Journal Of Linguistics Research Articles

Trend Analysis of Fluency-Related Research Articles: Using Data Mining

This research seeks to identify recent research trends in analysing fluency in English language studies since 2010. The importance of studying corpora that compile registered research in linguistics is growing; thus, it is time to consider the significance of data mining analysis on the corpora. Considering this emerging research topic, this analysis intends to generate and compare word clouds and word metric charts from speaking and writing abstract corpora in linguistics research centred on the keyword ‘Fluency’. This comparison is minimally addressed in extant research; hence, this investigation aims to fill this gap. The corpus contains 50 speaking and 15 writing abstracts from linguistics journals. To create the word cloud, AntConc4.1.4 software was used to analyse the corpora, while TF-IDF and matrix analysis were conducted using R. As a result, in spoken English, ‘fluency’ studies were largely related to 'teaching' and tended to be dominated by studies focusing on ‘fluency’ alone. In contrast, writing studies were mostly related to learner proficiency and assessment, and many studies analysed the relationship between linguistic abilities by expanding the scope of ‘fluency’ to include ‘accuracy’ and ‘complexity’. This study will benefit researchers in deciding on topics as it provides research directions and trends in analysing fluency in the two interconnected but differently expressed fields (i.e., speaking and writing).

A methodological synthesis of narrative inquiry research in applied linguistics: What's the story?

AbstractNarrative inquiry has gained traction in applied linguistics as a complementary approach to positivistic research, focusing on the subjectivities of individuals’ lived experiences and using stories as data, analytical tools, and reporting practice. Although numerous methodologically oriented publications on narrative inquiry in the field reflect its vitality, scholars have raised questions about the complexity and ambiguity underlying what exactly constitutes narrative inquiry. While methodological diversity within narrative inquiry can signal innovation, it can also create uncertainty for novice and experienced scholars engaging with the methodology for the first time. To address these concerns, we conducted a systematic methodological synthesis of narrative inquiry studies in applied linguistics published from 2012 to 2022. Specifically, we searched 12 top‐tier applied linguistics journals and developed a corpus of 291 articles. We coded our corpus according to four areas: (a) theoretical framing, (b) demographic characteristics, (c) methodological design, and (d) reporting of ethics, researcher positionality, and funding status. We discuss our results in light of previous thematic reviews of narrative inquiry in applied linguistics, and we offer empirically grounded recommendations for scholars engaging with narrative inquiry. Our study responds to calls for greater methodological transparency in applied linguistics in general and methodological investment in narrative inquiry in particular.

Patterns of Thematic Progression Analysis of Abstracts in Cognitive Linguistics Journals

Patterns of Thematic Progression Analysis of Abstracts in Cognitive Linguistics Journals

A Comparative Study on the Lexical Collocations in Academic Discourse by International Scholars and Chinese EFL Learners

Lexical collocations are essential in academic English and present considerable challenges for L2 learners. This study compiled three text corpora: one from academic written texts published in top international linguistics journals, and the others from MA theses and doctoral dissertations of Chinese college students majoring in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics. An Academic Collocation List (ACL) was initially created from the journal articles and then the collocation lists of the top 200 verbs were compared across the three corpora. The study identified potential collocates for over 2,400 content words in the ICAE (International Corpus of Academic English) journal articles, resulting in 375 potential combinations. Among these, noun combinations (adj+n, n+n) accounted for nearly 70% of the total entries, followed by verb+noun/adj combinations, adv+adj combinations, and verb+adv combinations. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between Chinese EFL learners and international scholars, with a larger discrepancy observed between MA theses and journal articles than between doctoral dissertations and journal articles. Chinese EFL learners tended to overuse a limited set of collocations that, while grammatically correct, often sounded unnatural to native speakers. Additionally, the verb+noun combinations used by Chinese EFL learners were frequently physically and semantically different from those employed by international scholars. These findings underscore the need for targeted pedagogical interventions to improve the collocational competence of Chinese EFL learners.

