English Prepositions Research Articles

On Grammaticalization of Complex Prepositions from Nominal Sources: With Reference to in addition to and in need of

This paper explores the semantic and functional evolutions of the English complex prepositions in addition to and in need of from a grammaticalization perspective. The two complex prepositions exhibit peculiar aspects in the evolutional process, whereby the prepositions are both derived from nominal sources, i.e. addition and need, and retain the vestige of their source meanings. In particular, they develop into the near-antonymous grammatical pairs referring to ‘additive’ and ‘caritive’ concepts through the grammaticalization processes. The historical evolution and semantic extension patterns are illustrated based on data provided from the synchronic and diachronic sources. Some select aspects relevant to the developmental paths of the two forms are also discussed with respect to the theoretical issues, such as the source determination hypothesis, desemanticization, decategorialization, and analogy. Distributional characteristics of the forms and their sources are analyzed to identify the role of human cognition as a contributor to enable language changes.

The use of English prepositions in lexical bundles in essays written by Korean university students

The purpose of this study is to explore how Korean university undergraduate students use English prepositions embedded in frequently occurring multiword sequences, or lexical bundles, in their essays. Most prior research on prepositions has centered on prepositional phrases (PPs), including idiomatic expressions, identified on the basis of their structure and function. This study investigates prepositions in lexical bundles, which are identified solely on the basis of frequency in context and are therefore generally incomplete in structure. The findings show patterns of preposition use by English learners that differ from the accumulated findings on this topic in the literature. The study first identifies the types of PP-based bundles in a learner corpus built on the English writing samples of 2130 students. It then compares the learners’ uses of PP-based bundles with the uses by native speakers of English in academic prose, as documented by Biber et al. (1999). Results show that Korean learners rely heavily on a small number of PP-based bundles and underuse those that are characteristic of academic prose. A subsequent error analysis of prepositions in the learner bundles reveals an error rate of approximately 7% in 13 bundle types. More than 70% of the errors are preposition misuses. Based on these findings, this study offers suggestions for classroom materials and further research topics centering on PP-based lexical bundles.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING OF ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS

AbstractIn the current study of applied cognitive linguistics (CL), schematic diagrams that represent generalizations of physical-spatial experience were applied in a computer-based tutor that trained English prepositions for second language (L2) learners. Behavioral and electrophysiological (ERP) measures were used to examine whether schematic-diagram feedback provided by the tutor had an instructional advantage over the minimally informed correctness feedback. Behavioral results confirmed this prediction and further revealed that the treatment difference was more striking when the participants had a lower L2 proficiency. The ERP results also supported the prediction. Violation uses of prepositions yielded an N270 and an N400. Schematic-diagram feedback motivated significant changes in brain potentials, whereas correctness feedback failed to do so. Overall, our findings suggest that CL-inspired instruction of a relatively short duration led to significant improvements in learners’ behavioral productive performance and in their sensitivity to semantic violation of preposition use during online sentence processing. The study provided strong neurolinguistic evidence for CL-inspired pedagogy in supporting L2 learning.

Analysis Of University Students' Errors In English Language Prepositions:, A Case Study Of 1st Year English Language Students, The Faculty Of Languages & Linguistics

Analysis Of University Students' Errors In English Language Prepositions:, A Case Study Of 1st Year English Language Students, The Faculty Of Languages & Linguistics

Investigating First Year Students' Errors In Using English Prepositions Of Time (in, On, At) At Faculty Of Medicine, Azzaytuna University

Investigating First Year Students' Errors In Using English Prepositions Of Time (in, On, At) At Faculty Of Medicine, Azzaytuna University

Sri Lankan University Students’ and English Lecturers’ Acceptance of Selected Sri Lankan English Prepositional Verbs: Pedagogical Implications

