“Dear Man men and women madam, dear xxx sir”
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Rolf Kreyer
Abstract
The present chapter explores to what extent methods of writing process analysis can be fruitfully applied to learner corpus data. An analysis of 598 instances of revision in learner data shows that the majority is of a conceptual nature, i.e. involves changes of content. Formal revisions, i.e. revisions demanded by the target language system and thus particularly indicative of the state of the interlanguage system, come second. Within this group, grammatical, lexical and orthographic/typo revisions are far more frequent than revisions that concern questions of idiomaticity or textual cohesion and coherence. This is interpreted as a lack of awareness of the latter aspects on the part of the learner possibly due to a lesser prominence in the EFL curriculum. In addition, it is found that in more than three quarters of all cases of formal revisions, the text is improved. It follows that the quality of the final product may mask problem areas of the learner that only become apparent if we take the writing process into consideration.
Abstract
The present chapter explores to what extent methods of writing process analysis can be fruitfully applied to learner corpus data. An analysis of 598 instances of revision in learner data shows that the majority is of a conceptual nature, i.e. involves changes of content. Formal revisions, i.e. revisions demanded by the target language system and thus particularly indicative of the state of the interlanguage system, come second. Within this group, grammatical, lexical and orthographic/typo revisions are far more frequent than revisions that concern questions of idiomaticity or textual cohesion and coherence. This is interpreted as a lack of awareness of the latter aspects on the part of the learner possibly due to a lesser prominence in the EFL curriculum. In addition, it is found that in more than three quarters of all cases of formal revisions, the text is improved. It follows that the quality of the final product may mask problem areas of the learner that only become apparent if we take the writing process into consideration.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Discourse contexts and cultures
- Patterns of discursive urban place-making in Brooklyn, New York 13
- The English of current Caribbean newspapers 43
- Corporate identity and its variation over time 75
- Applying Geographical Information Systems to researching historical corpora 109
- Corpus linguistics: Widening the remit 137
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Part II: Contexts of lexis and grammar
- Family collocation 165
- Factors influencing the translation of -ing participial free adjuncts 197
- The diachronic productivity of native combining forms in American English 223
- Advise against -ing: An emerging class of exceptions to Bach’s Generalization 253
- Subjective progressives in the history of American English 275
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Part III: Learner contexts
- A syntactic analysis of the introductory it pattern in non-native-speaker and nativespeaker student writing 307
- Phraseological teddy bears 339
- “Dear Man men and women madam, dear xxx sir” 363
- Marked themes in advanced learner English 387
- Phrasal verbs in the spoken and written modes of Norwegian L2 learner English 409
- Conversational gesture corpus analysis 437
- Corpus research for SLA 467
- List of contributors 483
- Index 487
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Discourse contexts and cultures
- Patterns of discursive urban place-making in Brooklyn, New York 13
- The English of current Caribbean newspapers 43
- Corporate identity and its variation over time 75
- Applying Geographical Information Systems to researching historical corpora 109
- Corpus linguistics: Widening the remit 137
-
Part II: Contexts of lexis and grammar
- Family collocation 165
- Factors influencing the translation of -ing participial free adjuncts 197
- The diachronic productivity of native combining forms in American English 223
- Advise against -ing: An emerging class of exceptions to Bach’s Generalization 253
- Subjective progressives in the history of American English 275
-
Part III: Learner contexts
- A syntactic analysis of the introductory it pattern in non-native-speaker and nativespeaker student writing 307
- Phraseological teddy bears 339
- “Dear Man men and women madam, dear xxx sir” 363
- Marked themes in advanced learner English 387
- Phrasal verbs in the spoken and written modes of Norwegian L2 learner English 409
- Conversational gesture corpus analysis 437
- Corpus research for SLA 467
- List of contributors 483
- Index 487
