SUBJECT IT-EXTRAPOSITION IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS RESEARCH ARTICLES:  SEMANTIC AND SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS

Seyed Foad Ebrahimi; Reza Moghaddam

doi:10.5817/DI2019-1-29

SUBJECT IT-EXTRAPOSITION IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS RESEARCH ARTICLES: SEMANTIC AND SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS

Vol.12,No.1(2019)

Seyed Foad Ebrahimi Reza Moghaddam

https://doi.org/10.5817/DI2019-1-29

PDF

Abstract

During the last two decades, numerous studies have focused on linguistic features of academic writing. One of these features, which appears frequently in academic writing and which writers need to improve their use of, is the it-extraposition construction. The existing literature on subject it-extraposition has focused on syntactic analysis (types and patterns) of this construction and little attention has been paid to semantic analysis (meanings); thus, this study aims to explore the types, patterns and meanings of subject it-extraposition used in Applied Linguistics research articles. The study was run on a corpus of 57 Applied Linguistics research articles, wherein the common extraposed subject clauses were the that-clause followed by the infinitive to-clause. It was also evident that minimal attention was devoted to the use of the wh-clause and the -ing participle clause. Concerning patterns of it-extraposition subject clause, subject + predicate and subject + predicate + complement were the most commonly utilised in Applied Linguistics research articles. The findings showed that Applied Linguistics writers were more concerned with expressing and evaluating their opinions and claims semantically. This study could help novice writers, especially novice non-native writers, to increase their awareness regarding how such construction is used syntactically and semantically by expert writers in writing research articles.

Keywords:
subject it-extraposition; extraposed clause; research article; applied linguistics

Author biographies

Seyed Foad Ebrahimi

Islamic Azad University, Shadegan Branch

Seyed Foad Ebrahimi is Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Shadegan Branch. He is interested in discourse analysis studies, especially studies on systemic functional analysis. His main areas of research are text analysis and discourse studies. He has published more than 40 papers and participated in more than 20 international conferences.

Reza Moghaddam

Department of English, Shadegan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shadegan, Iran

Reza Moghaddam has M.A. in ELT from Islamic Azad University, Abadan Branch. He is interested in discourse analysis studies, especially studies on systemic functional analysis. His main areas of research are text analysis and discourse studies. He has published two papers and participated in three international conferences

References

Aktas, R. N. and Cortes, V. (2008) ‘Shell nouns as cohesive devices in published and ESL student writing.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes7(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.02.002

Basturkmen, H. (2012) ‘A genre-based investigation of discussion sections of research articles in dentistry and disciplinary variation.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes11(2), 134-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2011.10.004

Bitchener, J. and Basturkmen, H. (2006) ‘Perceptions of the difficulties of postgraduate L2 thesis students writing the discussion section.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes5(1), 4-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2005.10.002

Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., Finegan, E. and Quirk, R. (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman.

Bloor, T. and Bloor, M. (1995) The Functional Analysis of English. A Hallidayan Approach. London: Arnold.

Brett, P. (1994) ‘A genre analysis of the results section of sociology articles.’ English for Specific Purposes13(1), 47-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/0889-4906(94)90024-8

Bruce, I. (2008) ‘Cognitive genre structures in Methods sections of research articles: A corpus study.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes7(1), 38-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2007.12.001

Celce-Murcia, M. and Larsen-Freeman, D. (1983) The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

Charles, M. (2000) ‘The role of an introductory itpattern in constructing an appropriate academic persona.’ In: Thompson, P. (ed.) Patterns and Perspectives: Insights into EAP Writing Practice.Reading: The University of Reading. 45-59.

Collins, P. (1994) ‘Extraposition in English.’ Functions of Language1(1), 7-24. https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.1.1.03col

Dressen-Hammouda, D. (2014) ‘Measuring the voice of disciplinarity in scientific writing: A longitudinal exploration of experienced writers in geology.’ English for Specific Purposes34, 14-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2013.10.001

Ebrahimi, S. F. and Chan, S. H. (2015) ‘Research article abstracts in Applied Linguistics and Economics: Functional analysis of the grammatical subject.’ Australian Journal of Linguistics35(4), 381-397. https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2015.1070660

Fakhri, A. (2004) ‘Rhetorical properties of Arabic research article introductions.’ Journal of Pragmatics36(6), 1119-1138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2003.11.002

Flowerdew, J. (2003) ‘Signalling nouns in discourse.’ English for Specific Purposes22(4), 329-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00017-0

Gledhill, C. (2000) ‘The discourse function of collocation in research article introductions.’ English for Specific Purposes19(2), 115-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(98)00015-5

Gollin-Kies, S. (2014) ‘Methods reported in ESP research articles: A comparative survey of two leading journals.’ English for Specific Purposes36, 27-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2014.04.001

Gosden, H. (1993) ‘Discourse functions of subject in scientific research articles.’ Applied Linguistics14(1), 56-75. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/14.1.56

Groom, N. (2005) ‘Pattern and meaning across genres and disciplines: An exploratory study.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes4(3), 257-277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2005.03.002

