It-Lexical Bundles Revisited: The Role of Disciplinary Variations and First Language

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Center of English Language, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Lexical bundles, starting with the anticipatory it, mostly serve as stance expressions (e.g., it is necessary to). While most research centers on anticipatory, it-bundles in one single discipline, not much has been done across different disciplinary areas. Therefore, based on an adaptation of the functional taxonomy proposed by Hewings and Hewings (2002), this research attempted to detect it-bundles using a corpus of 400 research papers in L1-English and L1-Persian in applied linguistics (AL) and information technology (IT) to probe the possible significant resemblances and disparities. According to the results, IT writers employed fewer bundles than their AL counterparts, and their overuse was more impressive than that of their L1-English peers in AL. However, AL and IT writers showed similarity in their use of functional categories; AL writers also made heavier use of two functional categories: emphatic and epistemic. As for practice, writing instructors can exploit the findings of this study to facilitate academic writing instruction. They can also help students to achieve a better comprehension of anticipatory it-bundles.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Ädel, A., & Erman, B. (2012). Recurrent word combinations in academic writing by native and non-native speakers of English: A lexical bundles approach. English for specific purposes, 31(2), 81-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2011.08.004.
Akeel, E. S. (2024). Exploring the functions of lexical bundles in undergraduate opinion paragraphs for pedagogical use. Language Learning in Higher Education, 14(2), 337-356.https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2024-00329(1), 93-124. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.1989.9.1.93.
Azadnia, M. (2023). A Corpus-based Study of the Use of Lexical Bundles in EAP Texts by Iranian EFL and ESL Learners. Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (Formerly Journal of Teaching Language Skills), 42(3), 1-27.
Biber, D. (1999). A register perspective on grammar and discourse: variability in the form and use of English complement clauses. Discourse studies, 1(2), 131-150. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445699001002001.
Biber, D. (2006). Stance in spoken and written university registers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(2), 97-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2006.05.001.
Biber, D., & Barbieri, F. (2007). Lexical bundles in university spoken and written registers. English for specific purposes, 26(3), 263-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2006.08.003.
Brown, P., Levinson, S. C., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage (Vol. 4). Cambridge University Press.
Chafe, W. L., & Nichols, J. (Eds.). (1986). Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology (Vol. 20, pp. 261-312). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Chen, Y. H., & Baker, P. (2010). Lexical bundles in L1 and L2 academic writing.
Conklin, K., & Schmitt, N. (2008). Formulaic sequences: Are they processed more quickly than nonformulaic language by native and non-native speakers?. Applied linguistics, 29(1), 72-89. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm022
Cortes, V. (2002). Lexical bundles in freshman composition. Using corpora to explore linguistic variation, 9, 131-145.
Cortes, V. (2004). Lexical bundles in published and student disciplinary writing: Examples from history and biology. English for specific purposes, 23(4), 397-423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2003.12.00.
Cortes, V. (2006). Teaching lexical bundles in the disciplines: An example from a writing intensive history class. Linguistics and education, 17(4), 391-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2007.02.001.
Cortes, V. (2013). The purpose of this study is to: Connecting lexical bundles and moves in research article introductions. Journal of English for academic purposes, 12(1), 33-43.
Durrant, P. (2017). Lexical bundles and disciplinary variation in university students’ writing: Mapping the territories. Applied Linguistics, 38(2), 165-193. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv011.
Farvardin, M. T., Afghari, A., & Koosha, M. (2012). Analysis of four-word lexical bundles in physics research articles. Advances in Digital Multimedia, 1(3), 134-139.
Firth, J. R. (1957). Ethnographic analysis and language with reference to Malinowski’s views. Man and Culture: an evaluation of the work of Bronislaw Malinowski, 93-118.
Gray, B., & Biber, D. (2012). Current conceptions of stance. Stance and voice in written academic genres, 15-33.
Herbel-Eisenmann, B., & Wagner, D. (2010). Appraising lexical bundles in mathematics classroom discourse: Obligation and choice. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 75, 43-63.
