Adjectives Research Articles

The Impact of L1 Transfer on Learning English Adjective Order by Saudi EFL Learners

The Impact of L1 Transfer on Learning English Adjective Order by Saudi EFL Learners

Possession in Categorization across Language and Category

Abstract Menon & Pancheva (2014) conjecture that the roots of all property concepts (words expressing the semantic content of adjectives in English; Dixon 1982, Thompson 1989), independent of syntactic category, have an abstract mass noun semantics in the spirit of Francez & Koontz-Garboden (2015, 2017). According to this conjecture, variation in the morphosemantics of categorization masks this underlying universality, leading to superficial variation in the morphosyntax of predication within this class of words. Supporting this line of analysis, we show that morphologically transparent behavior of nouns, verbs and adjectives in Ulwa, Wá·šiw, and English reveals that despite variation in category, property concepts in these languages receive a unified analysis on the view that mass-denoting roots are categorized by nominalizing, verbalizing, and adjectivizing heads, respectively, that introduce a possessive semantics.

Acquisition of prenominal adjective order by Jordanian EFL learners

This study investigates how Jordanian EFL learners manage to learn the order of English prenominal adjectives, shedding light on learners’ cognitive processes and the possible impact of their first language. It focuses on two-, three- and four-adjective sequences to identify the areas of difficulty and their sources. The authors of the present study relied on their experience. They referred to some experts in Arabic grammar to compare the students’ order of English prenominal adjectives with the order of Arabic adjectives to inform the degree of their mother tongue's influence. A test based on the order of prenominal adjectives suggested by Svatko (1979) was used for data collection to achieve the study objectives. The study participants were 42 Jordanian advanced EFL undergraduate students at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University in Jordan. The study results revealed that Jordanian EFL learners encounter great difficulties in using prenominal adjectives, especially as the complexity of sequences increases. The overall percentage of correct answers across all categories is 35%. The results also showed that intralingual errors outweighed interlingual errors, scoring 77%.

O‘ZBEK VA QORAQALPOQ ADABIY TILLARIDA UCH KOMPONENTLI SINONIM FRAZEMALAR

In the article, the main component of the three-component synonymous phrases in the modern Uzbek and Karakalpak literary languages ​​is the verb, the adjective form of the verb, adjective, auxiliary, conjunction, noun word groups, and the non-basic component is made up of other word groups. Thus, it has been proven theoretically and practically based on examples that they have three components.

PIDGINISATION AS LINGUOCULTURAL PHENOMENON (on the example of African linguoculture)

This article identifies the features of such a linguocultural phenomenon as pidginisation and creolisation on the example of African linguoculture. The scientific problem is caused by the influence of globalisation on the state of languages and cultures within the framework of intercultural and interlanguage interaction, on the one hand, and the need to preserve native languages and cultures, on the other hand. The purpose of the article is to identify the key properties of such hybrid languages as Pidgin English and Creole English which operate in the largest country in West Africa – Nigeria. The research work is based on a combination of linguistic and cultural analysis method, which revealed the peculiarities of language and culture in the process of historical development, and comparative analysis method, which is the key to distinguish similar and distinctive features of Nigerian Pidgin English in relation to British English. The research work systematised the key historical, linguistic and cultural factors that influenced the formation and Pidgin English and Creole English development in Africa, and identified its key characteristics. It was proved that English is a universal means of interethnic communication for all social groups, but Pidgin English has simple structure at all language levels – phonetic, grammatical, lexical ones – and suits for everyday communication perfectly. Adapting to local realities, Nigerian Pidgin English at the phonetic level is the subject to assimilation and dissimilation of consonants, quantitative and qualitative reduction of vowels. The grammatical structure of Nigerian Pidgin English is the subject to maximum simplification, this level is characterised by the omission of articles; the use of abstract nouns in the plural form; the formation of adjectives’ comparison degrees and adverbs on the principle of a monosyllabic adjective; the use of simple tense forms of verb. The lexical structure of Nigerian Pidgin English is characterised by the functioning of high-frequency lexemes of autochthonous languages, which is due to the desire to follow the norms of native culture. All deviations from British English are explained by the need to create an accessible form of communication for all social groups using minimal linguistic means.

