scholarly journals Indirectness, inexplicitness and vagueness made clearer

Pragmatics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Cheng ◽  
Martin Warren
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

The ability to do indirectness, inexplicitness and vagueness is a key component in the repertoire of all competent discoursers and these are commonplace phenomena in written and spoken discourses, particularly in conversations. The study reported in the paper seeks to delineate and exemplify these three terms which are used frequently in the literature, but which are potentially confusing as they are not always unambiguously defined and consistently applied. The purpose of the study is to describe the differences between the three terms in terms of their pragmatic usage and functions, drawing upon a corpus of naturally-occurring conversational data between Hong Kong Chinese and native speakers of English. In so doing, this study underlines the widespread occurrence of these forms of language use and the ways in which participants in spoken discourse employ them to jointly construct both context and meaning.

The Functions of Actually in a Corpus of Intercultural Conversations

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Cheng ◽  
Martin Warren
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Way

Using a corpus of naturally occurring conversations between native and non-native speakers of English in Hong Kong, we examine the use of actually in intercultural conversations. The frequencies with which the two groups of speakers use actually and the functions it performs are compared and contrasted. Our findings suggest that Hong Kong Chinese speakers of English use actually far more frequently than native speakers of English. The patterns of usage are remarkably similar in certain respects but there are differences in use and in the position actually occupies in utterances which in turn can affect the way that it functions. Explanations are offered for the differences in usage between the two groups of speakers.

The use of vague language in intercultural conversations in Hong Kong

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Cheng ◽  
Martin Warren
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communication Problems ◽  
Successful Communication ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Similar Range ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Vague Language ◽  
Specific Concern

This paper presents the findings of a study of vague language use based on a corpus of naturally-occurring conversations between native and non-native speakers of English in Hong Kong. The specific concern of the paper is to describe the use of vague language by the two sets of speakers. The forms of vague language present in our data are defined and exemplified. Both the native English and the non-native speakers use vague language extensively in our data for a similar range of purposes, for example to achieve informal communication, classify objects, fill a lexical or knowledge gap, and accommodate one another. We also investigated whether communication problems are experienced in these intercultural conversations by speakers using vague language differently. We conclude that in our data at least there is no evidence to suggest that such communication problems arise from differences in vague language use. On the contrary, the use of vague language by both native and non-native speakers facilitates rather than hinders successful communication in intercultural conversations.

scholarly journals The intonation of declarative-mood questions in a corpus of Hong Kong English: // ➘➚ beef ball // ➙ you like //

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 151-165
Author(s):  
Winnie Cheng ◽  
Martin Warren
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
English Department ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Question Form ◽  
Hong Kong English

In the English Department of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University we are compiling the Hong Kong Corpus of Spoken English. In the examination of our data we have found that the ways in which the two sets of participants (i.e. Hong Kong Chinese and native speakers of English) ask questions share some similarities, but also differ in a number of respects. It seems, for example, that the Hong Kong Chinese have a stronger tendency to ask questions by means of declarative-mood questions, and the intonation used to achieve this indirect question form is examined in this paper and compared with the native speakers in the data. The implications of the findings for learning and teaching the English language are explored.

English language schooling, linguistic realities, and the native speaker of English in Hong Kong

Multilingua ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jette G. Hansen Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Government School ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

AbstractThe study employs a case study approach to examine the impact of educational backgrounds on nine Hong Kong tertiary students’ English and Cantonese language practices and identifications as native speakers of English and Cantonese. The study employed both survey and interview data to probe the participants’ English and Cantonese language use at home, school, and with peers/friends. Leung, Harris, and Rampton’s (1997, The idealized native speaker, reified ethnicities, and classroom realities.TESOL Quarterly 31(3). 543–560) framework of language affiliation, language expertise, and inheritance was used to examine the construction of a native language identity in a multilingual setting. The study found that educational background – and particularly international school experience in contrast to local government school education – had an impact on the participants’ English language usage at home and with peers, and also affected their language expertise in Cantonese. English language use at school also impacted their identifications as native speakers of both Cantonese and English, with Cantonese being viewed largely as native language based on inheritance while English was being defined as native based on their language expertise, affiliation and use, particularly in contrast to their expertise in, affiliation with, and use of Cantonese.

scholarly journals Linguistic Markers and Stylistic Attributes of Hedging in English Academic Papers Written by Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

MANUSYA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Amara Prasithrathsint
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
The Impact

Hedging means mitigating words so as to lessen the impact of an utterance. It may cause uncertainty in language but is regarded as an important feature in English academic writing. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the style of academic writing in English with particular reference to the significant role of hedging and the linguistic features that mark it. The data was taken from academic articles in the humanities written by native speakers of English, Filipino speakers of English, and Thai speakers of English. It is hypothesized that speakers of English as a foreign language use fewer and different hedging devices than native speakers of English. The result of the analysis shows that the prominent linguistic markers of hedging are the auxiliaries may, might, could, the verbs suggest, appear, seem, and the adverbs perhaps and often. They are divided into three groups according to their stylistic attributes of hedging; namely, probability, indetermination, and approximation. The use of hedging found in the data confirms what Hyman (1994) says; i.e., that hedging allows writers to express their uncertainty about the truth of their statements. It is also found that English native speakers use hedges most frequently. The Filipino speakers of English are the second, and the Thai speakers of English use hedges the least frequency. This implies that hedging is likely to be related to the level of competence in English including knowledge of stylistic variation, and that it needs to be formally taught to those who speak English as a second or foreign language.