Hewings, M., & Hewings, A. (2002). “It is interesting to note that…”: a comparative study of anticipatory ‘it ’ in student and published writing. English for specific purposes, 21(4), 367-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(01)00016-3.
Hunston, S., & Thompson, G. (Eds.). (2000). Evaluation in text: Authorial stance and the construction of discourse: Authorial stance and the construction of discourse. Oxford University Press, UK.
Hyland, K. (1996). Writing without conviction? Hedging in science research articles. Applied linguistics, 17(4), 433-454. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/17.4.433.
Hyland, K. (2001). Bringing in the reader: Addressee features in academic articles. Written communication, 18(4), 549-574. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365.
Hyland, K. (2005). Stance and engagement: A model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse studies, 7(2), 173-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365.
Hyland, K. (2008). As can be seen: Lexical bundles and disciplinary variation. English for specific purposes, 27(1), 4-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2007.06.001.
Hyland, K., & Guinda, C. S. (Eds.). (2012). Stance and voice in written academic genres (pp. 134-150). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jalali, H. (2017). Reflection of stance through it-bundles in applied linguistics. Ampersand, 4, 30-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2017.06.001
Jhang, S. E., Kim, S., & Qi, Y. (2018). Lexical bundles in ESP writing: Marine accident investigation reports. Linguistic Research, 35.
Jiang, F., Kim, H. D., Na, H. S., Lee, S. Y., Seo, D. W., Choi, J. Y., ... & Chung, M. W. (2015). The influences of CYP2D6 genotypes and drug interactions on the pharmacokinetics of venlafaxine: exploring predictive biomarkers for treatment outcomes. Psychopharmacology, 232, 1899-1909. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3825-6.
Jones, M., & Haywood, S. (2004). Facilitating the acquisition of formulaic sequences. F ormulaic sequences, 269-300.
Kashiha, H., & Chan, S. H. (2014). Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Disciplinary Investigation of Lexical Bundles in Academic Writing. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 22(4).
Labov, W. (1985, June). The several logics of quantification. In Annual Meeting of the       Berkeley Linguistics Society (Vol. 11, pp. 175-195).
             Lancaster, Z. (2016). Expressing stance in undergraduate writing: Discipline-specific and general qualities. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 23, 16-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2016.05.006.
Larsson, T. (2017). A functional classification of the introductory it pattern: Investigating academic writing by non-native-speaker and native-speaker students. English for Specific  Purposes, 48, 57-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2017.06.001.
Liu, C. Y., & Chen, H. J. H. (2020). Analyzing the functions of lexical bundles in undergraduate academic lectures for pedagogical use. English for Specific Purposes, 58, 122-137. . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2019.12.003.
Pan, F., Reppen, R., & Biber, D. (2016). Comparing patterns of L1 versus L2 English academic professionals: Lexical bundles in Telecommunications research journals. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 21, 60-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.11.003.
Ruiying, Y., & Allison, D. (2003). Research articles in applied linguistics: Moving from results to conclusions. English for specific purposes, 22(4), 365-385. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00026-1.
Shin, Y. K. (2019). Do native writers always have a head start over non-native writers? The use of lexical bundles in college students’ essays. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 40, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.04.004.
Staples, S., Egbert, J., Biber, D., & McClair, A. (2013). Formulaic sequences and EAP writing development: Lexical bundles in the TOEFL iBT writing section. Journal of English for academic purposes, 12(3), 214-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.05.002.
Wang, Q. (2015). A conceptual modeling framework for network analytics. Data & Knowledge Engineering, 99, 59-71.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.datak.2015.06.00.
Wei, Y., & Lei, L. (2011). Lexical bundles in the academic writing of advanced Chinese EFL learners. RELC Journal, 42(2), 155-166.
Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic language and the lexicon. Cambridge University Press
Yang, M. (2024). Mapping shared lexical bundles onto rhetorical moves in nursing research articles: A comparative study of paradigmatic variation. ICAME Journal, 48(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.2478/icame-2024-0005.