Expression Of Stance Research Articles

Lexical Bundle Patterns in Malaysian Educational Texts: A Corpus-Based Analysis of English Language Textbooks

In the era of digital learning, understanding the linguistic input in educational materials is vital for language acquisition. Lexical bundles, or recurring word sequences, significantly contribute to developing fluency and coherence, especially in academic contexts. This study examines the presence and types of lexical bundles in Malaysian Form 4 and Form 5 KBSM English textbooks, analyzing their frequency and functions. Using a mixed-method design with a corpus-based approach, data were collected from textbook reading passages and analyzed with AntConc 3.4.3 software. The study aims to assess whether these textbooks provide sufficient linguistic input to enhance students' English proficiency in academic contexts. The findings show a limited presence of lexical bundles, with 29 different 3-word bundles appearing 203 times in total. Four-word bundles were not found in the corpus. The bundles were categorized into three functional types based on Biber et al.'s (2004) taxonomy; stance expressions (55.2%), referential expressions (44.8%), and discourse organizers which were absent. This gap suggests a shortfall in the textbooks' ability to guide students in creating coherent and well-structured texts. The study emphasizes the need for more comprehensive inclusion of lexical bundles in textbooks to better support language acquisition and academic proficiency. It recommends that future textbooks incorporate a broader range of lexical bundles to better equip students for advanced language uses. This research contributes to discussions on the effectiveness of educational materials in second language learning and highlights the importance of targeted linguistic input.

From analogies to negativity: Pragmatic functions and stance expression of subjective counterfactual Ruguo sentence

摘要: "如果"句是指由假设关联词"如果"引导的条件复句。违实"如果"句包括主观违实和客观违实两类。主观违实的判定有赖于语义识别和逻辑推导。根据前后分句(分别用 A、B 表示)的客观真假情况可将主观违实"如果"句分为 4 类，分别是"A 真，B 假""A 真，B 真假不定""A 真假不定，B 真""A 真假不定，B 假"。其语用推导模式可概括为蕴涵推导式和隐涵推导式两类。主观违实"如果"句具有显性类比和隐性否定的立场表达功能。 ABSTRACT: The "Ruguo (如果)" sentence refers to a conditional complex sentence connected by the hypothetical association word "Ruguo (如果)". The counterfactual "Ruguo(如果)" sentence includes subjective and objective counterfactual sentence. The judgment of subjective counterfactuality depends on semantic recognition and logical derivation. According to the objective truth and falsehood of the previous and last clause, we can divide the subjective counterfactual "Ruguo (如果)" sentence into 4 categories: A true B false, A true B true or false, A true or false B true, A true or false B false. The pragmatic deriving mode can be summarized as containing both derivation and implicit derivation. The subjective counterfactual "Ruguo(如果)" sentence has the function of expressing stance, including explicit analogies and implicit negation.

Stance detection in Arabic with a multi-dialectal cross-domain stance corpus

We present a cross-domain and multi-dialectal stance corpus for Arabic, covering the major dialect groups and four Arab regions. This research provides an important language resource for automating the task of stance detection in Dialectal Arabic while carefully considering the subtle differences in stance expression across various dialects. More than 4500 sentences in our corpus have been carefully annotated according to their stance with regard to a certain subject. We gathered sentences associated with two controversial topics for every region and we had at least two annotators annotate each sentence to indicate if the author is supporting, opposing, or neutral to the sentence’s topic. Our corpus shows high balance between dialect and stance. About half of the sentences in each region are written in Modern Standard Arabic, while the other half are written in the specific dialect of that region. To evaluate our corpus, we performed a number of machine-learning experiments for the stance detection task. The best performance was achieved by AraBERT with an accuracy and an F1-score of 0.82. Furthermore, we trained and tested this model on the most similar state-of-the-art stance dataset, “MAWQIF”. The comparison results demonstrate how crucial it is to maintain balance among the three stance classes in our dataset. In particular, the model scored better when using our stance corpus than when using the MAWQIF dataset especially for the “Neutral” stance class. Using our best performing model, we developed a Web-based demonstrator for stance detection in dialectal Arabic and we show its effectiveness in analyzing stance in the context of two real-world scenarios: product boycott in the Arab world and customer reviews of a soft drink company.