One of the characteristic features of Sri Lankan English (SLE) is the use of verb-preposition combinations which do no not exist in British Standard English (BSE). Such verb formations, which could be classified as prepositional verbs, are used in abundance in SLE newspapers. This research focuses on the levels of acceptance displayed by Sri Lankan university lecturers of the English Language and Sri Lankan university students currently following English courses at the English Language Teaching Units (ELTUs) of their respective universities. The results obtained through an acceptability test firstly point to high levels of acceptance of these verb formations among university students and English lecturers of Sri Lankan universities. Secondly, the findings show that the acceptance levels displayed by the university students is higher than those displayed by English lecturers. Finally, the results reveal that, out of three SLE prepositional verbs, ‘discuss about’ is the verb that has received the highest level of acceptance where the university students are concerned. On the contrary, with regard to the English lecturers, ‘comprise of’ has received the highest level of acceptance. This paper highlights some implications that these acceptance levels displayed by Sri Lankan undergraduates and English lecturers have on the teaching of these verb formations in particular, and the pedagogy, in general, of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Sri Lanka.

CLASSIFICATION OF PREPOSITIONS OF STORY GENRE AS A WORK OF FICTION (on Material of A.S. Pushkin’s Story “The Queen of Spades” in Russian and English)

The article presents the prepositions’ classification. The aim of the research is to classify prepositions by types and frequency use (quantitative and percentage ratio) in the story genre as a work of fiction (on A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Queen of Spades” in Russian and English). To achieve the goal, it was necessary to solve the following tasks: 1) to study “The Queen of Spades” in Russian and English; 2) to make tables on the prepositions’ types; 3) to build diagrams on the prepositions’ types; 4) to describe the collected information. The author used in the material research: 1) component analysis method; 1. quantitative calculation method; 3) percentage calculation method; 4) classification method. In the course of studying the Russian version there are found prepositions that serve to express such relationship as: spatial, temporal, causal, target, mode of action and object; in English: prepositions of abstract relations (genitive case, dative case, instrumental case, prepositional case, accusative case), spatial, phrasal verbs, temporal, complex prepositions, causal and target. The found prepositions serve as a sample of bilingual texts for discursive activities not only for specialists, but also for those who are interested in problems related to prepositions in Russian and English. According to the study, it can be concluded that a detailed analysis of the tables and diagrams revealed the main characteristics of prepositions, making it possible to distribute them into appropriate groups; to find the main similarities between groups of English and Russian prepositions, as well as the differences between them.

Construal of English Prepositions in, on, and at

The use of English preposition is a little bit confusing, especially for Indonesians. It is because Indonesia only has one preposition di- to indicate the English prepositions in, on, and at. In this research, it is found that the prepositions in, on, and at are used differently based on the relation between the object and the landmark. For preposition in, the concept of containment is introduced. This preposition is used when the object is surrounded by the landmark. For preposition on, the concept of contact and support is highlighted, and gravity takes part in the use of this preposition. It means that the object should be in contact with the landmark and the landmark should support the object so that it will not move or fall. Lastly, the preposition at requires us to portray an imaginary location to determine a certain point of the object. By using the correct preposition in, on, and at, one can have linguistic knowledge, and be able to avoid ambiguity to convey correct messages or ideas to the interlocutors.Keywords: cognitive semantics, prepositions, in, on, at, principles

Should Feedback be Direct or Indirect? Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Types of WCF on L1 Arabic Writers’ Use of English Prepositions

Should Feedback be Direct or Indirect? Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Types of WCF on L1 Arabic Writers’ Use of English Prepositions

Common Errors Made in Learning English Prepositions While Writing Essays by Iraqi Students

This study examines the most important commonly errors made in learning English prepositions while writing essays by Iraqi students of English as a foreign language. It suggests some solutions to help them recover and overcome their errors. All the students come from non-English speaking background and hardly communicate in English outside school. The study was carried out at preparatory schools in Diwaniya governorate in Iraq. Seventy essays were collected from two secondary schools and analyzed in relation to the theories of Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis. A detailed classification of the most common errors, their analysis, and the comparison of the total number of inter-lingual and intra-lingual errors are given place in this study. The study aims to find out answers to the following research questions: 1.What are the types of prepositional errors committed while writing English Essays by Iraqi final year EFL senior secondary school students? 2.What are the causes/sources of prepositional errors committed while writing English Essays by Iraqi final year EFL senior secondary school students? 3.What is the effect of Arabic language interference on learning English language prepositions as used by Iraqi final year EFL senior secondary school students in Iraq? 4.What should be the appropriate method in teaching English prepositions to Iraqi EFL senior secondary school students? This study intends to use a qualitative content analysis of the students’ written essays in accordance with the Error Analysis approach. For this, the researcher intends to explore and analyze the written productions of the final year students’ essays. Thus, the results of the study identify the kinds of prepositional errors Iraqi students commit in writing as well as their sources and causes in Dewaniyah governorate in Iraq. This study has shed light on the manner in which students internalize the rules of the target language. Such an insight into language learning problems is useful to teachers as it provides information on common troubles confronted in language learning which can be used in the preparation of effective teaching materials. Keywords: error analysis , contrastive analysis DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-32-04 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