The origin of the adjectival and adverbial "mulaolao" in Wu Chinese

ABSTRACT: The word mulaolao (木佬佬) in Wu Chinese first appeared in written documents published during the period of the former Republic of China. It originated in Hangzhou dialect and spread to other regions such as Ningbo, Taizhou, Jinhua, and Shanghai. In Hangzhou dialect, mulaolao serves both adjectival and adverbial purposes, and it is believed to have derived from the expressive adjective manlaolao (蛮老老). In manlaolao , the suffix - laolao (老老) intensifies the degree of a state or property and is written as "佬佬" due to its uncertain etymology. The man (蛮) part originally meant "rude and unreasonable" or "doughty" but has evolved to also mean "many". In its weakened form, it underwent a checkedization process and was consequently pronounced as mu and written with a homophonous character "木". The adjectival form of mulaolao is widely used, but in adverbial positions, it underwent semantic bleaching to become an adverb and fused into mao (冒). The adverbial usage of mulaolao is less prevalent among younger speakers. 摘要: 吴语的"木佬佬"一词，民国以降始见于书面，源头在杭州方言，扩 散到了宁波、台州、金华、上海等地。杭州方言的"木佬佬"是形容 词/副词，当来自形容词生动形式"蛮老老"：词缀"老老"表示程度 极深，因词源不明被记作"佬佬"；"蛮"由"蛮横/强悍"义引申为 "多"义，轻读促化而被记作同音的"木"。形容词"木佬佬"使用 普遍，在状语位置上虚化为副词而后合音为"冒"。新派使用副词 "木佬佬"较少。

A Case Study of Negated Adjectives in Commuters’ Twitter Complaints

In today’s digital society, social networks such as Twitter are a preferred place for expressing one’s emotions, especially when they are negative. Despite a growing interest in the variety of linguistic realizations of commuters’ complaints, little attention has so far been paid to writers’ choices, especially when morphologically or syntactically simpler alternative formulations are available. A typical example is the “inference towards the antonym” triggered by the negation of contrary adjectives, an effect that is stronger for positive compared to negative adjectives. In the context of railway transport, a customer could use the negative statement The train is not clean instead of the corresponding affirmative sentence The train is dirty. It remains unclear, in our current state of knowledge, why online customers would prefer more complex constructions to voice their criticisms. Based on a large corpus of tweets sent to the French and Belgian national railway companies by their customers, I have semi-automatically extracted instances of not (very) + adjective (ADJ). Based on previous observations in the literature, I expected positive adjectives to be more frequently used in these negative environments compared to negative ones. As recent research demonstrates that one’s desire to save the interlocutor’s face is not necessarily the only reason why positive adjectives are used in linguistically negative environments, other motivations will also be considered. More precisely, I suggest that in a context where negativity is prevalent, customers using negated positive adjectives kill two birds with one stone: not only do they signal an issue with a product or a service, pointing to expectations that have not been met by the company, but they also mitigate the impact of their negative comments to the positive face of the service managers with whom they are interacting. By offering a quantitative, corpus-based analysis of negative constructions, complemented by a qualitative linguistic analysis of selected examples, this research sheds new light on users’ lexical choices in online negative customer feedback.

