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Formulaic sequences in spoken ENL, ESL and EFL

Focus on British English, Indian English and learner English of advanced German learners
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Abstract

In this pilot study we set out to compare formulaic sequences of the type of 3-grams in ENL (spoken British English), EFL (English spoken by advanced German learners of English) and ESL (spoken Indian English). The study shows that, for the overall number of types and tokens, there are no significant differences between ENL and ESL, but there are significantly fewer 3-grams in EFL vs. ENL. A comparison of the common core (i.e. the 3-grams all three variants have in common) reveals that these common-core 3-grams are significantly more frequently used in ESL and EFL-variants compared to ENL. A functional analysis shows differences in the distribution of the 3-grams across the variants. A study of the variant-specific 3-grams reveals less variability in EFL vs. ENL but a higher number and variability of both types and tokens in ESL.

Abstract

In this pilot study we set out to compare formulaic sequences of the type of 3-grams in ENL (spoken British English), EFL (English spoken by advanced German learners of English) and ESL (spoken Indian English). The study shows that, for the overall number of types and tokens, there are no significant differences between ENL and ESL, but there are significantly fewer 3-grams in EFL vs. ENL. A comparison of the common core (i.e. the 3-grams all three variants have in common) reveals that these common-core 3-grams are significantly more frequently used in ESL and EFL-variants compared to ENL. A functional analysis shows differences in the distribution of the 3-grams across the variants. A study of the variant-specific 3-grams reveals less variability in EFL vs. ENL but a higher number and variability of both types and tokens in ESL.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Modal auxiliaries in second language varieties of English 7
  5. English in Cyprus 35
  6. From EFL to ESL 55
  7. Formulaic sequences in spoken ENL, ESL and EFL 79
  8. Studying structural innovations in New English varieties 101
  9. Interrogative inversion as a learner phenomenon in English contact varieties 125
  10. Overuse of the progressive in ESL and learner Englishes – fact or fiction? 145
  11. Typological profiling 167
  12. A principled distinction between error and conventionalized innovation in African Englishes 189
  13. Discussion forum 209
  14. Bionotes 219
  15. Index 221
Exploring Second-Language Varieties of English and Learner Englishes
This chapter is in the book Exploring Second-Language Varieties of English and Learner Englishes
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.44.05sch

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Modal auxiliaries in second language varieties of English 7
  5. English in Cyprus 35
  6. From EFL to ESL 55
  7. Formulaic sequences in spoken ENL, ESL and EFL 79
  8. Studying structural innovations in New English varieties 101
  9. Interrogative inversion as a learner phenomenon in English contact varieties 125
  10. Overuse of the progressive in ESL and learner Englishes – fact or fiction? 145
  11. Typological profiling 167
  12. A principled distinction between error and conventionalized innovation in African Englishes 189
  13. Discussion forum 209
  14. Bionotes 219
  15. Index 221
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