A Cognitive Linguistic Study of the English Preposition 'in'

The present study aims at analyzing the polysemy of the English preposition in from the cognitive linguistic (CL) point of view using Evans' and Tyler's approach (2003). The perplexity faced by Iraqi second language learners (L2) due to the multi-usages of this preposition has motivated the researcher to conduct this study. Seventy-six second year university students participated in this experimental study. The data of the pre-test and post-test were analyzed by SPSS statistical editor. The results have shown the following: First, a progress of more than (0.05≤) has been detected as far as students' understanding of the multiple usages of the preposition in is concerned. Second, the results of the questionnaire have shown a prominent positive change in the students' attitude toward CL approach. Third, the main source of difficulty has been shown to be attributed to the diversity in the semantics of the preposition in. Fourth, CL as an approach has proven its effectiveness in accurately comprehending the semantics of the English preposition in.

Investigating Learners’ Competence in the Acquisition of English Spatial Prepositions: The Case of Moroccan EFL 3 rd Year University Students

Prepositions represent a problematic lexical category for EFL learners. Most of these learners find English prepositions difficult to master. This difficulty stems from the fact that English prepositions are highly polysemous and that they form a unique conceptual category in English. Thus, the usage of prepositions often stands in the way of achieving grammatical fluency and accuracy for the EFL learners. In this respect, the present work attempted to measure Moroccan EFL university students’ competence in the acquisition of English spatial prepositions. It further attempted to check whether the target language specificities and Standard Arabic have some influence on the process of learning. For this purpose, a sample of five English locatives was selected: ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘at’, ‘above’, ‘over’. This set of prepositions represents the most common examples of English locative category. In order to investigate the acquisition of these prepositions by Moroccan EFL learners, three main tests were used for data collection. These tests were completed by 80 Moroccan third-year university students. The first test, Production Task, was used to measure the degree of mastery of the spatial relational prepositions under study. The second test, Acceptability Judgment Task, was devised to examine the receptive knowledge of the students. In this case, the subjects were asked to judge the acceptability of the targeted sentences that contain either correct or wrong prepositions. The third test, Translation Task, in which students were asked to translate a set of Arabic sentences into English; the aim of this test was to check the influence of standard Arabic on the acquisition of English spatial prepositions. The findings of the present study proved that Moroccan students have many difficulties in the use of English locatives since they have made many mistakes in their attempt to place the five targeted prepositions in the right place. Concerning the influence of Standard Arabic, the research revealed that it can facilitate the process of learning when the prepositional systems of both English and Arabic share some similarities. However, it can also be a source of negative transfer, basically when there are noticeable differences between the two languages. In light of the findings of this study, it is recommended that Moroccan teachers should direct the attention of L2 students to the areas of similarities and differences between English and Arabic prepositions. It is argued that the linguistic differences between two prepositional systems are the main factor for committing errors by EFL learners, whereas similarities play a beneficial role in acquiring L2through what is called positive transfer (Lindstromberg, 2010).

A Cognitive Linguistic Study of the English Preposition 'in'

The present study aims at analyzing the polysemy of the English preposition in from the cognitive linguistic (CL) point of view using Evans' and Tyler's approach (2003). The perplexity faced by Iraqi second language learners (L2) due to the multi-usages of this preposition has motivated the researcher to conduct this study. Seventy-six second year university students participated in this experimental study. The data of the pre-test and post-test were analyzed by SPSS statistical editor. The results have shown the following: First, a progress of more than (0.05≤) has been detected as far as students' understanding of the multiple usages of the preposition in is concerned. Second, the results of the questionnaire have shown a prominent positive change in the students' attitude toward CL approach. Third, the main source of difficulty has been shown to be attributed to the diversity in the semantics of the preposition in. Fourth, CL as an approach has proven its effectiveness in accurately comprehending the semantics of the English preposition in.