Karakteristik Penggunaan Adjektiva dalam Iklan Produk Kecantikan

Adjectives are words used to describe the qualities or states of nouns, including living things, objects, and concepts. In advertisements, adjectives are frequently employed in various forms and styles to attract consumers. This study aims to analyze and describe: (1) the forms of adjectives used in beauty product advertisements, (2) the degrees or levels of adjectives used in beauty product advertisements, and (3) the semantic functions of adjectives used in beauty product advertisements. This qualitative research employed a descriptive method. The data consisted of words and phrases containing adjectives in various forms, degrees, and semantic functions, extracted from beauty product advertisements on Female Daily magazine's online platform. Data was collected through observation and note-taking. The data collection process involved opening Google, taking screenshots of product descriptions on Female Daily containing adjectives, and identifying the adjectives relevant to the study. Data analysis was conducted in four stages: classifying data according to research objectives, analyzing data, discussing data, and drawing conclusions and reporting the research findings. Based on the research findings, the following conclusions were drawn. Firstly, based on their forms, two types of adjectives were found: (1) basic forms, and (2) derived forms, which include affixed, reduplicated, and compound adjectives. Secondly, based on their degrees, four types of adjectives were found: (1) positive degree, (2) comparative degree, (3) superlative degree, and (4) emphatic degree. Thirdly, based on their functions, eight semantic functions of adjectives were found: (1) stative, (2) durative, (3) affective, (4) benefactive, (5) causative, (6) possessive, (7) habitual, and (8) comparative.

Students' perceptions of well-being

BACKGROUND: In today's society, there is a need to explore strategies for attaining and improving overall well-being. This exploration requires an examination of perceptions of well-being in different social groups. First and second-year students in higher education institutions represent the future social capital of the nation. Understanding the factors that contribute to their sense of well-being is essential, as it can determine their future social interactions and behaviors. AIM: to identify the content of students’ perceptions of well-being. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 258 first- and second-year university students. The main research method was a modified free association technique, where students were asked to provide three associations in the form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns, resulting in a total of nine associations per participant. Data were analyzed using frequency analysis and calculation of ranks. RESULTS: A total of 2322 associations were identified among students. These associations were then organized to form 51 associative groups, which were further combined into 16 semantic groups for meaningful interpretation. The concept of "well-being" was analyzed within a structured semantic space, focusing on emotional and motivational-need characteristics. The semantic space of the concept of “well-being” is structured according to emotional and motivational-need characteristics. The emotional component of well-being encompasses a range of positive emotions with varying degrees of intensity. On the other hand, the motivational-need component primarily addressed needs related to physical comfort, safety, basic life support, and material support. CONCLUSION: In the content of university students’ perceptions about well-being, the emotional sphere holds the most significant position. Students associate well-being with feelings of calm joy, happiness and emotional stability. Additionally, perceptions of well-being are centered around fulfilling basic and material needs.

THE EVALUATIVE POTENTIAL OF ADVERBS IN THE UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE

This article is devoted to a new direction in contemporary Ukrainian linguistics, known as the grammar of evaluation. The focus is on the morphology of evaluation. This article aims to present the evaluative potential of adverbial forms in the Ukrainian language. The research subject is adverbs with evaluative semantics, characterized by systemic and functional approaches. The research material consists of literary and journalistic texts and modern Internet discourse. The study integrates two main approaches: systemic (structural) and functional (discursive). Among the methods used in this article, the descriptive method is primary, allowing for the presentation of material and formulation of conclusions; the conceptual-analytical method is applied to qualify and methodologically evaluate the theoretical foundations of the morphology of evaluation. Additionally, the interpretive-contextual and discursive methods, as well as the axiological analysis method, are utilized to identify grammatical adverbial forms that carry evaluative meaning. The article discusses the potential of adverbs in modelling the meaning of quality, evaluation itself, and intensification of features. It is particularly evident in the process of adverbial compatibility with nouns. Among adjectives, national forms of evaluative presentation, especially those with intimating semantics, which represent the mentality of Ukrainians, are highlighted. These include adverbs of manner such as тудою — туди (thither — there), сюдою — сюди (hither — here), as well as diminutive forms derived from adverbs of place like тутечки (here), осьдечки (hereabouts). A system of comparative and superlative adjective forms that verbalize the intensification of evaluative meaning is also identified, including occasional form creation that is common in the Ukrainian linguistic culture. It is demonstrated that adverbs are expressive representatives of the category of evaluation. The prospect of this scientific study lies in conducting a comparative analysis of adverbial forms in the Ukrainian language with analogous adjective forms in English to more distinctly identify the uniqueness of evaluative meaning verbalization presented by these forms.

