continued in the life of plants and all living beings, including humans. Thus, any cause leading to the same effect is a sign for this effect. The semiotic school in Gothenburg (Sweden) defends the thesis that images are the basis of all other sign formations. Many semioticians, following de Saussure, are convinced that linguistic signs are the leading and initial ones, and all other sign constructs follow them. The author of this work proceeds from the assumption that the symbolic storehouse contains signs for very different content and of very different origins. From natural signs that came to us from nature (we see smoke, it means something is burning; we hear thunder, it means that it is raining somewhere), to signs in mathematics, which all came from the human mind. Language constructions are included in this system along with signs of other types. None of these types is the leading and decisive one; all of them were born in the course of the development of human civilization, as the human spirit strengthened and developed. And each of them performs its own function – for example, images underlie all arts, and languages are called upon to explain everything and everyone. Therefore, each type of sign is specific, and all together they make up a complete set of tools with which we can understand the events taking place around us and influence them. A complete and deep explanation of the entire sphere of signs and sign systems is available only to general semiotics – it determines the place of each specific sign topic. This article is devoted to the definition of the possibilities of linguistic signs – it seems to be objective enough and it presents linguistic manifestations familiar to us in a new way. What is a word? What is grammar? What is lexicography? etc. But it presents them from a different point of view, from the point of view of semiotics.
Abstract: This article is based on several primary postulates. Here is the leading one: A science, called semiotics, which is rapidly developing before our eyes, has not yet developed a standard and acceptable scientific paradigm for most of its followers. It is interpreted in various ways by schools that have arisen in different countries, relying on comple...
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The Family Relationships as a Sociolinguistic Marker in the Etiquette Speech of the Aristocracy in the XIX TH Century (Anglo-Russian Parallels)
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
215-220
Received:
6 May 2021
Accepted:
29 May 2021
Published:
27 July 2021
Abstract: The present study is devoted to the sociolinguistic aspect of speech etiquette, illustrated by the description, analysis and comparison of the etiquette speech of the Russian nobility and the English aristocracy in the nineteenth century. The research is carried out in line with sociolinguistics. The sociolinguistic approach allows speech to be considered as a system of social signs, determining the personality, of the communicants and reveal the social aspects of the phenomenon of speech of the aristocracy. We focus our attention on the family relationships as a sociolinguistic marker in the etiquette speech of the aristocracy in the XIX th century and its role and influence on the usage of speech etiquette formulas, because the individual's belonging to a certain social class, his origin, and the environment where one lives, affects his speech; it is focused on the social marker family relations as a regulator in the usage of etiquette forms of the address. The relevance of the subject is determined by the importance of language not only as a complex system but also as a social phenomenon, serving the needs of society; providing communication of this society. And in particular, the family as a platform for collecting empirical material for sociolinguistic study, and object for studying the mutual influences between the speech constants of family members, proving and such a way the importance of etiquette in the communication as a component of the communicative activity of the individual The empirical material of the study is excerpted from the significant works of fiction in the English and Russian art literature.
Abstract: The present study is devoted to the sociolinguistic aspect of speech etiquette, illustrated by the description, analysis and comparison of the etiquette speech of the Russian nobility and the English aristocracy in the nineteenth century. The research is carried out in line with sociolinguistics. The sociolinguistic approach allows speech to be con...
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The Multidimensionality of Cebuano Pronominals - Avenues for a Qualitative Investigation
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
221-225
Received:
18 July 2021
Accepted:
29 July 2021
Published:
5 August 2021
Abstract: The study explores the properties of Cebuano pronominals in written discourse. Using Cebuano texts that are accessed online as its corpus, close textual analysis was done that aimed at determining the position of the pronouns in the clauses of written discourse. Findings reveal the dynamic nature of Cebuano pronominals in relation to the other morphological elements preceded or are followed by them. First, if the pronoun is attached to the verb, the position of the personal pronouns changes depending on the affix attached to the verb as the affix functions to denote the time the action was taken by the agent. Second, in terms of syntactic structure, Cebuano and English pronouns are similar. Third, the syntax of the personal pronouns is relative to the morphological unit these are attached to. In the case of a negative clause, deletion of the verb the initial pronoun follows is observed. Fourth, Cebuano pronominals are context-dependent rather than gender-determined. In sum, the findings open interesting avenues for students in Applied Linguistics to further investigate. For one, these observations may be explored individually using qualitative mechanisms of analyzing Cebuano pronominals and how they spell power relationships. Additionally, a contrastive analysis may be done between Cebuano pronominals and other Asian or Indo-European languages.
Abstract: The study explores the properties of Cebuano pronominals in written discourse. Using Cebuano texts that are accessed online as its corpus, close textual analysis was done that aimed at determining the position of the pronouns in the clauses of written discourse. Findings reveal the dynamic nature of Cebuano pronominals in relation to the other morp...
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Geosemiotic Analysis of Signs in the Linguistic Cityscape of China
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
226-232
Received:
15 July 2021
Accepted:
10 August 2021
Published:
23 August 2021
Abstract: In the last several decades, adding English to public signboards has become a common phenomenon in China, and the inclusion of more foreign languages other than English for a sign in public sphere has drawn much attention in recent years. In sociolinguistic research, linguistic landscape is a more common term and has been adopted most in studies worldwide which always target at languages used in city centers as a tradition. This study is an attempt to investigate multilingualism in the public sphere of China. Focusing on the linguistic landscape of Xi’an, an ancient city of China, it explores the visibility and salience of languages used on signboards in the city center under the theoretical framework of Geosemiotics. The Geosemiotic analysis demonstrates that Chinese-English bilingual signs constitute about half of the linguistic cityscape of Xi’an; trilingual signs on commercial signboards often carry incoordinate information in different languages; for quadrilingual signs, a relatively fixed order is given to different languages. Besides, the display of traditional Chinese characters on signboards in the cityscape often appear on the wooden plates, which create an “ancient” feeling to visitors. This research also indicates that there is a tendency to standardize the display of language signs in the public sphere of Xi’an city, despite that the desire to be internationalized had been emphasized a lot by many researchers in early studies on linguistic landscape worldwide.
Abstract: In the last several decades, adding English to public signboards has become a common phenomenon in China, and the inclusion of more foreign languages other than English for a sign in public sphere has drawn much attention in recent years. In sociolinguistic research, linguistic landscape is a more common term and has been adopted most in studies wo...
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