Effective Stance in Conservative Newspaper Opinion Articles on Irregular Immigration and Refugee Humanitarian Crises

This paper presents a quantitative and contrastive analysis of expressions of effective stance in conservative newspaper opinion articles related to irregular immigration and humanitarian crises involving refugees in both English and Spanish contexts. Drawing upon the seminal works of Langacker (2013) and Marín-Arrese (2021a, 2021b, 2023), the study examines six fundamental categories of effective stance expressions established according to factors such as orientation towards self or others, degree of control about the realisation of the event, and agreement with social norms. The dataset under examination comprises a 120,000-word corpus of opinion articles obtained from two conservative newspapers, The Telegraph from the United Kingdom and El Mundo from Spain. The words are evenly distributed, with each newspaper contributing 30,000 words in articles pertaining to three humanitarian crises involving refugees: Syria (2015), Afghanistan (2021), and Ukraine (2022-2023), and 30,000 words relating to articles on irregular immigration coinciding in time with each of the three refugee crises. The primary objective of the paper is to discern notable differences between the two newspapers and across the different refugee and irregular immigration crises under investigation. The analysis of the results, which uncover a larger number of effective stance expressions in the English subcorpus as well as distributional differences of subcategories across the subcorpora in both languages, provides a valuable understanding of the intricate patterns of usage and distribution of effective stance expressions within the realm of newspaper discourse, thereby enriching our comprehension of journalistic portrayals concerning the complexity of refugee crises and migratory movements.

From analogies to negativity: Pragmatic functions and stance expression of subjective counterfactual ruguo sentence. (In Chinese)

From analogies to negativity: Pragmatic functions and stance expression of subjective counterfactual ruguo sentence. (In Chinese)

The Phenomenon of Contemporary Youth's "Bai Lan": Cultural Construction and Media Communication

As a new variant of youth subculture, "Bai Lan" reflects the youth's stance expression and value orientation in the Internet era. Through network ethnographic analysis and semi-structured interview, this paper systematically sorts out the cultural characteristics, evolution process and complex motives of the phenomenon, and makes an in-depth analysis of the unintended consequences brought by the phenomenon in the process of dissemination, forming three research findings: First, the phenomenon is a cultural product formed by young people who weaken their identity and deconstruct traditional values under their own development difficulties; Second, the generation, expression and dissemination of "Bai Lan" culture are interactive processes between individual youth, groups and network media; Third, youth "Bai Lan" is a kind of strategic behavior, whose subjective motives can be divided into emotions and pressure vent, self-protection and self-benefit maximization. In the process of "Bai Lan", negative language framework and media distorted narrative are likely to cause objective adverse effects on youth's cognitive orientation and behavior choice.

Expressions of epistemic stance in computer-mediated L2 speaking assessment

Abstract Learner and L2 user corpora are increasingly valued in language testing and assessment as they can inform test design, revision, and validation. This paper illustrates the benefits of using an L2 corpus to explore patterns of epistemic stance marking in computer-mediated speaking tests with no live human interlocutor. Drawing on the British Council-Lancaster Aptis Corpus – comprising over 630,000 words of L2 speech – we explored the frequency of epistemic stance markers (adverbial, adjectival and verbal) across proficiency levels and speaking task types. The analysis revealed that epistemic stance was prevalent in test-taker discourse and that frequency was influenced by L2 proficiency and task type. The findings demonstrate that computer-mediated speaking tests can elicit expressions of epistemic stance in a comparable way to tests which involve human-human interaction. Implications are drawn for examiner training, test preparation, and an enriched understanding of the elements of pragmatic competence that can be elicited in computer-mediated speaking assessment.

