English Prepositions Research Articles

Korean EFL Learners’ Understanding of Polysemous Preposition Senses

This paper examined how well Korean EFL university students recognize the multiple senses of high-frequency polysemous English prepositions. With 10 target prepositions –after, against, behind, for, in, into, off, on, over, and through -40 undergraduates took a choice test asking them to fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions. The results of the test revealed that the students` knowledge of the target words was rather limited. Interviews were conducted to discover what was behind their failure to make the most of the prepositions. It turned out that most of the students interviewed had an overly simplistic understanding of what prepositions have to offer, which in turn has led them to give prepositions a low priority in their study of English. The findings of the study suggest that the students in the study need to be helped to take a more proactive approach to learning prepositions.

What trajectors reveal about TIME metaphors

This paper is an analysis of trajectors (i.e. located entities) in language about fixed durations of TIME. More specifically, trajectors in instances including the English prepositions in or on, or their Swedish equivalents i or på, are analyzed. On the structure of the inverse Moving Observer/Moving Time metaphors (Lakoff & Johnson 1999) instances such as these should be construed relative to a Moving Observer, and trajectors people that move relative to fixed durations of TIME (as reflected in e.g. when we come to launching the 4th edition in early 1990). My analysis, however, suggests that our understanding of TIME through SPACE is more nuanced than suggested by these metaphors. In this specific context, trajectors are not typically people in motion, but rather events or processes located in, or on, unit of time landmarks. My study emphasizes the need to test the systematicity of the mappings proposed by Conceptual Metaphor Theory.

An Empirical Study of Avoidance of Prepositions in English Writings by Chinese Higher Vocational College Students

<p>This study investigates the avoidance of prepositions in English writings by Chinese higher vocational College students of different English proficiency levels and the main reasons for the avoidance, using English writing tasks and a questionnaire. The result indicates that the students at low English level tend to avoid using English prepositions but the students at high English level do not avoid prepositions. Low English proficiency level is the main cause of avoidance. L2 complexity, L1 and L2 differences, Psychological factors also contribute to the avoidance of English Prepositions by Chinese high vocational College students.</p>

Effect of Using Image-Schemas on Learning L2 Prepositions and Enhancing Learner Autonomy: A Dynamic System Theory and Cognitive Linguistics-Inspired Approach

This study investigated the effect of applying the dynamic system theory (DST) and cognitive linguistics (CL) insights into grammar instruction on EFL learners’ learning of English prepositions and learner autonomy. Sixty Iranian EFL learners at the lower-intermediate level of language proficiency were randomly assigned to 1 experimental and 1 control group. The 2 groups filled out an autonomy questionnaire and took a test of preposition measuring their knowledge of on, over, around, for, and under. Then, the experimental group received a DST/CL-based instruction using image-schemas, whereas the control group followed a traditional approach of repetitions, drills, and substitutions for teaching of the same prepositions. Finally, to examine the effectiveness of the DST/CL-based program, the 2 groups were given the posttests of preposition and learner autonomy. Based on the results, the experimental group outperformed the control group on the test of prepositions, but did not show significant differences regarding the perception of learner autonomy. This indicates that the DST/CL-based approach which relies on meaningful motivation of explicit and underlying levels of interactions leads to better retention and learning of prepositions, but may not contribute to learner autonomy if practiced for a limited period of time.

A new approach of attribute partial order structure diagram for word sense disambiguation of English prepositions

To improve the accuracy of word sense disambiguation (WSD) has been a significant issue, and to visualize the structure of a dataset to discover knowledge has been an urgent demand in natural language processing. In order to fulfill these two tasks simultaneously, a new approach of attribute partial order structure diagram is proposed. The principle of attribute partial order and the approach of attribute partial order structure diagram are described. The proposed approach is testified by the WSD of the English preposition over, using the dataset from SemEval corpus. Two well-accepted sense inventories for fine-grained WSD of the English prepositions are adopted. The formal contexts for the fine-grained WSD of the English preposition over are established and the corresponding attribute partial order structure diagrams are generated and used as the models of WSD. The tested results show that the accuracies of WSD of over by the proposed approach are significantly higher than the ones by the state of the art system. Moreover, the proposed approach can visualize the attribute partial order structure of the dataset, which can be used for knowledge discovery.