EFL Writer Identity Construction in Academic Writings: A Systematic Review

English, as the most widely used language in academic publications, poses great challenges for novice EFL researchers not only in the language competence, but also in constructing authorial identity in academic writing because the codes for the construction of writer identity is implicit. This paper reviews the research on identity construction in academic writing among EFL writers published in key applied linguistics journals between 2000 and 2024, and summarizes the current research status of writer identity construction in academic writing and delves into the characteristics and influencing factors of identity construction. Through in-depth analysis of the theoretical framework and the characteristics of the EFL writers, we have selected representative papers, including empirical studies, theoretical discussions, and case studies, to ensure the comprehensiveness and accuracy of this review.The study found that the construction of writer identity in academic writing is a complex and multifaceted process. It is not only influenced by the English language proficiency of the writer but also by a combination of factors such as individual experiences, academic background, and sociocultural factors. These factors collectively shape the writer’s identity and recognition by others in the academic community, thereby affecting their status and influence in the academic field. This paper aims to provide valuable references and inspirations for future research on academic writing and writer identity construction.

Linguistic variation in two written academic sub-registers

Abstract The present study aims to compare abstracts written by graduate students and internationally-published authors using Biber’s (1988) Multi-Dimensional (MD) model. To this end, two corpora of abstracts (1800 texts each) from research articles (RA) published in top international Applied Linguistics journals, and theses completed in the same field were compiled. We compared the two corpora with regard to three of Biber’s (1988) dimensions: involved versus informational production; elaborated vs. situation-dependent reference; and abstract vs. non-abstract style. Our results revealed that RA abstracts and thesis abstracts are similar when compared to non-academic registers of English, but different when compared to each other. Relative to thesis abstracts, RA abstracts are more informational but less elaborated and less impersonal. Interestingly, we found that RA/thesis abstracts differ from Biber’s (1988) academic prose register along the three dimensions. Our findings can further our understanding of the differences between RA and thesis abstracts, thus contributing to the instruction of academic writing at the graduate level.

Multilingualism and native speakerism in academic journals’ language policies: Exploring a potential power of applied linguistics journals in promoting equitable publishing practices

Abstract Multilingualism in the context of academic publishing involves beliefs and actions manifested through publications in multiple languages. However, a systematic analysis of how academic journals practice multilingualism has been scant. Therefore, the present study analyzed how indexed journals of applied linguistics promote and practice multilingualism following their scopes and language policies (LPs). Initially, 67 journals underwent screening based on their “aims and scope,” resulting in 11 journals that actively promoted multilingualism. Employing a critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework, the main analysis focused on the assumptions embedded within the journals’ LPs. The findings indicated an incongruity between the journals’ stated commitment and their practices of multilingualism. Specifically, all the journals mandated submissions exclusively in English with implicit biases toward native speakerism. The study underscores the need for a collective effort within and beyond the applied linguistics community to address linguistic biases and for more equitable and inclusive academic publishing practices.

The persuasive strategies in more and less prestigious linguistics journals: focus on research article abstracts

The persuasive strategies in more and less prestigious linguistics journals: focus on research article abstracts

Prosody in linguistic journals: a bibliometric analysis

The present study provides a systematic review of prosody research in linguistic journals through a bibliometric analysis. Using the bibliographic data from 2001 to 2021 in key linguistic journals that publish prosody-related research, this study adopted co-citation analysis and keyword analysis to investigate the state of the intellectual structure and the emerging trends of research on prosody in linguistics over the past 21 years. Additionally, this study identified the highly cited authors, articles and journals in the field of prosody. The results offer a better understanding of how research in this area has evolved and where the boundaries of prosody research might be pushed in the future.