Identifying stance in legislative discourse: a corpus-driven study of data protection laws

Mirroring public ideologies and value systems in legislative discourse, stance not only functions as a powerful instrument for legislators to balance legal values and stakeholders’ interests but also acts as a valuable reference for individuals to understand legislative texts. This study conducts a corpus-driven analysis of stance expressions in legislative discourse. Using three self-compiled corpora that incorporate data protection laws from the United States, the European Union, and China, we apply Hyland’s stance model to contrastively analyse evidence of hedging, boosting, self-mention, and attitude markers across these jurisdictions and eventually propose a specialised research model of stance in law. This study unveils the nature of modesty and sufficient discursive space of data protection laws, as well as legislative values and public ideologies conveyed by different jurisdictions within the broader socio-legal cultural context. Besides uncovering the legal constructiveness of data protection laws, the results also suggest that the overall representation of stance in data protection legislation aligns with its performance in legislative discourse, which showcases a legislative tendency to achieve an overtly neutral appearance through covert stance expressions.

Whose stance is it, anyway? A corpus-based study of stance expressions in science news articles

Communicating scientific research to the public is as important as ever. Several studies have investigated the ways that science writers communicate personal feelings and assessments, otherwise known as stance, in their writing, reporting somewhat mixed results. In this study, I examine the grammatical stance marking of science news articles. I compare the ways that writers and the researchers that they quote uniquely contribute to the overall expression of stance in these articles. Results reveal that the researchers’ talk substantially contribute to the overall stance of science news articles compared to their writers, indicated by a greater use of modal verbs, stance verbs and adjectives controlling that complement clauses, and stance adverbials, including a greater use of ‘boosters’. This study suggests that researchers’ talk in science news articles co-participate in the newsworthiness of science and offer an alternative perspective on academic research uncommon in research writing.

Mocking enactments: a case study of multimodal stance-stacking.

Although research into multimodal stance-taking has gained momentum over the past years, the multimodal construction of so-called stacked stances has not yet received systematic attention in the literature. Mocking enactments are a prime example of such complex social actions as they are layered both interactionally and stance-related, and they rely significantly on the use of bodily visual resources, depicting rather than describing events and stances. Using Du Bois' Stance Triangle as a framework, this study investigates mocking enactments as a case study to unravel the multimodal aspects of layered stance expressions. Drawing on three data sets-music instruction in Dutch, German, and English, spontaneous face-to-face interactions among friends in Dutch, and narrations on past events in Flemish Sign Language (VGT)-this study provides a qualitative exploration of mocking enactments across different communicative settings, languages, and modalities. The study achieves three main objectives: (1) illuminating how enactments are used for mocking, (2) identifying the layers of stance-taking at play, and (3) examining the multimodal construction of mocking enactments. Our analysis reveals various different uses of enactments for mocking. Aside from enacting the target of the mockery, participants can include other characters and viewpoints, highlighting the breadth of the phenomenon under scrutiny. Second, we uncover the layered construction of stance on all axes of the Stance Triangle (evaluation, positioning, and alignment). Third, we find that mocking enactments are embedded in highly evaluative contexts, indexed by the use of bodily visual resources. Interestingly, not all mocking enactments include a multimodally exaggerated depiction, but instead, some merely allude to an absurd hypothetical scenario. Our findings contribute to the growing body of literature on multimodal stance-taking, by showing how a nuanced interpretation of the Stance Triangle can offer a useful framework for analyzing layered stance acts.

《资本论》的逻辑倒推与马克思主义的立场正论

The writing logic of Das Kapital is centered on “the discussion of capital”, essentially examining the societal attributes of capital. In capitalist society, the social attribute of capital lies in the systemic exploitation of labor. Therefore, while the writing logic of Das Kapital focuses on “the discussion of capital”, its deeper ideological logic lies in “the discussion of labor”, and the ideological logic ultimately aims at promoting the awakening and functionality of “laborers” in terms of subjectivity and sociality, Marx’s Das Kapital adheres to the labor theory of value and seeks to transcend the capitalist society’s labor theory of value. In practical terms, this is a concentrated expression of the political stance of Marxism speaking for “laborers”.