Applicability of technology-enhanced visual glosses for explicit L2 vocabulary learning: The enhancement of metaphoric competence through the learning of English polysemous words

This study examines the efficacy of technology-enhanced visual glosses in explicit L2 vocabulary learning based on the concept of the image schema, which is a mental pattern of our bodily experiences. Although our previous studies could not confirm the advantage of the animated visual glosses for acquiring English prepositions, this study reexamines the learning effect of the animated glosses; we assume that the animation, could enhance learners' comprehension and production of the target prepositions (especially in their metaphorical sense). The findings suggest that the animated visual glosses were only effect in certain scenarios. More specifically, the animated image schema was more a more effective gloss for students to produce metaphorical prepositions than for them to select the correct word in receptive tests. Thus this study therefore shows that when examining technology for L2 learning, more analysis of the features of the target L2 knowledge should be made.

Wholesale Late Merger in Ā-movement: Evidence from Preposition Stranding

To account for several asymmetries between A- and Ā-movement, Takahashi and Hulsey (2009) generalize the late merger option ( Lebeaux 1988 , Chomsky 1995 ) as wholesale late merger (WLM). In particular, allowing an NP to merge with a head D as late as (but no later than) its Case position explains why Ā but not A-movement displays Principle C reconstruction effects. In this article, I claim that WLM is also responsible for pervasive asymmetries within the class of Ā-extractions. The evidence comes from restrictions on English preposition stranding. I document a correlation between a preposition’s complementation properties and its ability to be stranded: prepositions that disallow pronominal complements can only be stranded by a subset of Ā-extractions. I argue that the extractions allowing pronoun-rejecting prepositions to be stranded disallow WLM, while those that disallow the stranding allow (and require) WLM.

SERBIAN EQUIVALENTS OF THE ENGLISH PREPOSITION OF: A CONTRASTIVE CORPUS ANALYSIS

Rad se bavi analizom engleskog predloga of i njegovih prevodnih ekvivalenata dobijenih iz paralelnog korpusa. U ovoj kontrastivnoj analizi korpus se sastoji od 847 primera upotrebe predloga of prikupljenih iz priče Pola Ostera The City of Glass i njenog prevoda na srpski jezik Grad od stakla. Analiza se prvenstveno fokusira na predloške ekvivalente i njihovu distribuciju u srpskom jeziku, ali takođe otkriva da je u većini slučajeva engleski predlog of preveden drugim sredstvima, a ne predlozima. Više od dve trećine primera iz korpusa prevedeno je nultim ili leksičko strukturalnim ekvivalentima, što ukazuje na razlike u strukturi engleskog i srpskog jezika, prvenstveno one na polju padeških nastavaka, a koje u srpskom jeziku omogućavaju znatno širu mogućnost izražavanja istih odnosa. Analiza je pokazala da je broj predloških ekvivalenata koji se javljaju u prevodu predloga of na srpski jezik mnogo veći od broja predloga navedenih u dvojezičnom englesko-srpskom rečniku. Osim toga, kvalitativna analiza dobijenih ekvivalenata pokazuje da najveći broj predloških ekvivalenata predloga of izražava njegovu integrativnu funkciju, manji broj separativnu, a najmanji broj posesivnu funkciju. Dobijeni rezultati studije mogli bi da doprinesu polju leksikografije, ali i da posluže daljoj semantičkoj i sintaksičkoj analizi, a u cilju boljeg razumevanja predloga i u engleskom i u srpskom jeziku.

Acquisition of English Language Prepositions in the Absence of Formal Grammar Teaching

An oft-debated issue is whether or not English grammar has to be taught formally. One group insists that students will not be able to learn grammar unless they are taught formal grammar rules, while the other maintains that students will pick up grammar on their own in due course. To determine the extent of acquisition of English prepositions in the absence of formal teaching of prepositions, a longitudinal study was carried out on a single matriculation student. Data was collected on the errors in the use of prepositions in various speaking and writing tasks – essays, journals, interviews and presentations - at six monthly intervals, over a period of two years. An analysis of the student’s use of prepositions was carried out to determine whether or not there had been any changes over this period. The results of this study show that there were indeed improvements in the use of prepositions by this student for both speaking and writing tasks. Regarding the types of errors, there were more errors of commission than errors of omission. A common error was the unnecessary use of the phrase involving a preposition, ‘for me’. With respect to the progress made, in speaking tasks, most improvement was seen in the prepositions ‘for’, ‘in’ and ‘about’, while in writing tasks, the best results were with the prepositions ‘to, ‘of’ and ‘in’. These findings imply that, grammar should be taught in a way that is compatible with the natural processes of acquisition, rather than with the use of formal grammar rules.