Exkurs zur Analyse der Korrelat konstruktionen

The main idea that led me to write such research paper within the framework of Germanic linguistics is that I have not found any topic dealing with the term correlate in the German language, except in several articles in linguistic journals as well as one topic in a book describing the use of such a linguistic phenomenon in the language system. The research initially deals with the definition of the correlate at the level of the German language system. Correlate is unity describes specific relation of two sentences and identifies denoted constructs. Correlate is called a placeholder at the syntactic level because it does not occupy its original topological fields in the syntactic structure. The correlate (es) or the prepositional adverbs or adverbs can occur in the matrix clause, it is the second feature. The third categorical feature of the correlate is morphological, in that the correlate is inflexible and the last feature shows that the correlate does not confer case features on its syntactic environment, where the correlate possesses the matrix clause. The correlate can appear as the first part of the complex connector in the subordinate clause or the infinitive construction. The last feature refers to the fact that the correlate construction can be attributive in the complex sentence, whereby the sentence structure, which is the constituent of attributively formed correlate specifiers, is embedded. The research presents the conceptual content of the linguistic expression described by the correlate, functioning as a pro-element in the major premise and considered as a dentate. It is a matter of denotation of the correlate and deictic expressions. Furthermore, the present research sheds light on the obligatory and optional use of the correlate constructions in the German sentence. In German there are correlates when using certain verbs. In addition, certain linguistic constructions or expressions require correlates of both particles and prepositional adverbs. The reasons for this are contextual and communicative aspects. In relation to the contextual-communicative aspects such as verbs affect the connection with the correlate. She signals the connection through the grade particles. Compared to other verbs, the use of the correlate (es) is reduced. The reason for this is the appearance of degree particles as well, even, at most, only, only. This can be the case if the grading of the text passage does not focus on the extreme predicate, but rather on the infinitive construction or the subordinate clause. This was studied at work. Then it was examined how the correlate constructions occur with certain subjunctives by dividing them into two forms, namely attributive correlate constructions and left displacement constructions. If the correlate occurs before the subjunctive phrase, it is called an attributive correlate construction. This form is also called a correlate specifier. The subjunctive phrase has the function of being an attribute for the correlate. They can be directly followed by the correlate, whereby it is possible that the correlate alone carries the main clause after deducting the so-called phrase.

Syntactic and Semantic Analysis of Research Articles' Introduction Sections Published in Egyptian and International Journals in Linguistics

Syntactic and Semantic Analysis of Research Articles' Introduction Sections Published in Egyptian and International Journals in Linguistics

What Do Journals Mean? A Genre-Based Analysis of “Instructions for Authors” in Linguistic Journals

What Do Journals Mean? A Genre-Based Analysis of “Instructions for Authors” in Linguistic Journals

A Case Study of Semantic “We” in Academic Discourse

The personal pronoun “we” is the most frequently-used self-mention language of the author’s presentation in academic discourse. This study adopts quantitative and qualitative designs, selecting 60 English academic discourses from the Linguistics Journal of The Modern Language Journal and the Economics Journal of The Journal of Finance as samples to build two corpora. With the help of Antconc and Log-likelihood and Chi-Square Calculator 1.0, the present study analyzes the semantic use of the self-mention “we” in the corpus. The finding shows that there are significant differences in the use of “we” between the academic discourse of the two disciplines from the perspective of between disciplines (p < 0.001), and the use of “we” is more frequent in the economic academic discourse. From the perspective of within disciplines, the use of “exclusive we” is more frequent and there is a significant difference in the use of “inclusive we” and “exclusive we” in the academic discourse of the two disciplines. Finally, the study also analyzes the textual function of “we” in academic discourse, intending to provide some help to the understanding and writing of academic discourse in different disciplines, especially Linguistics and Economics.