English Adjectives Used by Non-natives in ICNALE Spoken Dialogues

The purpose of this study is to examine English adjectives found in spoken language corpus of English learners in Asia. This study employed theories of adjectives from language typology perspective by Dixon (2010) and Frawley (1992). Descriptive-qualitative approach was applied, using ICNALE Spoken Dialogues as the data source. This study utilized the corpus analysis tools AntConc. The results identified the top 20 adjectives in the corpus, with Value, Human Propensity, and Difficulty each representing 20% of the findings. This study has implications for the significance of foreign language learning. Teachers can use adjectives from these categories to teach students, as they are basic vocabularies for English learners. Students are also expected to gain a better understanding of the functional aspect of adjectives, which could improve their language performance. The interest of this study lies in the high frequency of occurrence in the corpus. However, some limitations should also be considered.

British small talk as an ecolinguistic phenomenon

The article analyzes modern small talk as a way of establishing contacts, which is typical for British linguistic culture, as it manifests the speaker’s wish to achieve emotional and intellectual understanding and create a friendly atmosphere at the initial phase of the conversation, especially when it is necessary to avoid long and inconvenient silence. Speech clichés, etiquette formulas for establishing and maintaining communicative contact, as well as specific topics for discussions are determined by the socio-ethical norms of the British cultural community. Interlocutors are guided by the goals of regulating social contacts, serving the purpose of strengthening contacts. The limits of phaticity in the contact-establishing phase of social conversation and the transition to informativeness in the process of conversation depend on a type of discourse, a type of situation, and communicative goals of the speakers. Under the conditions of the situation threatening the speakers’ lives, or a change from an ecological unison model of communication to a non-ecological dissonant one, the speakers’ rejection from phaticism in the phase of establishing contact in favor of informativeness has been observed. British communicative culture ensures the balance of the ecosystem due to the use of a significant number of linguistic elements ensuring the implementation of harmonious communication: polite forms of encouragement instead of the use of the Imperative Mood which sounds too categorical for British culture, disjunctive questions that combine both the features of interrogative and affirmative statements, superlative forms of adjectives. Small talk components, such as the ability to listen, minimal transmission of negative emotions, limited or zero use of negatively colored vocabulary, the creation of a safe and convenient atmosphere of communication, observance of the personal boundaries of the interlocutor, the interest in what the interlocutors say, as well as sincerity correspond to the main principles of ecological communication.

THE DIFFICULTY OF USING IRREGULAR SENTENCE BY IRAQI EFL STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF BABYLON

The objective of the study is to investigate the difficulty of using irregular verbs in the students writing an essay at the University of Babylon. The design of this study is descriptive qualitative research. The sample of the study comprised 25 students in their fourth year, and it was selected randomly. The findings of the study showed that 70% of the students were unable to use irregular cases such as verbs and adjectives incorrectly. Also, the findings show that the students use both regular and irregular verb (past) in their students' writing essays. The most dominant verb past written by the students in their students’ writing essay is an irregular verb. Regular verbs are verbs that can change according to tense and change it regularly. Regular verbs are verbs whose changes comply with normal rules, that is with add the letter -d or -ed to the verb first-form/verb-1 (infinitive) so that it becomes a verb form second/verb-2 (past tense). Several things must be considered in the way of forming regular verbs by adding the letter -ed suffix or -d in the basic verb/verb-1 (infinitive). Irregular verbs are verbs that change according to the tense and do not comply with normal compliance. The past tense Irregular verbs are not formed from basic verbs/verb-1 (infinitives) plus letters -d or -ed letters to form verb-2/past tense. Irregular verbs form their past tense differently (through) not always) through a vowel and consonant change. This study recommends students should be well-trained on how to use irregular verbs in the past tense case or changing the form of the regular adjective, and also must be memorized by the learners/students because of the difficulty to distinguish the irregular verbs among the sentences.