Teaching Prepositions to Japanese EFL College Students: Bridging Theory and Practice

Although universities in Japan have begun emphasizing on the importance of English education in producing globally-competitive human resources, in reality, the English proficiency level of the Japanese college students has deteriorated. Judging from the current situation, the Japanese college students need to take more English classes to improve their English proficiency level. However, they found it difficult to learn English in the classroom more than what they already have due to time constraint. This paper introduces modularstyle teaching materials that are offered at our university in the e-learning system called eAlps, which utilizes Moodle. E-Alps is a platform that enables the students to learn English on their own, outside classroom, to overcome the problem of limited English learning class hours. The English materials are available on e-Alps for students to download freely. This paper is twofold. Firstly, it discusses the semantics of the English preposition to and secondly proposes a modular-style material concerning to and will prove our material to be advantageous for the Japanese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students.

The Meanings of ‘-uy’, the So-called Korean GenitiveCase Marker and the Theme-Location Relation

This paper aims to discuss the meanings of ‘-uy,’ the so-called Korean genitive case marker, used in ‘N1-uy N2’ constructions, under the framework of Cognitive Grammar (Langacker 1987, 1991a,b, 2000, etc.), and propose a new relation that may hold between the two nouns. The discussion will focus on three tasks: first, to propose the prototypical meaning of ‘-uy’ and analyze the semantic relations between the two nominals N1 and N2; second, to account for how ‘-uy’ can be attached to the postpositional phrases, as in kunyeropwute-uy pyenci ‘a letter from her,’ and kunye-wa-uy kyelhon sayngwhal ‘a marriage life with her’; third, to propose a new relation that holds between N1 and N2, which can account for the various types of relations in a unifying way. For the first task, I apply Langacker’s analysis of the prototypical meaning of the English preposition of, and propose that in Korean ‘-uy’ prototypically profiles a relationship in which the trajector (N2) constitutes an inherent and restricted subpart of the landmark (N1). The second task will be done from the point of semantic extension. Concerning the third task, I will propose the ‘Theme-Location Relation,’ in which the trajector functions as a ‘Theme’, and the landmark as a ‘Location.

A Comparative Function And Position Of English And Indonesian Preposition (Comparative Linguistic)

Abstrak Melihat fenomena antara bahasa yang satu dengan lainnya, bisa saja terjadi kesamaan baik tingkat pengucapan, ejaan, fungsi sintaksis, kategori sintaksis atau bahkan dalam fungsi kelas kata, seperti preposisi. Peneliti berpendapat bahwa ada dua kesamaan berdasarkan fungsi dan posisi yang dapat terjadi antara preposisi bahasa Inggris (in, dan at) dan preposisi dalam bahasa Indonesia (di-). Penelitian ini mengambil data dari dua sumber yaitu Daily News dan Kompas. Penelitian ini menggunakan analisis komparatif dengan mengidentifikasi, menunjukkan, dan menggambarkan data dari teks untuk mendukung apa yang peneliti kemukakan, dan menerapkan analisis deskriptif sebagai metode. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa preposisi bahasa Indonesia di dapat dibandingkan dengan preposisi bahasa Inggris in, on, dan berdasarkan fungsi dan posisi dalam kalimat. Sedangkan fungsi masing-masing dari preposisi dapat diklasifikasikan sebagai preposisi temporal dan preposisi lokatif. Adapun untuk fungsinya sebagai posisi dalam kalimat, dapat disimpulkan bahwa preposisi (in dan on) dapat muncul lebih dari sekali dalam sebuah kalimat, dan dapat saja muncul awal kalimat, tengah-tengah kalimat, tetapi sebagian besar muncul akhir kalimat. Kata kunci: preposisi, lokatif, temporal, kalimat, fungsi, dan posisi. Abstract Taking a look on the phenomena among languages, sometimes the similarities may happen whether in level of pronunciation, spelling, syntactic functions, syntactic categories or even in the function of word class, such as preposition. The researcher argued that there are two similarities based on the function and the position, may occur between the English preposition (in. on. and at) and the Indonesian preposition (di). This research took the data from two sources i.e. Daily News and Kompas. This research describe such a comparative analysis by identifying, showing and describing the evidences from the text to support what the researcher has posited, and applied descriptive analysis as the method. The findings showed that the Indonesian preposition “di” can be compared to the English prepositions “in”, “on”, and “at” based on the function and the position in the sentence. Concerning on the function, each of the prepositions can be classified as both the temporal preposition and locative preposition. Then, concerning on the position, it can be summed up that the preposition (in and on) can appear more than once in a sentence, moreover each of the preposition can possibly appear in the beginning of the sentence, in the middle of the sentence and mostly appear at the end of the sentences. Keywords: preposition, locative, temporal, sentence, function, and position