Harwood, N. (2005) ‘‟Nowhere has anyone attempted… In this article I aim to do just that”: A corpus-based study of self-promotional Iand wein academic writing across four disciplines.’ Journal of Pragmatics37(8), 1207-1231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.01.012

Herriman, J. (2000) ‘Extraposition in English: A study of the interaction between the matrix predicate and the type of extraposed clause.’ English Studies81(6), 582-599. https://doi.org/10.1076/enst.81.6.582.9180

Hewings, M. and Hewings, A. (2002) ‘“It is interesting to note that…”: A comparative study of anticipatory ‘it’ in student and published writing.’ English for Specific Purposes21(4), 367-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(01)00016-3

Hinkel, E. (2004) ‘Tense, aspect and the passive voice in L1 and L2 academic texts.’ Language Teaching Research8(1), 5-29. https://doi.org/10.1191/1362168804lr132oa

Holmes, R. (1997) ‘Genre analysis, and the social sciences: An investigation of the structure of research article discussion sections in three disciplines.’ English for Specific Purposes16(4), 321-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(96)00038-5

Hopkins, A. and Dudley-Evans, T. (1988) ‘A genre-based investigation of the discussion sections in articles and dissertations.’ English for Specific Purposes7(2), 113-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/0889-4906(88)90029-4

Huddleston, R. and Pullum, G. K. (2002) The Cambridge Grammar of the EnglishLanguage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316423530

Hyland, K. (2010) ‘Hedges, boosters and lexical invisibility: Noticing modifiers in academic texts.’ Language Awareness9(4), 179-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410008667145

Hyland, K. and Jiang, F. (2016) ‘Change of attitude? A diachronic study of stance.’ Written Communication33(3), 251-274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088316650399

Kaltenböck, G. (2005) ‘It-extraposition in English: A functional view.’ International Journal of Corpus Linguistics10(2), 119-159. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.10.2.02kal

Kanoksilapatham, B. (2015) ‘Distinguishing textual features characterizing structural variation in research articles across three engineering sub-discipline corpora.’ English for Specific Purposes37, 74-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2014.06.008

Lim, J. M. H. (2006) ‘Method sections of management research articles: A pedagogically motivated qualitative study.’ English for Specific Purposes25(3), 282-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2005.07.001

Lim, J. M. H. (2012) ‘How do writers establish research niches? A genre-based investigation into management researchers’ rhetorical steps and linguistic mechanisms.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes11(3), 229-245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2012.05.002

Loi, C. K. and Evans, M. S. (2010) ‘Cultural differences in the organization of research article introductions from the field of educational psychology: English and Chinese.’ Journal of Pragmatics42(10), 2814-2825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.03.010

Mair, C. (1990) Infinitival Complement Clauses in English: A Study of Syntax in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Martín, P. and Pérez, I. K. L. (2014)‘Convincing peers of the value of one’s research: A genre analysis of rhetorical promotion in academic texts.’ English for Specific Purposes34, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2013.09.002

Mindt, I. (2011) Adjective Complementation: An Empirical Analysis of Adjectives Followed by That-Clauses. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.42

Myers, G. (1989) ‘The pragmatics of politeness in scientific articles.’ Applied Linguistics 10(1), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/10.1.1

Oldstone-Moore, J. (2002) Confucianism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ozturk, I. (2007) ‘The textual organisation of research article introductions in Applied Linguistics: Variability within a single discipline.’ English for Specific Purposes26(1), 25-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2005.12.003

Peacock, M. (2002) ‘Communicative moves in the discussion section of research articles.’System30(4), 479-497. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(02)00050-7

Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.

Richards, J. C. and Schmidt, R. W. (2013) Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315833835

Rowley-Jolivet, E. (2002) ‘Visual discourse in scientific conference papers: A genre-based study.’ English for Specific Purposes21(1), 19-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00024-7

Ruiying, Y. and Allison, D. (2003) ‘Research articles in applied linguistics: Moving from results to conclusions.’ English for Specific Purposes22(4), 365-385. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00026-1

Samraj, B. (2002) ‘Introductions in research articles: Variations across disciplines.’ English for Specific Purposes21(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00023-5

Samraj, B. (2013) ‘Form and function of citations in discussion sections of master’s theses and research articles.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes12(4), 299-310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.09.001

Soler, V. (2002) ‘Analysing adjectives in scientific discourse: An exploratory study with educational applications for Spanish speakers at advanced university level.’ English for Specific Purposes21(2), 145-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00034-X

Swales, J. (1990) Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tessuto, G. (2015) ‘Generic structure and rhetorical moves in English-language empirical law research articles: Sites of interdisciplinary and interdiscursive cross-over.’ English for Specific Purposes37, 13-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2014.06.002

Vassileva, I. (2001) ‘Commitment and detachment in English and Bulgarian academic writing.’ English for Specific Purposes20(1), 83-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(99)00029-0

Williams, I. A. (1999) ‘Results sections of medical research articles: Analysis of rhetorical categories for pedagogical purposes.’English for Specific Purposes18(4), 347-366. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(98)00003-9

Zhang, G. (2015) ‘It is suggested that… or it is better to…? Forms and meanings of subject it-extraposition in academic and popular writing.’ Journal of English for Academic Purposes20, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.02.004

Metrics