Tangible traces of language ideologies

Abstract As the last issue of the Belgian Journal of Linguistics (BJL), this volume delves into linguistic ideologies. Language usage and the evaluations we make about it are intricately intertwined: even in the absence of visual cues of the speaker or writer, we intuitively develop perceptions about the sociolinguistic context of our interlocutor. The language employed often offers subtle hints about their age, gender, or social and regional origins. Particularly in spoken discourse, we find ourselves assessing not just their accent, but also forming impressions about the individual’s likability, perceived arrogance or intelligence, and various other attributes. Similar to its predecessors spanning 36 volumes, the content of this ultimate issue of the BJL is diverse, encompassing historical sources that shed light on language ideologies of bygone eras, insights from the language classroom, and perspectives from everyday language users.

Modeling quality and prestige in applied linguistics journals: A bibliometric and synthetic analysis

The importance of academic journals in second language (L2) research is evident on at least two levels. Journals are, first of all, central to the process of disseminating scientific findings. Journals are also critical on a professional level as most L2 researchers must publish articles to advance their careers. However, not all journals are perceived as equal; some may be considered more prestigious or of higher quality and may, therefore, achieve a greater impact on the field. It is therefore necessary that we understand the identity and quality of L2 research journals, yet very little research (e.g., Egbert, 2007; VanPatten & Williams, 2002) has considered these issues to date. The current study sought to explore L2 journal identity and quality, and the relationship between these constructs. In order to do so, a database was compiled based on three different types of sources: (1) a questionnaire eliciting L2 researchers’ perceptions of the quality and prestige of 27 journals that publish L2 research (N = 327); (2) manual coding of different types of articles (e.g., empirical studies, review papers), data (quantitative, qualitative, mixed), research settings, and authorship patterns (K = 2,024) using the same 27 journals; and (3) bibliometric and submission data such as impact factors, citation counts, and acceptance rates. Descriptive statistics were applied to explore overall quality and prestige ratings as well as publication trends found in each journal. The relationships between those patterns and subjective ratings were also examined. In addition, regression models were built to determine the extent to which perceptions of journal quality and prestige could be explained as a function of journal and article features. We discuss the findings of the study in terms of on-going debates concerning publication practices, study quality, impact factors, journal selection, and the “journal culture” in applied linguistics.

Identity, politeness and discursive practices in a changing world

This special issue continues the discussion of the impact of culture on identity, communication, politeness, and discourse strategies (see Russian Journal of Linguistics 22 (4) 2018, 23 (4) 2019, 24 (2) 2020). The topic has become particularly relevant in the context of two multidirectional processes, i.e., globalization resulting from current geopolitical trends and technological advancements, which have encouraged the intensification of contacts between people, languages, and cultures; and deglobalization focused on the preservation of national cultures and development of a multipolar and multicultural world. In our introductory article, we attempt to trace the impact of communication technologies, language, and culture contacts on digital, face-to-face, and public communication in different settings and discourses and outline its influence on communication, language variation, and change. In this introductory article we present a summary of the contributions of our authors to the issue, which showed that the implications of globalization and language contact are multifaceted, they can have both positive and negative effects on language use, maintenance, and change, as well as on cultural identity and diversity. Pursuing these latter factors contributes to developing trends of deglobalization. Our authors invite the reader to reflect on these processes. In conclusion, we sum up their major findings and suggest a brief avenue for further research.

„We“ and „they“ in the linguistic construction of the image of language (or the reflection of lay people in Slovak linguistics)

Abstract The article maps the linguistic views on the common language users as non-experts in the field of linguistics and their ability to think reflectively and rationally about issues related to language. An overview of attitudes towards non-linguists is presented against the background of the development of linguistics, ranging from a structural understanding of language with an emphasis on standard language cultivation and linguistic prescription, through a sociolinguistic approach that emphasizes the role of the language user as a creator of the linguistic norm and its variation, to the view of folk linguistics and citizen linguistics, which examine how ordinary people in various forms of public communication present their opinions, beliefs, as well as their myths and ideologies about language. At the same time, the paper argues for the view that some folk knowledge and beliefs about language are not only incorrect or inaccurate, but, on the contrary, that they provide valuable information for linguistics about the background of language behaviour and language change. The material was drawn from the databases of Slovak linguistic journals and the specialized corpus of the journal Slovenská reč.