Using key part-of-speech analysis to examine spoken discourse by Taiwanese EFL learners

ReCALL ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Liang Lin
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Part Of Speech ◽  
Grammatical Categories ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Spoken Interaction

AbstractThis study reports on a corpus analysis of samples of spoken discourse between a group of British and Taiwanese adolescents, with the aim of exploring the statistically significant differences in the use of grammatical categories between the two groups of participants. The key word method extended to a part-of-speech level using the web-based corpus analytical tool, Wmatrix, highlights those linguistic domains which deserve particular attention. Specifically, it reveals the lexical and grammatical categories that occur unusually frequently or unusually infrequently in the English learners’ discourse when compared with the language used by the native speakers of English in the sample. The research findings delineate the pedagogical merit of key domain analysis and thus help to inform English as a foreign language teachers and materials developers in the design of courses emphasising spoken interaction.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Use of Discourse Markers in English Speeches between Non-Native and Native Speakers of English

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-207
Author(s):  
Eva Yulita ◽  
Dwi Rukmini ◽  
Widhiyanto Widhiyanto
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Contrastive Discourse Markers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Discourse Management

This study revealed the comparison of the use of discourse markers in English speeches between non-native and native speakers of English. The study focused on the types of discourse markers, the similarities and the differences between non-native and native speakers in using discourse markers. This study employed a qualitative research design with the data from the spoken discourse. The findings of the study showed that there were ten sub-categories of discourse markers that are practiced by non-native speakers, namely: assessment marker, manner of a speaking marker, evidential markers, hearsay markers, contrastive discourse markers, elaborative discourse markers, inferential discourse markers, discourse management markers, topic orientation markers, and attention markers. On the contrary, there were nine sub-categories of discourse markers that existed in English speeches, especially delivered by the native speakers such as assessment marker, manner of a speaking marker, evidential markers, hearsay markers, contrastive discourse markers, elaborative discourse markers, inferential discourse markers, topic orientation markers, and attention markers. The total of discourse markers produced by the non-native speakers was 301 utterances while native speakers of English were 269 utterances. Therefore, it is concluded that discourse markers were useful in English speeches either by non-native speakers or native speakers

The effects of Hong Kong L2 English speakers’ phonological features on listeners’ cognitive and affective perceptions

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-115
Author(s):  
Hsueh Chu Chen ◽  
Qian Wang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Speech Data ◽  
Affective Perception ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Conversational Interviews

Abstract This study explores the most perceivable phonological features of Hong Kong (HK) L2 English speakers and how they affect the perception of HK L2 English speech from the perspective of both native and non-native English listeners. Conversational interviews were conducted to collect speech data from 20 HK speakers of English and 10 native speakers of English in the United Kingdom. Phonological features of 20 HK speakers of English were analyzed at both segmental and suprasegmental levels. Forty listeners with different language backgrounds were recruited to listen and rate the speech samples of the 20 HK speakers of English in terms of the cognitive perception of foreign accentedness and comprehensibility and affective perception of likability and acceptability. This study identifies the phonological variables that contribute significantly to listeners’ perception of accentedness, comprehensibility, likability, acceptability, and overall impression of HK speakers’ English speech.

Some aspects of repair in native and non-native speaker conversations in English

1999 ◽  
Vol 125-126 ◽  
pp. 253-275
Author(s):  
Martha Eleftheriadou ◽  
Richard Badger
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
General Preferences

Abstract The ability to carry out repairs is a key skill in spoken discourse for non-native speakers of English and has been widely studied. However, VAN HEST et al. (1997) have suggested that investigations into repair in L2 need to be more theoretically driven and less concerned with individual differences. Drawing on information from a pilot study of twenty-three conversations, lasting 185 minutes between six native and six non-native speakers, this paper argues that there is no conflict between a concern with individual differences and theory building. What is needed is a contextualised theory which is grounded in particular situations and individual differences. The paper identifies three possible areas of difficulty that may arise if a theory is not contextualised. Firstly, the paper argues that theory driven research encourages methods of data collection that we characterise as experimental and suggest that these need to be supplemented by more naturalistic forms of data collection. Secondly, the paper criticises the view that there are general preferences as to who initiates and who completes repairs and argues that a contextualised theory of repair would capture initiation/completion patterns more adequately. Finally, the paper argues that the distinction between native and non-native speakers needs to be re-examined. This is supported by the finding in the pilot study that there was little variation between native and non-native speakers in terms of these analyses.

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