Stance expressions in applied linguistics research articles: A corpus-based contrastive study

Stance, a crucial aspect of academic writing, is complex and vital for both beginner and advanced writers. However, L2 English learners and experienced writers frequently struggle with using stance markers effectively. Currently, there remains a scarcity of research comparing the utilisation of stance markers in applied linguistics research articles between native English professional writers and L1 Indonesian speakers. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating similarities and differences in the deployment of stance markers in applied linguistics research articles by authors with L1 Indonesian and L1 English backgrounds and discussing the educational implications derived from the analysis results. The analysis involves two corpora: the Indonesian academic corpus (IAC), comprising articles authored by L1 Indonesians, and the English academic corpus (EAC), consisting of articles by native English speakers. The study investigates various types of stance markers and their distribution across the corpora, revealing significant differences in their usage. L2 English authors employ more boosters and attitude markers, while L1 English writers use more hedges and self-mentions, with the most notable disparities observed in the usage of self-references. These findings underscore the necessity for educators, particularly within the Indonesian context, to sensitise learners to the discursive norms surrounding the use of stance markers in applied linguistics research articles and provide targeted instruction to enhance English learners’ proficiency in employing stance markers effectively.

Online Fan Practices and Informal Language Learning

Extensive and repeated language exposure is essential for second language learning. While not all learners can get such exposure routinely in face-to-face contexts, English language learners today create pathways to opportunities for learning English through participation in social media communities. The informal exposure to English they obtain can be driven by their passionate interest in popular culture and affiliation with communities of fans. The potential of interaction in online fandoms for language learning, however, depends in part on the language that learners are exposed to. In this study, a lexical bundle analysis was conducted to identify frequently used word combinations in YouTube comments posted under South Korean music band BTS fan-edited videos and performance videos. Lexical bundles retrieved from a corpus of 8,000 comments were investigated structurally and functionally. The bundles were found to display structural similarities with spoken registers, even though comments have unique textual characteristics. Functional analysis results showed that many of the bundles express interpersonal meanings, such as positive appraisal, with stance expressions. Findings from the structural and functional analyses of lexical bundles increase knowledge of the type of language that English learners are exposed to and can potentially benefit from by engaging in online fan communities.

A comparative analysis of multiword units in the reading and listening input of English textbooks

This study examines the occurrence and function of multiword units (MWUs) found in reading and listening input within EFL textbooks commonly used at a Vietnamese university. Lists of MWUs were automatically extracted from this input based on frequency, range, and mutual information score criteria, followed by manual evaluation via a classification framework developed by Simpson-Vlach and Ellis (2010). A final merged list of English textbook MWUs which was used to compare the frequency and functions of MWUs across reading and listening input. The findings revealed significant differences in MWU occurrence and function between reading and listening input, with MWUs occurring more frequently in oral input compared with written input. High frequency spoken MWUs had higher frequency counts than their high frequency written counterparts. A wider range of MWUs were produced in written input, with fewer MWUs being repeatedly used. Reading input exhibited a notably lower presence of stance expressions when contrasted with listening input, while special conversational functions featured more prominently in listening input. The findings suggest EFL teachers and material developers should carefully consider the presence and functions of MWUs found in textbooks, and whether textbook input should be supplemented with other suitable input forms to help learners improve learners’ knowledge and use of MWUs.

Changing patterns of the grammatical stance devices in medical research articles (1970–2020)

While the grammatical marking of stance in academic writing is dynamic and susceptible to change over time, relatively few studies have tracked the changing patterns of stance expressions in contemporary medical academic writing. Based on 480 medical research articles published in top medical journals between 1970 and 2020, this study investigated the use of three major types of stance devices (modals, stance adverbials, and that-complement clauses) from a diachronic perspective. Results showed that the three types of stance devices and their functional/syntactic categories displayed a clear downward trend. In terms of stance markers within functional/syntactic categories, results demonstrated that stance markers indicating certainty declined in use, whereas stance markers conveying uncertainty increased. The results indicate that medical academic writing tends to become less interpersonal and more informational over time. In addition, medical writers are inclined to make more cautious and tentative knowledge claims across the years. These changes may be related to the development of medical science and have important pedagogical implications.

