Lexical bundles in conversation across Englishes

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-324
Author(s):  
Zeping Huang ◽  
Gavin Bui
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Canadian English ◽  
British English ◽  
Lexical Bundles ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Hong Kong English

Abstract This study adopts Nelson’s (2014) methodological framework to investigate core and peripheral lexical bundles (i.e. recurrent multi-word sequences) in conversation, using data from the British, Canadian, Singapore, and Hong Kong components of the International Corpus of English (ICE). The overlap and non-overlap comparisons reveal (dis)similarities in the use of bundles across the four World Englishes (WEs). Our findings suggest that in terms of discourse building blocks, the more advanced a variety is according to Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model of New Englishes, the more lexical bundles it shares with the common core in conversation. Canadian English (CanE) shares the most common ground with British English (BrE). As a nascent variety, Hong Kong English (HKE) differs most from BrE, while Singapore English falls between CanE and HKE. Though the results do not correlate with Schneider’s Dynamic Model at the level of recurring chunks, they allow us to test predictions of WEs models. Quantitative and qualitative analyses enable the identification of bundles with significantly high frequency in each regional variety, thus enriching comparative research of WEs.

Innovative conversions in South-East Asian Englishes

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Horch
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Language Use ◽  
East Asian ◽  
British English ◽  
Outer Circle ◽  
Usage Frequency ◽  
The Status ◽  
Institutional Status ◽  
Hong Kong English

Singapore English and Hong Kong English started out as contact varieties and developed into ESL varieties belonging to the Outer Circle (Kachru 1985). Both varieties show a similar contact ecology (Chinese), but differ in their socio-institutional status in the Dynamic Model (Schneider 2003, 2007). By analyzing innovative verb-to-noun conversion in these two varieties, and comparing them to British English, this study shows that despite the obvious similarities in substratum, the usage frequency of conversion in both varieties differs considerably. These findings, similar to — most recently — Deshors (2014) and Gilquin (2015), call into question the established notion of ESL in general and the status of SgE and HKE as ESL varieties in particular. In order to accurately reflect contemporary language use, it is reasonable to conceptualize the notion of ESL as a continuum and to situate HKE and SgE at opposite ends.

World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and the case of Hong Kong English

English Today ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Sewell
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
The World ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Hong Kong English

ABSTRACTPerspectives from both World Englishes (WE) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) can assist in the description of Hong Kong English phonology. Mario Saraceni's article (English Today 94) provides some useful insights into the current debates about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). His discussion of the background to this debate identifies three viewpoints: a traditional ENL view with its adherence to native-speaker models; the WE (World Englishes) paradigm with its ‘pluralised and pluricentric view of English in the world’; and the emerging ELF position, with its rejection of native-speaker norms in favour of ‘endonormative realisations of lingua franca varieties’ (Alessa Cogo, English Today 95). However, Cogo believes that the second and third positions are not separate paradigms, and that ELF sits ‘comfortably within a WE framework’, as claimed by Jenkins (2007:17). In this article, I would like to show how the two positions can work together to inform pedagogy by exploring the possible options for English pronunciation models in Hong Kong.

Common ground across globalized English varieties: A multivariate exploration of mental predicates in World Englishes

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Sandra C. Deshors ◽  
Sandra Götz
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
First Century ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
Linguistic Patterns ◽  
Abstract Level

AbstractThis study tests for similarities and differences in the uses of near-synonymous mental predicates by speakers of different ENL and ESL speech communities to capture whether, and if so to what degree, speakers of different first and second language English varieties use the four near-synonymous predicates semantically differently. Specifically, we focus on I believe, I think, I suppose and I guess in eight native and second-language varieties of English (i.e. American, British, Canadian, Irish, Hong Kong, Indian, Singapore and New Zealand). We adopt a multivariate modeling approach to analyze mental predicates annotated for six semantic variables (verifiability, epistemic mode, epistemic class, epistemic type, evaluation and negotiability) as well as genre. Our findings show the usefulness of exploring Englishes through the lens of semantic structure. Although, on the surface, two groups of English varieties emerge with different preferential patterns of predicates (British, Indian, Irish and Singapore vs. Canadian, Hong Kong and American), at a more abstract level, those predicates share similar semantic combinatory patterns common to all varieties in focus. It emerges that modeling the development of Englishes based on theoretical frameworks that account for simultaneous development of generic (i.e. common to all Englishes) and specialized (i.e. specific to individual Englishes) linguistic patterns may be beneficial. At a time when English has become a worldwide language shaped by globalization, the present study adds to the discussion on the developmental pathways that characterize the evolution of non-native Englishes in the twenty-first century.

Researching and teaching China and Hong Kong English

English Today ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. S. Li
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Deficit Model ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Learner Performance ◽  
International Language ◽  
Pedagogical Models ◽  
Hong Kong English

ABSTRACTTHE ENGLISH curriculum in China – including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) – has traditionally been dominated by native-speaker (NS) based pedagogical models. This is a source of many problems, ranging from learning outcome to teaching performance, and from cultural inappropriacy to speaker identity. Research in World Englishes (WE), in English as a lingua franca (ELF) and an international language (EIL), and to a lesser extent in second-language acquisition (SLA) has shown that a curriculum informed by a deficit model (by measuring learner performance using the yardstick of native-speaker-based standards) is by its very nature disempowering, and should be replaced with a model of difference, whereby learners' L1 identities and ownership of English are both respected.

