摘要:

ABSTRACT:Aboriginal people dwelling in many parts of Australia command a range of English varieties, which are known collectively as Aboriginal English (Sandefur, 1983; Kaldor and Malcolm, 1991). These varieties give evidence of a past history of pidginization and, in some cases, creolization and decreolization. Associated with the use of Aboriginal English are a range of discourse strategies which often make communication with speakers of Standard Australian English problematic. These strategies are evidenced in the structure of conversation and in various forms of verbal art. This paper will focus on the discourse genres and strategies associated with Aboriginal English and their implications for cross‐cultural communication and for educatio

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00317.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:This study aims to investigate the discourse problems in argumentative writing. To achieve this objective, the researchers collected a sample of 62 essays written by the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th level students at the Department of English and Translation, Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. The study also aims to propose a checklist for composing and evaluating argumentative writing, and to examine the significance of differences in the three levels of samples.The corpus has been analyzed, classified, and discussed. Plausible explanations for the areas of difficulty are provided, conclusions are drawn, and implications are accordingly suggested.

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00318.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:The letter of application is a widespread subgenre of persuasive discourse whereby access to certain social and material benefits is regulated. We define persuasive discourse in terms of Relevance and Test theory. In the international community, these letters are increasingly drafted in English, and we hypothesize that these nonnative English versions will tend to carry rhetorical and discoursal features transferred from the writer's first language and culture. These transfers give rise to pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic infelicities respectively. A study is reported comparing native and nonnative writers’ judgements of the suitability of a number of pre‐identified persuasive strategies for use in application letters. The nonnative judgements vary along a broad oriental‐occidental scale which reflects the Modesty Maxim. Some pedagogical implications for syllabus and methodology are identified and in‐class analytic Contrastive Analysis of such genres is d

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00319.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:This paper reports a comparative study of the ways in which modality as a semantic feature is expressed in one nonnative variety of English and one native variety of English. A set of twenty‐two informal letters written by Americans were compared with another set of twenty‐two written by Ghanaians in respect of the distribution and use of modal words and expressions in the data. Given other differences such as a reading index for the American set of 11.9 grade level and 7.9 grade level for the Ghanaian set, it was hypothesized that the two varieties would make different use of modal words and expressions. The results of the analysis of the data using Analysis of variance (Anova) showed that there was no significant difference between the two sets of data in the distribution and use of modal auxiliary verbs. This finding has important implications for the description of native and nonnative varieties of English which is discussed in the pa

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00320.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:This paper attempts to give a brief overview of the variety of English spoken in the small sultanate of Brunei Darussalam in Northwest Borneo. After outlining the role played by English in the country and, in particular, in the Bruneian education system, the paper describes some of the grammatical and lexical features which differ most obviously from the imposed exonormative educational model, Standard British English. The transcribed interviews and examples included have been taken from a corpus of spoken data recorded between 1990 and 1993 by the author in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The article also attempts to place Brunei English within the context of the other varieties of English spoken in Southeast Asia and suggests that, once the effects of the country's nationwide Malay‐English bilingual education policy have taken full effect, there will be further distinctive developments in the variety of English spoken in Brunei Darussala

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00321.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:The realization that language is ideological has created a debate among postcolonial English writers on what language to use for their creative expression and how. While Ngügï wa Thiong'o has argued for the abandonment of English and the sole use of native languages, Gabriel Okara has argued for the fusion of the native and English discourses, thus constructing an alternate discourse that is ideologically satisfying for native aspirations while being internationally accessible for a wide readership. A reading of contemporary Sri Lankan poetry, to see how poets negotiate the competing discourses of the native and English languages, reveals at least four strategies. Patrick Fernando uses standard English with a Western ‘modernist’ idiom, failing to address the clash of discourses. Yasmine Gooneratne consciously negotiates the conflict through the technique of irony in order to use the same Anglo‐American discourse. Jean Arasanayagam attempts to fuse the discourses; but the mere inclusion of Tamil lexical items into Standard English syntax and cosmopolitan ethos lacks successful integration. It was perhaps the prematurely deceased Lakdasa Wikkramasinha who managed to fuse Sinhala and English into a genuinely creative alternate discourse, as he was more firmly grounded in the native literary and cultural tra

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00322.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:The concept of ‘interlanguage’ is addressed with special attention to language assessment. Interlanguage assumes a single target norm, and this paper contends that major language tests uphold that norm. The paper challenges testing's role in the concept of interlanguage by challenging the mechanism by which such tests uphold that single norm and thereby suppress linguistic variety. It is a mechanism which operates by selecting for test items that adhere to a normal‐curve‐derived testing model. To counter such a mechanism, the paper argues that (1) testing companies should be challenged with hard statistical data that shows their tests to be multidimensional, and (2) reasoning in favor of self‐directed testing can further show the monolithic nature of major tests. The paper concludes with an appeal to language testusers(as opposed to testdevelopers) to participate in the reform of language a

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00323.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:The spread of English offers sociolinguistics a unique venue to study sociolinguistic variables, including the question of norms and standards for English in its worldwide domain. This paper begins with a discussion of the factors in the spread of English, and proceeds to consider the process of nativization, with particular reference to the concept of meaning potential. In this context, the construct of concentric circles as proposed by Kachru (1987) is discussed and modified. After a brief excursus on communicative competence, the conclusion is reached that norms and standards for world Englishes are best considered as interactions of the meaning potential of the social semiotic and the linguistic form of the language.

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00324.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:This paper is concerned with the concept of norm and its place in a theory of linguistics: a number of factors need to be taken into consideration when deciding on a particular norm in the case of the teaching of English as an international language. When English is taught as a foreign (EFL) and a second (ESL) language the native standard of English‐speaking countries is transferred. While this may have been the obvious and simplest solution at the beginning of the international spread of English, the historical development of the language and its unprecedented spread have given rise to a number of very different contexts to which the same paradigms cannot necessarily be applied. In this respect, it is important to distinguish the situation in the Outer Circle from the situation in the Expanding Circle. The paper discusses various factors which contribute to the complexity of ESL/EFL teaching and which should be weighed in any decision about a standard. These are: the issue of participation as freedom and responsibility, the subjectivity of the speaker, the issue of power, the bilingual's creativity, the concept of identity, intelligibility and the expectations of students. It is recognized that there is no simple and general solution to the problem of norm as a pedagogical paradig

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00325.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT:Most efforts to teach non‐Western languages focus on their complex phonological and syntactic systems. However, students of languages like Shona, a Bantu language spoken in Zimbabwe, also need to learn about the sociolinguistic setting in which the language is spoken. In the case of Shona, in the largely monolingual rural area of Zimbabwe, foreign speakers are able to speak the language in almost all situations, reflecting local use of Shona to meet formal, consultative and informal functions. However, many native speakers of Shona in urban areas have a multilingual repertoire, reflecting the pattern of English/Shona diglossia which is a legacy of the British colonial period. For these speakers, Shona marks their ethnicity, while English identifies them as educated citizens of the world. Foreign language learners need to know that there are some situations in which using Shona will not be judged as appropriate – when, indeed, it may be deemed offensive by some interlocutors. Only a knowledge of the roles of English and Shona in the culture will enable learners to make the appropriate language choices in the target language environm

ISSN:0883-2919    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1994.tb00326.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY