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Compiling a Written Corpus of English as an Academic Lingua Franca: Medical Research Articles of Turkish Academics

Year 2012, Volume: 29 Issue: 1, - , 03.09.2015

Abstract

English as lingua franca (ELF) is a “world language whose speakers communicate mainly with other NNSs, often from different L1s than their own” (Jenkins, 2006, p.140). However, given the importance of ELF in the world of publication, surprisingly, empirical research on the linguistic description of ELF has been thin. Available studies are confined to audio-recordings as spoken language and there are not any written ELF corpora. Moreover, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of ELF in mainstream English classrooms. This study aims to build a self-compiled corpus of Turkish academics’ empirical research articles from the field of medicine to investigate the salient features of ELF lexico-grammar. Specifically, the use of ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’ as variants (not errors) were examined. 20 medical research articles were collected containing approximately 59,648 words. Empirical data was analysed manually to explore the potential salient features of ELF lexico-grammar (see Cogo & Dewey, 2006; Seidlhofer, 2004). It is notable that unlike Seidlhofer’s (2004) corpus, which is a computer-based corpus of audio recordings and transcriptions of spoken ELF interactions, this study concentrates on written corpus in the form of medical research articles. The initial findings, with regard to the target grammar-related aspects, revealed that the omission of the definite article ‘the’ had the highest frequency at 2.1% (1,246 occurrences) and inserting the definite article the when redundant amounted to 0.36% (219 occurrences). It was also observed that omissions of indefinite articles ‘a/an’ were 0.26% (153 occurrences). The findings suggest that the usage of ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’ tended to be unproblematic, and did not lead to a breakdown in communication, which could be ELF variants as regular tendencies. Discourse samples are provided from the corpus and pedagogical implications are discussed in light of literature.

References

  • Bayyurt, Y. (2008). A lingua franca or an international language: The status of English in Turkey. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1262293/A_Lingua_Franca_or_an_International_La nguage_The_Status_of_English_in_Turkey
  • Bayyurt, Y. (2006). Non-native English language teachers’ perspective on culture in English as a foreign language classrooms, Teacher Development, 10(2), 233–247.
  • Bhatia, V. K. (1993). Analysing genre: Language use in professional settings. London: Longman. In D. Biber (1993). Representativeness in corpus design. Literary and linguistic computing, 8(4), 243-257.
  • Breiteneder, A. (2005). The naturalness of English as a European lingua franca: the case of the ‘third person –s’, Vienna English Working Papers, 14, 3–26.
  • Coates, R., Sturgeon, B., Bohannan, J., & Pasini, E. (2002). Language and publication in cardiovascular research articles, Cardiovascular Research, 53, 279–285.
  • Cogo, A. (2012). English as a Lingua Franca: concepts, use, and implications. ELT J, 66(1), 97–105.
  • Cogo, A., & Dewey, M. (2006). Efficiency in ELF communication: from pragmatic motives to lexico-grammatical innovation, Nordic Journal of English Studies, 5, 59–93.
  • Coury, J. G. (2001). English as a lingua franca in the Brazilian academic word. Retrieved from http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/linguafranca.htm.
  • Coşkun, A. (2010). Whose English should we teach? Reflections from Turkey. ESP World, 1(27), Retrieved from
  • http://www.esp-world.info/articles_27/espworld.pdf
  • Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
  • Dewey, M. (2007). English as a lingua franca and globalization: an interconnected perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17, 332–354.
  • Firth, A. (1996). The discursive accomplishment of normality. On lingua franca English and conversation analysis, Journal of Pragmatics, 26, 237–259.
  • Göksel, A., & Kerslake, C. (2005). Turkish: A comprehensive grammar. London: Routledge.
  • Graddol, D. (1999). The decline of the native speaker, AILA Review, 13, 57–68.
  • Graddol, D. (2006). English next? London: British Council.
  • House, J. (1999). Misunderstanding in intercultural communication: Interactions in English as a lingua franca and the myth of mutual intelligibility. In C. Gnutzmann (Ed.), Teaching and learning English as a global language (pp. 73–89). Tubingen: Stauffenburg.
  • Hülmbauer, C., Böhringer, H., & Seidlhofer, B. (2008). Introducing English as a lingua franca (ELF): Precursor and partner in intercultural communication, Synergies Europe, 3, 25–36.
  • Jenkins, J. (2006). Points of view and blind spots: ELF and SLA, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16, 137–62.
  • Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an international language. New models, new norms, new goals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Karakaş, A. (2012). English as a lingua franca: Practices of academics in a Turkish university, Uşak Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 5(3), 160–179.
  • Kızıltepe, Z. (2000). Attitudes and Motivation of Turkish EFL Students towards second language learning, ITL, 129–130.
  • Leki, I. (2003). Coda: Publishing L2 writing research, Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 103–105.
  • Mauranen, A. (2003). The corpus of English as a lingua franca in academic settings, TESOL Quarterly, 37, 513–527.
  • Mauranen, A. (2010). Features of English as a lingua franca in academia, Helsinki English Studies, 6, 6–28.
  • McEnery, T., Xiao, R., & Tono, Y. (2006). Corpus-based language studies. An advanced resource book. London: Routledge.
  • Meierkord, C. (2002). ‘Language stripped bare’ or ‘linguistic masala’? Culture in lingua franca communication. In Knapp, K., & C. Meierkord, (Eds.), Lingua Franca Communication. Peter Lang.: Frankfurt 109–133.
  • Önder, N. (2012). An integration of corpus-based and genre-based approaches in EAP: National English examinations in Turkey. Conference proceeding of 6th LangUE 2011 postgraduate conference, 31–42, University of Essex, UK.
  • Salager-Meyer, F. (2008). Scientific publishing in developing countries: Challenges for future, English for Academic Purposes, 7, 121–132.
  • Seidlhofer, B. (2001). Closing a conceptual gap: The case for a description of English as a lingua franca, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11, 133–158.
  • Seidlhofer, B. (2004). Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 209–239.
  • Smagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports, Written Communication, 25, 389–411.
  • Sewell, A. (2012). English as a lingua franca: ontology and ideology, ELT J, 66(1), 89–96.
  • Wood, A. (1997). International scientific English: Some thoughts on science, language and ownership, Science Tribune. Retrieved from: http://www.tribunes.com/tribune/art97/wooda.htm.

