Adjective Intensification – Learner's versus Native Speakers

A Corpus Study of Argumentative Writing
Erscheinungsjahr 1999
ISBN: 978-90-420-0518-1
Verlag: Brill | Rodopi

Buch, Englisch, Band 27, 321 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 581 g

Reihe: Language and Computers

This volume represents one of the first full-length studies carried out on material from the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE), supplemented by data from younger learners and native speakers. It addresses three main goals:

a) the implementation of a developmental corpus methodology.
The study explores four corpora of argumentative writing, two sampled from advanced learners of different ages and two from corresponding native speakers of English. This way, the respective linguistic maturation in native and non-native writing can be traced with more explanatory power than could be yielded by a mere learner / native speaker contrast.
b) a functional account of adjective intensification in present-day written English.
Intensification is a singularly dynamic and innovative lexico-grammatical class. Despite their obvious limitations, small, text-type controlled corpora, such as the ones used here, make it feasible to examine this whole functional paradigm and identify the conceptual mechanisms of its continual innovation and semantic change.
c) the exploration of native vs. non-native usage and the notion of idiomaticity.
The main differences between native English usage and that of advanced learners rest not so much on grammatical structure, but on the rather elusive quality of 'idiomaticity'. In the limited domain of intensification, this notion is explored both qualitatively and arithmetically, with the aim of learning more about what it takes to use English idiomatically.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lorenz, Gunter R.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Introduction: towards a Learner Corpus Rationale
2 The Significance of Intensification
3 Methodological Considerations
4 The Adjective as Focus of Intensification
5 Closed-Class Intensifiers: a Motley Collection
6 Open-Class Intensifiers: Clearing the Ground
7 Open-Class Intensifiers and their Semantic Mechanisms
8 Learners' Adjective Intensification: Deficits and Deviations
9 Global Measures and Stylistic Differences
10 Summary and Implications
References
Appendices