Acquisition of English Prepositions among Iraqi Secondary School Students in Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia

The study focuses on the acquisition of English prepositions among students of Iraqi secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Participants in the study were (20) students all of them at sixth level. The researchers studied the students’ responses to the given test to investigate the problematic prepositions of English language that Iraqi English as foreign language (EFL) learners have in their everyday and academic usage; and investigate the way that EFL Iraqi learners differentiate between using English and Arabic prepositions. The major finding in this study is that the main reason for all the errors is the dominance of the mother tongue (MT) on English language (EL), especially with Arabic language having a syntactic structure when imposed on EL that too with Arabic meaning on EL. The dominance and influence of one’s MT is a major challenge in using the EL in the right way by Iraqi EFL learners. In a subconscious manner, Iraqi EFL learners tend to use or impose their MT’s syntactic, semantic structures and patterns on EL. Arabic and English have different number of prepositions and word-to-word equivalents of prepositions cannot be found between Iraqi Arabic and English Languages. Iraqi EFL learners are influenced by the prepositional system of their MT (Arabic) when they intend to use the prepositions in EL and this leads to errors and lack of idiomaticity. Inaccuracy is a result of this, which is reflected in class hours for EFL learners.

Spontaneous gesture and spatial language: Evidence from focal brain injury

People often use spontaneous gestures when communicating spatial information. We investigated focal brain-injured individuals to test the hypotheses that (1) naming motion event components of manner-path (represented by verbs–prepositions in English) are impaired selectively, (2) gestures compensate for impaired naming. Patients with left or right hemisphere damage (LHD or RHD) and elderly control participants were asked to describe motion events (e.g., running across) depicted in brief videos. Damage to the left posterior middle frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, and left anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG) produced impairments in naming paths of motion; lesions to the left caudate and adjacent white matter produced impairments in naming manners of motion. While the frequency of spontaneous gestures were low, lesions to the left aSTG significantly correlated with greater production of path gestures. These suggest that producing prepositions–verbs can be separately impaired and gesture production compensates for naming impairments when damage involves left aSTG.

English

The acquisition and learning of a language involve understanding and mastery of what constitutes its grammar. This paper assessed the performance of second language undergraduate students in the use of English prepositions and determined the likely sources of challenges in its correct use.  One hundred and ninety eight undergraduate students were randomly selected from the Department of English Language of a Nigerian University. An assessment test on preposition use was the main instrument for data collection. The results show that the highest number of the students scored between 15 and 19 over 50 which is the modal class. Less than average (43.7%) scored fifty and above. The challenges and difficulties encountered in the use of prepositions are linked to the nature of English prepositions: Polysemy, idiomatic usage and substitution with first language (LI) prepositions. The difficulties were made manifest as majority of the respondents wrongly substituted ‘on’ with other prepositions such as ‘in’, ‘at’, ‘over’, ‘for’, ‘by’, ‘with’, ‘to’ usually influenced by L1 meaning. To address the difficulty in preposition use, the study recommended an eclectic approach combining collocation, prototype and cognitive linguistic approaches for teaching following a comparative and contrastive study of the preposition systems of the languages (L1 and L2) involved. Learners are encouraged to use dictionaries and e-learning modules to complement the classroom teaching. Key words: Preposition, English Language learners, ESL learners.

A rede polissêmica da preposição alemã über: principais ocorrências de uma análise com base na semântica cognitiva

In this article, we present a study on the polysemic network2 of the German preposition uber. Such study is the outcome of our master's dissertation research in which we are theoretically grounded on Cognitive Linguistics, particularly on studies of polysemy based on Cognitive Semantics. In order to set the polysemic semantic network, we used the model of Principled Polysemy presented by Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans in the book The semantics of English prepositions - spatial scenes, embodied meaning and cognition (2003) and adapted it for the analysis of the preposition uber. In this article we will show the most productive meanings for such preposition.