Compiling a Written Corpus of English as an Academic Lingua Franca: Medical Research Articles of Turkish Academics

Year 2012, Volume: 29 Issue: 1, - , 03.09.2015

Abstract

English as lingua franca (ELF) is a “world language whose speakers communicate mainly with other NNSs, often from different L1s than their own” (Jenkins, 2006, p.140). However, given the importance of ELF in the world of publication, surprisingly, empirical research on the linguistic description of ELF has been thin. Available studies are confined to audio-recordings as spoken language and there are not any written ELF corpora. Moreover, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of ELF in mainstream English classrooms. This study aims to build a self-compiled corpus of Turkish academics’ empirical research articles from the field of medicine to investigate the salient features of ELF lexico-grammar. Specifically, the use of ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’ as variants (not errors) were examined. 20 medical research articles were collected containing approximately 59,648 words. Empirical data was analysed manually to explore the potential salient features of ELF lexico-grammar (see Cogo & Dewey, 2006; Seidlhofer, 2004). It is notable that unlike Seidlhofer’s (2004) corpus, which is a computer-based corpus of audio recordings and transcriptions of spoken ELF interactions, this study concentrates on written corpus in the form of medical research articles. The initial findings, with regard to the target grammar-related aspects, revealed that the omission of the definite article ‘the’ had the highest frequency at 2.1% (1,246 occurrences) and inserting the definite article the when redundant amounted to 0.36% (219 occurrences). It was also observed that omissions of indefinite articles ‘a/an’ were 0.26% (153 occurrences). The findings suggest that the usage of ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’ tended to be unproblematic, and did not lead to a breakdown in communication, which could be ELF variants as regular tendencies. Discourse samples are provided from the corpus and pedagogical implications are discussed in light of literature.

