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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

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Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.01.046

A Corpus-based Comparative Analysis on the Use of Non-lexical Filler Words in Spoken English Between Chinese EFL Learners and Native English Speakers

Qiqi Huang

School of Foreign Languages, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.

*Corresponding author: Qiqi Huang

Published: February 29,2024

Abstract

Filler words are linguistic units that take the form of relatively short and concise expressions used by speakers during verbal communication to segment speech, especially in cases of emotional charge and the suspension of the verbal act. The present study aims to analyze the characteristics of using non-lexical filler words in spoken English by Chinese EFL learners and native English speakers. First, the study compares the use of non-lexical filler words between Chinese English majors and Chinese non-English majors. This analysis sheds light on the correlation between the use of non-lexical filler words in spoken English and English profi-ciency. A comparative analysis is conducted between Chinese EFL learners and native English speakers, exploring the similarities and differences in their use of non-lexical filler words. COLSEC and SECCL were selected as the observation corpora, representing Chinese non-English major students and Chinese English major students' use of oral English, respectively. The spoken corpus of BNC serves as the reference corpus, demonstrating how native English speakers speak. The data on overall frequencies, category distribution, and collocations of non-lexical filler words used in the three corpora are processed and retrieved using ActConc 4.4.1. Meanwhile, the ten most frequently used non-lexical filler words and those used the least in the three corpora are discussed, followed by a pragmatic analysis of non-lexical filler words used by Chinese EFL learners and native English speakers.

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How to cite this paper

A Corpus-based Comparative Analysis on the Use of Non-lexical Filler Words in Spoken English Between Chinese EFL Learners and Native English Speakers

How to cite this paper: Qiqi Huang. (2024) A Corpus-based Comparative Analysis on the Use of Non-lexical Filler Words in Spoken English Between Chinese EFL Learners and Native English SpeakersJournal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science8(1), 266-272.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.01.046