On the Omission of Relative Pronouns among Chinese Speakers of English in Academic Writing

Autor/in	Tai, Hsuan Tai
Titel	On the Omission of Relative Pronouns among Chinese Speakers of English in Academic Writing
Quelle	In: Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 17 (2020) 1, S.87-111 (25 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1814-9448
Schlagwörter	Chinese; Native Language; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; English (Second Language); Form Classes (Languages); Teaching Methods; Language Processing; Language Usage; Writing (Composition); Academic Language; Essays; Language of Instruction; Writing Evaluation; Sentence Structure; Phrase Structure; College Students; Foreign Countries; Taiwan + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? China; Chinesen; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Analytischer Sprachbau; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Sprachverarbeitung; Sprachgebrauch; Schreibübung; Academic; Language; Languages; Akademiker; Sprache; Wissenschaftssprache; Essay; Aufsatzunterricht; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache; Satzbau; Satzstruktur; Phrasenstruktur; Collegestudent; Ausland
Abstract	The use of relative pronouns is an intriguing topic for learners and teachers. The past two decades have witnessed exponential growth in research on the use of relative pronouns. However, little attention has been given to relativizer omission among nonnative speakers in writing. This research examined the distribution of zero relativizers and the variation patterns of relative pronoun omission in academic writing among Chinese speakers of English. The data were collected from 396 written essays in two English-as-a-medium-of-instruction courses. Adopting a variationist approach, the written essays were analyzed by the Variable Rule (VARBRUL) analysis, a multivariate logistic regression. The findings revealed that through particular essay sentence structures, syntactic functions, type of antecedents, and length of relative clauses, one could predict the writer's choice of zero relative pronouns. The reasons for variation can be explained by the effects of language processing, predictability or frequency. Some pedagogical implications are proposed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	National Chengchi University Department of English. 64 Sec 2 ZhiNan Road, Wenshan District, Taipei 11605, Taiwan, R.O.C. Tel: 886-2-2938-7248; Fax: 886-2-2939-0510; e-mail: tjtesol@nccu.edu.tw; Web site: http://www.tjtesol.org/index.php/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01