Acquisition of English Prepositions among Malaysian Learners: A Case Study

Educationists are often in a predicament as to whether grammar should be taught formally, or whether it can be deliberately learned. This question is especially pertinent in Malaysia where there has been a general deterioration of grammar skills among English as a second language (ESL) learner. A prospective case study was carried out on seven Malay students from the International Islamic University Malaysia. The study sought to determine the extent to which students acquired English prepositions in the naturalistic setting in the written mode, the different types of errors, the use of alternative locative frames, and whether there was a specific pattern in the learning of prepositions. The study used writing tasks where students were required to write essays as well as make journal entries. Data was collected at six monthly intervals over three years. An analysis of students’ use of prepositions was carried out to monitor progress. It was found that most subjects had improvements in their use of prepositions, with more errors of commission than omission. One of the most common errors was the unnecessary use of the phrase involving a preposition, ‘for me’. Persistent errors could arise due to incomplete linguistic rule formation and transfer from the students’ first language (L1). There were also instances of other words like adverbs being used instead of prepositions. The best improvement was seen in the prepositions ‘for’, ‘in’ and ‘about’. These findings necessitate the need for corrective feedback on errors, and for grammar instruction to be compatible with the natural processes of acquisition.

Prepositional Errors in the Writings of Pakistani ESL Students

Today, English has emerged as an important means of communication across the world including Pakistan. In Pakistan, it enjoys the status of second language as it is offered as a compulsory subject from primary level up to higher classes. In addition, there is great need and demand for having a sound grasp over English language to encounter professional challenges. However, Pakistani learners still face various problems while speaking and writing English. This study examined the abuse of English prepositions by Pakistani learners. It focused on the types of prepositional errors found in their English writing. Moreover, the study investigated whether male learners committed more preposition errors or female. For this purpose, twenty six (26) students of HSSC (thirteen participants from each gender) were chosen through systematic random sampling under Quantitative research paradigm. The data were collected through composition test and essay writing which were then analyzed through tables and graphics. Consequently, the study found out various types of prepositional errors in the participants’ writing. Besides, the study showed higher ratio of errors in female participants’ writing than the males’. At the end of the study, some recommendations were given as how to lessen the ratio of English preposition errors in Pakistani learners’ writing.

The Use of English Prepositions: An Empirical Study

This study examined the writing skill of the students at the undergraduate level, with a special focus on the use of prepositions of place, time and direction in English. The subjects of the study comprised of 100 randomly selected students of English literature from two Arts and Science colleges located in Coimbatore city. The data elicitation instrument was a guided cloze test in which the subjects were asked to fill the gaps using appropriate prepositions of place, time and direction. To analyze the collected data, socio-linguistic and descriptive methods were used. The results indicated that the students found more difficulties in the use of prepositions of place and direction than the prepositions of time because of their mother tongue interference. The findings imply that teachers should pay more attention while teaching the prepositions of place, time and direction and provide sufficient explanations about them to the students in the classroom. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v19i1-2.12089 Journal of NELTA, Vol 19 No. 1-2, December 2014: 158-168

The Effect of Written Corrective Feedback on Omani Students’ Accuracy in the Use of English Prepositions

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to examin the effectiveness of providing written corrective feedback (WCF) to Arab speakers of English on ten uses of English prepositions. Arab speakers commonly find it difficult to correctly use English propositions, mainly due to the differences between the two languages (e.g. Ortega, 2009). Examples of prepositions misuse are “married from,” “die from,” and “kind with.” The WCF implementation lasted for seven weeks. The students’ being in intact classes made random assignments to different groups difficult. The data were derived from three tests: pre-test, immediate post-test and delayed post-test as well as an open-ended questionnaire. The experimental group (n= 25) received WCF on their writing, oral meta-linguistic tutorials, and a treatment task for their pre-test. For both the immediate post-test and the delayed post-test, they only received WCF on their writings. The control group (n= 25) only received general comments, like “good organization of the story events.” The statistical results of the independent samples t-test show the experimental group outperforming the control group on the target features. The analysis of the questionnaire data also shows the benefits of WCF for improving preposition use. The results also have pedagogical implications with regard to WCF. Keywords: WCF, writing, prepositions, students’ views, Arabic, EFL