References

  • Bayyurt, Y. (2008). A lingua franca or an international language: The status of English in Turkey. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1262293/A_Lingua_Franca_or_an_International_La nguage_The_Status_of_English_in_Turkey
  • Bayyurt, Y. (2006). Non-native English language teachers’ perspective on culture in English as a foreign language classrooms, Teacher Development, 10(2), 233–247.
  • Bhatia, V. K. (1993). Analysing genre: Language use in professional settings. London: Longman. In D. Biber (1993). Representativeness in corpus design. Literary and linguistic computing, 8(4), 243-257.
  • Breiteneder, A. (2005). The naturalness of English as a European lingua franca: the case of the ‘third person –s’, Vienna English Working Papers, 14, 3–26.
  • Coates, R., Sturgeon, B., Bohannan, J., & Pasini, E. (2002). Language and publication in cardiovascular research articles, Cardiovascular Research, 53, 279–285.
  • Cogo, A. (2012). English as a Lingua Franca: concepts, use, and implications. ELT J, 66(1), 97–105.
  • Cogo, A., & Dewey, M. (2006). Efficiency in ELF communication: from pragmatic motives to lexico-grammatical innovation, Nordic Journal of English Studies, 5, 59–93.
  • Coury, J. G. (2001). English as a lingua franca in the Brazilian academic word. Retrieved from http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/linguafranca.htm.
  • Coşkun, A. (2010). Whose English should we teach? Reflections from Turkey. ESP World, 1(27), Retrieved from
  • http://www.esp-world.info/articles_27/espworld.pdf
  • Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
  • Dewey, M. (2007). English as a lingua franca and globalization: an interconnected perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17, 332–354.
  • Firth, A. (1996). The discursive accomplishment of normality. On lingua franca English and conversation analysis, Journal of Pragmatics, 26, 237–259.
  • Göksel, A., & Kerslake, C. (2005). Turkish: A comprehensive grammar. London: Routledge.
  • Graddol, D. (1999). The decline of the native speaker, AILA Review, 13, 57–68.
  • Graddol, D. (2006). English next? London: British Council.
  • House, J. (1999). Misunderstanding in intercultural communication: Interactions in English as a lingua franca and the myth of mutual intelligibility. In C. Gnutzmann (Ed.), Teaching and learning English as a global language (pp. 73–89). Tubingen: Stauffenburg.
  • Hülmbauer, C., Böhringer, H., & Seidlhofer, B. (2008). Introducing English as a lingua franca (ELF): Precursor and partner in intercultural communication, Synergies Europe, 3, 25–36.
  • Jenkins, J. (2006). Points of view and blind spots: ELF and SLA, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16, 137–62.
  • Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an international language. New models, new norms, new goals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Karakaş, A. (2012). English as a lingua franca: Practices of academics in a Turkish university, Uşak Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 5(3), 160–179.
  • Kızıltepe, Z. (2000). Attitudes and Motivation of Turkish EFL Students towards second language learning, ITL, 129–130.
  • Leki, I. (2003). Coda: Publishing L2 writing research, Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 103–105.
  • Mauranen, A. (2003). The corpus of English as a lingua franca in academic settings, TESOL Quarterly, 37, 513–527.
  • Mauranen, A. (2010). Features of English as a lingua franca in academia, Helsinki English Studies, 6, 6–28.
  • McEnery, T., Xiao, R., & Tono, Y. (2006). Corpus-based language studies. An advanced resource book. London: Routledge.
  • Meierkord, C. (2002). ‘Language stripped bare’ or ‘linguistic masala’? Culture in lingua franca communication. In Knapp, K., & C. Meierkord, (Eds.), Lingua Franca Communication. Peter Lang.: Frankfurt 109–133.
  • Önder, N. (2012). An integration of corpus-based and genre-based approaches in EAP: National English examinations in Turkey. Conference proceeding of 6th LangUE 2011 postgraduate conference, 31–42, University of Essex, UK.
  • Salager-Meyer, F. (2008). Scientific publishing in developing countries: Challenges for future, English for Academic Purposes, 7, 121–132.
  • Seidlhofer, B. (2001). Closing a conceptual gap: The case for a description of English as a lingua franca, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11, 133–158.
  • Seidlhofer, B. (2004). Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 209–239.
  • Smagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports, Written Communication, 25, 389–411.
  • Sewell, A. (2012). English as a lingua franca: ontology and ideology, ELT J, 66(1), 89–96.
  • Wood, A. (1997). International scientific English: Some thoughts on science, language and ownership, Science Tribune. Retrieved from: http://www.tribunes.com/tribune/art97/wooda.htm.
There are 34 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Original Articles
Authors

Neslihan Önder This is me

Publication Date September 3, 2015
Published in Issue Year 2012 Volume: 29 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Önder, N. (2015). Compiling a Written Corpus of English as an Academic Lingua Franca: Medical Research Articles of Turkish Academics. Bogazici University Journal of Education, 29(1).