Contrastive Analysis of Adjectives in English and Idọma Sentence Structures

English Language and its structural patterns share both similar and different features when contrasted with other languages. In this paper, the syntactic patterns of modification of the Noun Phrase (NP), a term rooted in Chomsky’s grammatical category, are examined in English and Idọma languages. The aim is to highlight potential implications for the Idọma learners of English language as a second language. Using Government and Binding theory for data analysis, the study draws insights from Contrastive Analysis. To provide data for analysis, two episodes of Okonone, a radio programme presented in Idọma and aired on Joy FM, are recorded and transcribed. Findings reveal that both languages have predicative adjectives and they function as subject and object complements. Adjectives can also occur after the indefinite pronouns in both English and Idọma sentence structures. Unlike in English language, adjectives are observed to predominantly occur post-nominally in Idọma Syntax. Similarly, while nouns can be used as adjectives in the English sentence structure, Idọma language does not provide for such a usage. To compare adjectives in English, standard morphological processes allow users to generate single words. Since Idọma speakers rely heavily on post-nominal modification, comparison is often embedded within the adjectival structure using two or three words. The study concludes that these similarities aid smooth learning of the English language while the dissimilarities impede the proficiency of Idọma learners of the English language.

LINGUODIDACTIC FEATURES OF TEACHING ADJECTIVES IN THE COURSE OF UKRAINIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The article delineates the nuances surrounding the meaning, morphological features, syntactic functions, and stylistic attributes of Ukrainian adjectives as a focal point for foreign learners, accompanied by a proposed set of exercises tailored to foster practical proficiency and fluency in their application within speech. It underscores the close association between adjectives and nouns, wherein their interdependency epitomizes the essence of their lexical meaning and grammatical categories. The semantics of adjectives is linked with word-formation structures, encompassing both derivative and non-derivative forms, as well as processes of substantiation. In teaching Ukrainian to non-native speakers, particular emphasis is placed on elucidating the autonomous nature of morphological categories – gender, number, and case – when adjectives assume the role of a noun or predicate. A comprehensive array of morphological variations within adjectives is delineated: 1) forms of word change by gender, number, case; 2) forms of adjectival comparison; 3) short and full (conjugated and unconjugated) forms of adjectives; 4) forms of adjectives by the final consonant of the stem (hard, soft, mixed group). Consideration is given to the formation and utilization of grammatical forms in tandem with the lexical and stylistic nuances inherent to adjectives. Moreover, the article underscores the distinctive approach employed in textbooks targeting Ukrainian as a foreign language when addressing the topic of adjectives. Authors extensively employ tables, instructional rules, generalizations, and grammatical exercises with a communicative emphasis, supplemented by explanatory commentary. It is essential to exercise creativity in leveraging the grammatical content within textbooks, critically evaluating presentation modalities and sequential learning patterns, and devising a comprehensive range of exercises and tasks aimed at cultivating practical aptitude and proficiency in adjective usage within speech. The efficacy of addressing these objectives hinges upon the methodological proficiency of Ukrainian language educators catering to foreign learners. Key words: Ukrainian as a foreign language, adjective, practical grammar, morphological features, syntactic functions, methodological competence.

Denominal -ed Adjectives and Their Adjectival Status in English Morphology

In the study of English denominal adjectives, scholarly attention has predominantly centred on those with Latinate suffixes (e.g., -al, -ary, and -ic/-ical), which are well-known as relational adjectives (RAdjs) and are extensively scrutinised in the existing literature. Conversely, those with English native suffixes (e.g., -en, -ern, -y, and -ed) have not undergone thorough examination to date. In the present study, I delve specifically into denominal adjectives with the suffix -ed (-ed Adjs), such as bearded, long-tailed, and shirt-sleeved. I present a novel basic picture of these adjectives, setting forth the following two central propositions: (i) -ed Adjs are a type of RAdj and (ii) undergo conversion to qualitative adjectives (QAdjs) (e.g., bearded man vs. bearded rock) akin to the better-known Latinate RAdjs (e.g., grammatical error vs. grammatical sentence). The analysis is conducted by examining suffixal etymology (i.e., Latinate or Germanic), suffixal properties (i.e., all-purpose or dedicated), and the driving factor for QAdj-forming conversion (i.e., the modal attribute true). These propositions and analyses collectively enrich our comprehensive understanding of the semantic and morphosyntactic properties of -ed Adjs within the realm of English morphology.