The Realization of Deixis in Students’ Writing at Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Muhammadiyah Pringsewu Lampung

Through the final product of writing, students can communicate their ideas, thoughts, and feelings to the reader. Deixis is one of the branches in pragmatics and one of the writing components that have to be noticed by the students to communicate the meaning in writing. This study is aimed at finding out the realization of deixis in students’ writing text at STKIP Muhammadiyah Pringsewu Lampung, and also to explain the difficulties faced by the students and teacher roles to overcome the students’ difficulties. The researcher uses descriptive qualitative in analyzing data. There are three methods which are used in this study; they are document, observation, and interview. The results of this study showed that the realization of person deixis is more dominant since the students as the writers position themselves as the main characters of their own stories. Place deixis was realized through demonstrative pronoun, English adverb, and English preposition. The use of the proximal form of place deixis is more dominant rather than the distal form of place deixis. Time deixis was realized through past time, present time, future time, and adverbial of time. Social deixis was also realized through relational social deixis (used in informal situation) and absolute social deixis (used in formal situation). The students used discourse deixis in the form of demonstrative this/that and discourse marker. Further, there were difficulties faced by students in using deixis and the methods that used by the teacher to overcome the students’ difficulties. Hence, it is expected that the findings of this study can improve the students’ knowledge in pragmatics and deixis in general; especially they will apply appropriate deixis in order to develop their writing abilities.

Conceptual structuring of the English prepositions between, among, and amid, and their Spanish equivalent entre

Abstract Spatial language has been traditionally understood as encoding purely spatio-geometric information. However, much more than that must be considered for a full account of the semantics of space. It turns out that spatial arrangements manifest functional consequences which are non-spatial, so prepositional vehicles cannot be equated solely with spatial elements (Vandeloise 1991, 1994). These non-spatial parameters in turn, play a major role in spatial, non-spatial, and temporal conceptions. This provides solid ground to propose a motivation behind these types of meanings that prepositions usually convey. This paper attempts to show how the conceptual basis for each preposition proposed, is a key component within conceptual processes such as elaboration and extension (Langacker 1987). Such an analysis provides a better understanding of the spatial configuration of the English and Spanish prepositions, as well as an account for the semantic extension of non-spatial and temporal conceptions. Using a corpus-driven methodology to evidence the prepositions’ use types, the results obtained favor the hypothesis that non-spatial conceptions are ultimately motivated by spatial ones. This in turn, shows the language-specific character of parameterization due to the clear differences that exist between the English prepositions between, among, and amid, and their Spanish equivalent entre. The cognitive linguistic analysis showed in this research may also offer a new perspective in the area of Language Teaching. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research on the plausibility of psycholinguistic validation and pedagogical applications of the conceptual bases proposed.

The Incidental Acquisition of English Prepositions by Arabic-Speaking EFL Learners: Evidence From Al Ain University of Science and Technology

This study examined the incidental acquisition of English prepositions by Arabic-speaking English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Employing reading comprehension exercises as a treatment, we adopted the experimental design of a pre- and post-test to determine the effectiveness of the treatment on the participants’ incidental acquisition of English prepositions. For the purpose of the study, we divided the participants into a treatment group, who engaged in reading comprehension exercises for one academic term, and a control group, who did not. We used a multiple-choice test and a fill-in-the-blank test to measure the participants’ receptive and productive knowledge of English prepositions, respectively. We also conducted an introspective session with the treatment group following the administration of the post-tests to determine the areas of difficulty. The results of the study mainly indicated that reading accompanied by exercises resulted in better incidental gains in the acquisition of English prepositions, especially on the multiple-choice test. The study concludes with recommendations for further research.

