Use of Metadiscourse in L1 and L2 Student Newspapers: Interactional Features of Argumentation in Editorials

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the effect of cultural factors and genre-specific conventions on the use of interactional metadiscourse within a journalistic genre. In doing so, a contrastive rhetoric research has been conducted to examine two different sub-corpora: a corpus of100 student newspaper editorials obtained from 10 Korean universities and from 7 UK universities, respectively, both written in English. Based on Hyland’s model (2005), interactional met discourse markers were analysed. The results showed that interactional metadiscourse markers are present in both L1 and L2 texts, but that there are variations in regard to the distribution and rhetorical use of such markers, specifically, in the case of engagement markers and self-mentions. A higher frequency of engagement markers and lower frequency of hedges in L2are unexpectedly noticeable and the functions of rhetorical questions between two corpora are different. This all yields an insight into howL2 writers project themselves into their written discourse to render the text more reader-oriented in attaining rhetorical persuasion in newspaper editorials. Pedagogical L2 writing resources should be given to teach Korean L2 writers alternative strategies for both genre-specific and culture-specific devices that are frequently used in newspaper editorials.