Correction to: Trends in the Expression of Epistemic Stance in NIH Research Funding Applications: 1985–2020

Correction to: Trends in the Expression of Epistemic Stance in NIH Research Funding Applications: 1985–2020

The Stancetaking of Discourse Marker “Ni Bie Shuo” and Its Variants

This paper analyzes the consistent and opposing stance expression functions of the discourse marker “Ni Bie Shuo” (你(nǐ)别(bié)说(shuō)) and its variants. Due to the different interactive situations and verbal communication behaviors, the consistent stance function can be divided into affirmation, confirmation, acceptance, and approval types; and the opposing stance can be divided into rebuttal, refusal, and questioning types. The process of its stancetaking can be further analyzed based on the cognitive expectation.

'Her dreadful plight': A corpus-assisted analysis of the indexical and stance properties of <em>poor thing</em>

Curiously, the English multiword expression poor thing (henceforth PT) often refers to entities that are neither economically impoverished nor inanimate objects. By using a mixed-methods corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis approach, we demonstrate that PT functions as an expression of affective stance based on evidence from two American English corpora. In cases where the social identities of speakers and referents can be determined, PT is frequently used by women and in reference to women, children, or animals. Additionally, the expression may refer to entities of low vitality due to illness or death. Our results indicate that PT conveys a complex social meaning by indexing a speaker’s compassionate stance alongside a referent’s misfortune, bundling together a set of (stereo)typically ‘disempowered’ personae. This analysis demonstrates the potential of corpus-based CDA investigations which analyze relatively infrequent lexical expressions that, nonetheless, have recognizable social meaning for speakers.

Investigating Writer's Stance in University Academic Group Discussions

Online group discussion is a typical learning activity in academic English lessons at universities. Students exchange research ideas and evaluate each other's work. However, many non-English major undergraduates experience challenges in expressing their opinions and developing arguments during this discussion process. Stance analysis is a crucial linguistic tool for obtaining an understanding of how participants express their ideas. Using the stance framework proposed by Biber (2006), the aim of this study was to examine the main grammatical markers and relevant semantic categories found in written online group discussions. We intended to investigate the expressions of the writer's stance (such as stance adverbials, stance nouns, stance adjectives, and stance verbs) in academic group discussions by analyzing a corpus of texts from an online discussion within a university setting from a forum. A total of 34 online group discussions with a combined word count of 199,559 contributed by 187 Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students comprised the dataset. To pinpoint stance lexical items that appeared in particular grammatical frames, the frequencies and roles of stance expressions were calculated and thoroughly examined. The results demonstrated that the most widely used grammatical stance expressions in these academic discourses to convey attitudes and opinions were stance adverbials and stance verbs. By examining the linguistic resources used by non-English major students to express their perspectives and attitudes, as well as how stance is manifested in the context of academic online discussions, this study provides insights for both linguistics and education.

Chunking in simultaneous interpreting: the impact of task complexity and translation directionality on lexical bundles.

This study explored the use of phraseological frames (p-frames), a type of lexical bundle, by simultaneous interpreters as a strategy for managing cognitive loads. Specifically, using a comparable corpus of United Nations Security Council conferences, the study employed kfNgram to automatically identify the p-frames, and investigated their variations, regarding frequency, fixedness, structures, and functions among L1, L1-L2, and L2-L1 texts, which differ in cognitive loads due to task complexity and directionality of interpreting. The findings indicated that interpreters used more p-frames as cognitive loads increased; No significant difference was identified in fixedness as all texts tended to employ heavily formulaic and relatively fixed p-frames. Directionality correlated with grammatical preferences, with retour interpreting relying more on content-word-based p-frames. Additionally, task complexity correlated with functional preferences, with self-expression characterized by more stance expressions in the simple task. This study innovatively addressed the interaction of two factors that generate cognitive loads in interpreting and filled a research gap by providing empirical evidence on how directionality affects the use of formulaic language.