Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/er.2022.10.010
A Comparative Study of Four-Word Lexical Chunks in English Linguistic Thesis by Chinese and English Writers
Jinjin Zhang
Kuiwen neighborhood, Tengzhou, Shandong Province, 277500, China.
*Corresponding author: Jinjin Zhang
Published: November 14,2022
Abstract
The lexical chunk, a combination of two or more continuous or incontiguous words, is a language phenomenon that can express a certain meaning and have a complete structure. Meanwhile, the lexical chunk is an essential ingredient of academic articles and an important indicator of language ability in academic articles. This study adopts English papers written by English writers and master theses written by Chinese postgraduates as the object. Using Biber et al’s structural classification of lexical chunks as the frame, this study analyzes the characteristics of four-word lexical chunks at the structural levels. It was found that (1) Chinese postgraduates in English Linguistics used four-word lexical chunks more frequently than English writers. Moreover, Chinese postgraduates in English Linguistics tended to overuse four-word lexical chunks in writing. (2) At the structural level, Chinese postgraduates in English Linguistics preferred prepositional four-word lexical chunks and verbal four-word lexical chunks. English writers in English Linguistics were inclined to use prepositional four-word lexical chunks and noun four-word lexical chunks. Significant differences were found in the use of passive verbal four-word lexical chunks between master theses written by Chinese postgraduates in English Linguistics and journal papers written by English writers in English Linguistics. This study facilitates students’ understanding and ability in lexical chunk use, meanwhile, this study provides available data and practical implications for lexical chunk learning and teaching.
References
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How to cite this paper
A Comparative Study of Four-Word Lexical Chunks in English Linguistic Thesis by Chinese and English Writers
How to cite this paper: Jinjin Zhang. (2022). A Comparative Study of Four-Word Lexical Chunks in English Linguistic Thesis by Chinese and English Writers. The Educational Review, USA, 6(10), 566-572.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/er.2022.10.010