scholarly journals 'They are going tomorrow, isn't it?' On the Use of Tag Questions in Indian English and Hong Kong English

10.29007/3jr2 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Criado Peña
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Sociolinguistic Variation ◽  
Indian English ◽  
Standard Pattern ◽  
British English ◽  
Text Types ◽  
Standard Rule ◽  
Tag Questions ◽  
Hong Kong English ◽  
Positive Statement

Tag questions in standard British English (BrE) follow a standard pattern consisting of an operator and a subject. This operator generally coincides with the preceding statement while the auxiliary “do” is the choice when the operator is absent. More importantly, a negative tag is generally attached to a positive statement and vice versa (i.e. you know her, don’t you?) (Quirk et al. 1985: 810).The Asian varieties of English are an exception insofar as apparently no standard rule is observed. The present paper investigates the use and distribution of regular and irregular tag questions in Indian English and Hong Kong English with the following objectives: a) to analyze the distribution of the construction of regular and irregular tag questions across these varieties; b) to assess their frequency across speech and writing, text types included; and c) to evaluate the sociolinguistic variation, if any. For the purpose, the Indian and Hong Kong components of the International Corpus of English (ICE-Ind and ICE-HK) will be used as sources of analysis.

Examining authenticity from an ELF perspective: the development of listening test papers in Hong Kong (1986–2018)

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-165
Author(s):  
Jim Yee Him Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Hong Kong English

Abstract The present study examined the degree of situational and interactional authenticity in Hong Kong’s listening examination papers throughout the history of colonisation and globalisation (1986–2018) with reference to world Englishes and particularly English as a lingua franca (ELF) research. By means of a detailed content analysis, the evaluation of situational authenticity was based on the context of language use (e.g., speech event type, nature of interaction, identity and accent of interlocutor) in the audio samples, while the evaluation of interactional authenticity centred on the speaker’s use of communicative strategies. Our findings suggest that the speech samples generally reflected the changing situations of language use over time by increasingly adopting dialogue (rather than monologue) and locally/globally relevant language use contexts, but only included native-speaker and (from 2012) Hong Kong English accents as speech models. Despite the lack of non-standardness and speakers of different cultures in the speech samples, there were numerous instances of explicitness strategies relevant to ELF interactions throughout the sample, probably owing to the intent of the listening examination to highlight key information for the candidates. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these trends in listening paper design for the future development of English language teaching from an ELF perspective.

Grammaticalization of semi-modals of necessity in Asian Englishes

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucía Loureiro-Porto
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
British English ◽  
Inner Circle ◽  
Hong Kong English

Abstract The decline of central modal must and the increase in frequency of the semi-modals have (got) to, need (to), and want to is one of the most conspicuous grammatical changes that inner-circle varieties of English underwent in the second half of the 20th century. Such a replacement correlates with the increasing grammaticalization of the semi-modals in terms of semantic and quantitative developments. The current paper explores the differential grammaticalization of these items in four Asian varieties of English – those spoken in India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines – with the aim of building a grammaticalization index that will allow us to measure the extent to which the replacement of modal must with the semi-modals is completed in each of the varieties as compared to British English. After analyzing data from the private dialogue sections of the corresponding ICE corpora, Hong Kong English is shown to be the variety in which the replacement is closest to British English, followed by the Philippines, Singapore and India.

scholarly journals Concord patterns with collective nouns in Hong Kong English. With illustrative material from the International Corpus of English (Hong Kong component)

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
May Lai-Yin Wong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
British English ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Hong Kong English ◽  
Illustrative Material ◽  
Collective Nouns

This corpus-based study reports on both a quantitative and qualitative account of the use of collective nouns in Hong Kong English, with particular reference to subject-verb agreement/concord patterns. Singular concord was found to be the preferred pattern among thirty-five collective nouns under interrogation in the ICE-HK corpus. It is argued that the preference for singular concord serves as a signal that Hong Kong English might be less conservative than British English in converging towards the norm of using singular concord with collective nouns across the globe.

An Investigation into the Effect of Raw Scores in Determining Grades in a Public Examination of Writing

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
David Coniam
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rasch Measurement ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Examination System ◽  
Public Examination ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
Final Grades ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Hong Kong English

This article examines the effect on the grades assigned to test takers either directly through the use of raters’ raw scores, or through the use of measures obtained through multifaceted Rasch measurement (MFRM). Using data from the Hong Kong 2005 public examination of writing, the current study examines how test takers’ grades differ by comparing the results of grades from “lenient” raters against those of “severe” raters on the two systems for assigning grades–raw band scores and MFRM-derived scores. Examination of the results of a pair of raters indicates that the use of raw scores may produce widely different results from those obtained via MFRM, with test takers potentially disadvantaged by being rated by a severe rather than a lenient rater. In the Hong Kong English language public examination system from 2007 onwards, band scales will be used extensively, as indeed they already are in many Asian countries. The article therefore concludes with a call for consideration to be given to how test takers’ final grades may be derived from raw scores. 本研究は香港における公的試験のライティング・テストの採点に関する実証研究である。採点者の得点をそのまま使った場合と、多相ラッシュ・モデリング（ＭＦＲＭ）の得点を使った場合、成績の上でどのような違いがあるのかを調査したものである。香港で2005年度に実施された試験をデータとして使った。分析の結果、採点者の得点をそのまま使った場合には、より厳しい採点者によって受験者が不利を蒙る傾向があることがわかった。採点者の得点を使って最終成績をつける場合にはどうすればよいのかを論じて結論とした。

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