Nominal-phrase premodifications by non-native English speakers: The case of attributive adjective word order of Saudi EFL students at tertiary level

English nominal premodifications such as adjective word order have piqued the interest of researchers in recent years due to their learning difficulty for all language learners regardless of their linguistic backgrounds. Non-native English speakers like EFL students may find this case challenging. In light of this, the current study sought to ascertain the difficulty level of Saudi EFL students in recognising the natural order of English attributive adjectives, taking into account the most challenging order sequence, gender, and language proficiency levels. To accomplish this main objective, a designed pronominal adjective test was developed and carried out on 139 Saudi undergraduate EFL students who were purposively recruited for this study. According to the findings, Saudi EFL students had varying degrees of difficulty recognising the natural English adjective word order. While 66.2% of students had moderate difficulty choosing the appropriate adjective sequence, only 15.1% and 18.7% of participants had low and high difficulty, respectively. The most difficult was nominal premodifications with four modifiers, followed by three and two modifiers. When there were only two modifiers, most participants correctly identified incorrect adjective word ordering and provided corrections. When more modifiers existed, the percentages decreased, and the difficulty level increased. Proficiency language level and gender statistically significant differences were also discovered. Although the former revealed no differences, the latter had differences in favour of males, implying that females performed better in the test than males. Based on these findings, limitations and future research directions were proposed.

Прилагательные английского и русского языков с семантикой предшествования

The aim of the research is to identify the features of the functioning of adjectives in Russian and English that contribute to expressing the semantics of precedence within an utterance. The paper provides an analysis of English and Russian adjectives that realize the semantics of precedence. The study highlights a group of adjectives with the temporal semantics that function as adverbial modifiers expressing precedence at the level of deep structure, while at the level of surface structure, they serve the syntactic function of attributive modifiers. The scientific novelty lies in identifying the spectrum of English and Russian adjectives as non-verbal means of expressing precedence actualizing the temporal semantics of an utterance. It is found that in both languages, adjectives explicitly express the semantics of precedence and at the level of deep structure correspond to adverbs functioning as temporal modifiers. The most frequent adjective in English is ‘previous’, in Russian it is ‘предыдущий’ (previous). Adjectives like ‘former’, ‘бывший’ are characterized by their combination with personal names and organizations to represent their preceding state or position. Allomorphism is manifested in the presence of adjectives with distinctive features expressing precedence.

Missing link: code-switches, borrowings, and accommodation biases

Abstract When words are transferred from a source language into a target language, they may become conventionalized and appear to fully adopt target-language morphosyntactic behavior. Such words are traditionally regarded as borrowings. Even borrowings, however, are subject to probabilistic usage constraints, which we refer to as “accommodation biases” and which distinguish borrowings from native vocabulary. A case study is presented on accommodation biases in French-based verbs and adjectives in Middle English, showing that accommodation biases are robustly attested and can be diachronically persistent over long periods. In structural terms, accommodation biases resemble some of the familiar morphosyntactic constraints on code-switching. Combining the empirical evidence with theoretical argumentation, it is proposed that accommodation biases reflect a processing cost that is specifically associated with transferred items, and that arises from dual-language activation in bilingual speakers. Thus, accommodation biases indicate that even conventionalized borrowings may be more akin to code-switches than hitherto assumed.

Using Personalized Monopoly Board Games to Improve Students' Comprehension in Forming Comparatives and Superlatives

From a writing test done in the previous academic year, it was identified that students generally showed lack of understanding on the comparatives and superlatives form of adjectives. Students often mixed up and put them in wrong contexts. From the teacher’s reflection, it was found out that a more creative and active learning environment is needed to enhance the learning of comparatives and superlatives. Thus, the lesson was then improvised with the use of board games to promote active learning. This quasi experimental study was conducted to examine the effect of board games in forming the comparatives and superlatives. About 80 participants from SMP Bruder Pontianak were involved in this study. Finding showed positive result in the student’s achievement: 75% of the respondents in treatment group obtained better score compared to their pre-test results. Students also showed good responses toward its implementation. In conclusion, teaching comparatives and superlatives is effective to improve student’s understanding.Keywords: Monopoly board game, comparatives and superlatives, adjectives