초등영어학습자의 영어 전치사 이해와 지도

The acquisition of the English prepositions poses a big challenge to the primary learners who study English as a foreign language. The main purpose of this study is to examine the primary students’ understanding of prepositions and their abilities to use prepositions correctly. Moreover, this research also aims to determine the causes of the difficulties elementary students face while learning English prepositions. Firstly, for this purpose, the study analyzes the types and meanings of English prepositions, which are presented in the elementary English textbooks. For the English textbooks used for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades, the study examines an elementary English teachers’ guide published by three publishers (i.e., Chunjae Education INC, YBM and Daekyo) and used most commonly by the elementary schools in Gyungnam province. Secondly, 200 primary students were tested using a preposition test which was written based on the elementary English textbooks.

Data Driven Learning and teaching of prepositions in ESL: A study of Arab learners

This paper explores the effectiveness of data driven learning approach in teaching prepositions to Arab learners. English prepositions have been reported to be a typical feature to learn by the Arab ESL learners. Moreover, intermediate or advance level learners have also reported their difficulties in the usage of English prepositions; reasons might be perceptual and cultural differences bet the two language communities. Teacher trained materials prepared from online resources along with TPP corpus, the aim of the present study was to compare DDL and traditional prescriptive rule based method of grammar teaching. Two distinct classes; experimental (n = 41) and control (n = 19) groups were formed who were study English major. Standardized test was conducted as a pre-test to ensure participants equal level of proficiency in using prepositions. During the study duration for a semester, experimental group was exposed to teacher-prepared materials along with TPP to see prepositions in context. Moreover they were asked to explore further through the prepared materials to reinforce their learning from the data. A post-test was administered at the end of the course. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group. It was found that learners’ active role to direct their own learning process caused this encouraging outcome and better learning experience for the learners.

Distance and word order between lexical heads and noun dependents in Chinese–English code-switching

This paper investigates the effects of code-switching on the dependency distance and the word order of the dependencies with lexical heads and noun dependents, using data from a Chinese–English code-mixed treebank. It is found that (1) except the object relation, mixed dependencies with English lexical heads and Chinese noun dependents present shorter dependency distances than monolingual ones; (2) mixed dependencies with Chinese lexical heads and English noun dependents present longer dependency distances than monolingual ones; (3) word order differences are mainly found in the adverbial dependencies with verb heads and noun dependents, or with English preposition heads and Chinese noun dependents. These findings suggest that: (1) the heads, either the first language or the second language, tend to have greater influence on the dependency distance of the mixed dependencies; (2) the word order of the mixed dependencies is greatly influenced by the first language and the dependents tend to play the greater role.

An Analysis of Prepositional Errors Committed by Undergraduate ESL Learners of Pakistan

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) phenomena are very important for social, practical and academic reasons. About 6000 languages are spoken in the world and almost all of them have been learned by second languages by some portion of their speaker. There are four most commonly-used languages and English is one of them that is acquired as L1 by 427 million people and as L2 by 950 million speakers. In Pakistan, English has become most important language for communication and also a symbol of prestige in the society. It has turned into a great asset for Pakistani students; they learn it as their second language from basic to advance level. Moreover, English enjoys the status of official language in Pakistan. However, Pakistani learners face many difficulties and problems in using English in their writings and during speaking. Committing errors in the use of prepositions is one of such difficulties. This research examines the misuse of English prepositions by Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners. The purpose of the study is to find out whether male learners commit more prepositional errors or female. Other than this, following study also focuses on the types of prepositional errors found in tests of MCQs and word deletion. For this purpose, thirty (30) students of Government college university of Faisalabad (fifteen participants from each gender) were selected randomly for quantitative research. The data was collected through two tests; first test was based on gap filling exercise and second was based on MCQs. These tests were then analyzed through tables and graphics by using Microsoft excel software. Researcher used Hot Potatoes as a tool for making test and used statistical methods to find the frequencies and percentage of errors. The study found out various types of prepositional errors in both type of tests. Resultantly, the ratio of errors committed by female ESL learners was higher than male ESL learners. Keywords : Prepositions, gender analysis, error analysis, influence of L1 on L2 DOI : 10.7176/JLLL/53-02