Beyond anaphoric and emphatic: diversity and unity in the functions of literary Chinese reflexive zì

Abstract In this paper, I examine the Literary Chinese reflexive zì, which exhibits a crosslinguistically uncommon pattern: it performs both anaphoric and emphatic uses in adverbial position. I show that it has several uses: signalling coreference between the subject and the object, the object’s possessor or the topic or focus of a complement clause, emphasising that the subject’s identity, and indicating that the event affected the subject itself or had no external cause. I argue against categorically dividing these uses into anaphoric and emphatic uses. I propose four properties to unify the various uses: the referent of zì is centrally relevant to the event denoted by the predicate, coreferential with the subject, unexpected in its role in the event, and often contrasts with an alternative referent that may play same role. I compare my account to properties of reflexives in other languages, and argue that zì only partially supports Levinson’s (Levinson, Stephen C. 1991. Pragmatic reduction of the binding conditions revisited. Journal of Linguistics 27(1). 107–161) theory of the development of anaphoric reflexives from emphatics.

Contesting “growth” and “sustainability” in Indonesia’s capital city relocation: a corpus ecolinguistic study

The global environmental crisis has triggered academic discussions on how infrastructure discourse often eliminates the environment as a part of the ecosystem. One noticeable contested issue is Indonesia’s capital city relocation from Jakarta to Penajam Paser Utara, Borneo Island. Considering the island’s biodiversity hotspot, the capital city relocation has invited debates about environmental impacts. Despite the criticism and scepticism of the government’s ambitious project, the Indonesian House of Representatives passed the relocation law, followed by the president’s capital city development regulations. Some research has discussed the new capital city (NCC) discourse, but the analysis from a corpus ecolinguistic perspective is absent. It is hypothesised that the lexemes “growth” and “sustainability” in the NCC legal documents represent the government’s intention to communicate the relocation intention and legitimise the plan. Therefore, this paper investigates the employment of lexemes “growth” and “sustainability” in the NCC legal documents using Sketch Engine, an online corpus tool developed by Adam Kilgarriff. Additionally, we also observed the nominalisation and transitivity of the concordances where the lexemes were used in the documents. The analysis revealed that “growth” and “sustainability” are inextricably linked to project NCC as a tool to accelerate and catalyse regional and national economic growth. Ecologically, the NCC documents promote an eco-ambivalent discourse since the sustainability objective excludes the environment. Instead, industrial sustainability is the primary goal in the capital city relocation. The country’s welfare measured by its economic success is salient in the discourse, whereas humans’ responsibility towards the deforestation impacts of relocation is lacking. This research was funded by the Final Project Recognition Grant Universitas Gadjah Mada, Number 5075/UN1.P.II/Dit-Lit/PT.01.01/2023. We are also indebted to the editors of Research Result. Theoretical and Applied Linguistics Journal and the anonymous reviewers for providing this paper valuable feedback.

TRANSLATION STUDIES IN CHINA (2001-2020) THROUGH VOSVIEWER

In the article translation studies in China from 2001 to 2020 were reviewed by visualization techniques. The author investigated 1543 journal articles published during that period. The number of published papers, article distribution, and keywords of top-cited articles were analyzed, indicating that the number of relevant articles published has grown significantly and more articles have been published in major linguistic journals. The top 10 most cited articles focus on Western and Chinese translation theories, there has been a wide range of theoretical issues touched upon within the framework of translation theory in the past 20 years, the most popular topics are the formation of translation science, the basic problems of general translation, and ecological translation. Perspectives of the development of Chinese translation studies are clarified including the development of translation theory, interdisciplinary research of translation problems, and the most notable features of Chinese translation tradition.