In the late 1980s Sidney Greenbaum, a British scholar of the English language and of linguistics, had a vision:
As the parallel corpora become available, new possibilities open up for rigorous comparative and contrastive studies. I envisage the search for typologies of national varieties of English: first-language versus second-language English, British-type versus American-type English, African versus Asian English, East African versus West African English. Researchers might explore what is common to English in all countries where it is used for internal communication, demonstrating how far it is legitimate to speak of a common core for English or of an international written standard.“ (Greenbaum in Sand, 2004: 281).
As a result of that breadth of view and building on his early experimental techniques investigating English grammar and usage, Greenbaum founded the International Corpus of English (ICE). The ICE is a major research project based at the Survey of English Usage to establish identically constructed corpora in different countries of the English-speaking world and provides linguists with a suitable database for their investigations regarding language usage and development, respectively.
This term paper attempts to demonstrate what corpus-based approaches can tell about New Englishes and Asian Varieties, respectively. At first I am going to demonstrate how lexical items (the definite article and the particle verb) are used for synchronic and diachronic analyses. I will then proceed to cultural and sociolinguistic aspects and eventually conclude with some desiderata pushing the subject beyond the boundaries of the prompt.
Table of Contents
1 Abstract
2 Synchronic Analysis
2.1 The Definite Article
2.2 Empiric research on ICE data basis
2.3 Results
2.4 Interpretation of the data
3 Diachronic Analysis
3.1 Tracing structural nativization
3.2 Monitoring the development of a variety
4 Cultural Competence
5 What can corpus-based approaches tell about Standard English?
6 Sociolinguistics
7 Desiderata
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper aims to explore the utility of corpus-based approaches in analyzing "New Englishes" and various Asian English varieties. By examining empirical data from the International Corpus of English (ICE), the study investigates whether linguistic features—specifically the definite article and particle verbs—can provide insights into the structural nativization, usage variability, and cultural nuances of these English varieties.
- Application of the International Corpus of English (ICE) in linguistic research.
- Synchronic analysis of the definite article across different English varieties.
- Diachronic examination of particle verbs as indicators of structural nativization.
- Evaluation of the "substrate language hypothesis" in the context of New Englishes.
- The relationship between corpus-based findings and the concept of Standard English.
Excerpt from the Book
2.4 Interpretation of the data
Looking at the distribution in ICE-GB and ICE-NZ, we find rather similar distributions in the two varieties. There is obviously a rise in frequencies of the definite article in the spoken text types, from informal to formal – academic prose, e.g., contains twice as many definite articles – which reflects the increasing frequency and complexity of noun phrases in the relevant genres (cf. ibid., 288). In the written text types, student essays and informational writing contain the highest frequencies, while the fiction category is roughly on the same level as the more formal spoken texts.
Salient and critical to this discussion is that the two ENL varieties are very homogeneous with regard to the definite article while the distribution across the Indian and Singaporean variety displays a slightly different pattern. It is clearly visible that a correlation with the presence or absence of definite articles in the substrate language can only (if at all) be detected in spontaneous street conversations (S1A). In my opinion, this result moots the question whether the substrate language hypothesis can, after all, be conclusively substantiated or even corroborated.
Sand's empiric work on the use of the definite article demonstrates how invaluable an ICE approach is when linguists apply synchronic analysis to compare varieties to each other and against the backdrop of so called Standard English. Let's take a look at the field of diachronic linguistics.
Summary of Chapters
1 Abstract: Provides an overview of Sidney Greenbaum's vision for parallel corpora and outlines the paper's focus on corpus-based approaches to Asian Englishes.
2 Synchronic Analysis: Examines the variability of the definite article across different varieties of English to determine if usage patterns are influenced by substrate languages or universal contact processes.
3 Diachronic Analysis: Investigates the use of particle verbs as a means to trace structural nativization and monitors the evolutionary development of specific English varieties.
4 Cultural Competence: Discusses how corpus-based methodologies can reveal cultural attitudes and the impact of globalization on language evolution.
5 What can corpus-based approaches tell about Standard English?: Explores the potential of ICE data to provide empirical evidence for defining or reconsidering the concept of Standard English.
6 Sociolinguistics: Details how corpus data acts as a representation of speaker experience and its utility in refining linguistic perspectives.
7 Desiderata: Concludes the paper by identifying future research potential and limitations, specifically regarding other Asian English idiosyncrasies.
Keywords
Corpus linguistics, International Corpus of English, New Englishes, Asian varieties, Definite article, Particle verbs, Structural nativization, Language contact, Substrate hypothesis, Synchronic analysis, Diachronic linguistics, Standard English, Sociolinguistics, Morpho-syntactic features, Language usage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on the application of corpus-based approaches, specifically utilizing the International Corpus of English (ICE), to analyze the structural and usage characteristics of "New Englishes," with a particular emphasis on Asian varieties.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
Key themes include the synchronic analysis of the definite article, the diachronic investigation of particle verbs, the concept of structural nativization, and the ongoing debate surrounding Standard English.
What is the central research objective?
The objective is to demonstrate how empirical corpus data can provide evidence-based insights into how varieties of English develop, diverge, and share linguistic commonalities compared to traditional "Standard English."
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author employs a quantitative corpus-based approach, comparing frequency and usage patterns across various ICE sub-corpora (e.g., ICE-GB, ICE-NZ, ICE-IND, ICE-SIN) to identify distinct linguistic behaviors.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the distribution of the definite article, the incidence and productivity of particle verbs in different varieties, the influence of substrate languages, and the role of linguistic corpora in understanding language change.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Essential keywords include New Englishes, Corpus Linguistics, ICE, Definite Article, Particle Verbs, Nativization, and Language Contact.
How does the paper evaluate the "substrate language hypothesis"?
The author questions the validity of the substrate hypothesis, suggesting that while some correlation exists in informal speech, it is not consistently substantiated across all text types or varieties.
What specific findings are highlighted regarding Singaporean English?
The findings indicate that Singaporean English exhibits a significantly higher frequency of particle verbs and a greater range of creative semantic usage compared to other studied varieties.
What role does the "Speak Good English" movement play in the analysis?
The author speculates that Singapore’s government-led standardization efforts may influence particle verb usage, though notes this remains a hypothesis requiring further scientific verification.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Richard Grünert (Autor:in), 2010, What can corpus-based approaches tell about New Englishes?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/155303
