This study attempts to examine the colligational use of the high-frequency verbs DO, HAVE and BE in Chinese EFL learners'written production in the CIA (Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis) approach. Findings of the...This study attempts to examine the colligational use of the high-frequency verbs DO, HAVE and BE in Chinese EFL learners'written production in the CIA (Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis) approach. Findings of the study indicate that: Chinese learners use a much smaller variety of colligational patterns, they tend to underuse the inflected forms of these verbs in their colligations and they tend to use pronouns as the subject of these verbs. Though at advanced level, they still have difficulty with grammar in terms of tense, aspect and voice. The influence of L1 transfer, the learners'spoken style in writing, the classroom teaching and the learners'use of the avoidance strategy are thought to be the major reasons. The findings in this study may have some light to shed on the EFL teaching and research in China.展开更多
The Berne Convention plays a very important role in the protection of the copyright in its member states. Good Chinese translation for the Berne Convention will undoubtedly improve the implementation of it in China. O...The Berne Convention plays a very important role in the protection of the copyright in its member states. Good Chinese translation for the Berne Convention will undoubtedly improve the implementation of it in China. One of the key factors that affect the translation of the Berne Convention is the translation for the modal verbs, because they are concerning the rights conferred to or obligations imposed on authors or countries of the Union. Based on the statistics of the modal verbs used in the Berne Convention, this paper discovers that ＂shall＂ and ＂may＂ are the most frequently used modal verbs among the ones in English language and they are translated into many types of phrases in Chinese, but not all of them are accurate or appropriate, because the expressions used in the Copyright Law of the People＇s Republic of China to indicate rights, obligations or prohibitions are not all those that ＂shall＂ or ＂may＂ are translated into. Some suggestions can be put forward to improve the current Chinese translation for ＂shall＂ or ＂may＂ in the Berne Convention.展开更多
Unquestionably, anyone born to Urhobo parents, being biologically Urhobo, should speak the Urhobo language. But does everybody born by an Urhobo parent speak Urhobo？ From our observation, the answer to this question ...Unquestionably, anyone born to Urhobo parents, being biologically Urhobo, should speak the Urhobo language. But does everybody born by an Urhobo parent speak Urhobo？ From our observation, the answer to this question is clearly ＂no＂. Many of the Urhobo people in the Diaspora as well as those at home have chosen to shift from their own language to other languages. Hence Urhobo language has gradually acquired the status of a second language. Therefore, its teaching would also veer away from language teaching methods that are used for first languages. Based on Noam Chomsky＇s theory of Generative Grammar, aspects of the Urhobo grammar will be treated as we present specifically the verb ＂edia＂/＂to be＂. As it is, it is being presented as a second language bearing in mind the great population of Urhobo people in the Diaspora as well as Mowarin＇s ＂miguo generation＂ of Urhobo children back home in Urhobo land. This being so, the methods applied in this study are the Grammar Translation Method Approach as well as the Direct Method Approach. To facilitate its learning especially for the new generation of Urhobo persons, the poetic approach would also be applied.展开更多
Reporting verbs are not only an important means of presenting characters’speeches,but also an important means of characterization in narratives.The original and the two English versions of Eileen Chang’s novella“St...Reporting verbs are not only an important means of presenting characters’speeches,but also an important means of characterization in narratives.The original and the two English versions of Eileen Chang’s novella“Steamed Osmanthus”are used as a corpus to conduct a comparative analysis focusing on the reporting verbs of the heroine Ah-Xiao.The analysis shows that the two translators-Eileen Chang herself and Simon Patton-have different styles.Patton favors the use of structuring verbs(especially“replied”)and neutral verbs in serial verb constructions while Chang tends to use neutral verbs glossed by an adverb,an adjective or a prepositional phrase.Descriptive verbs,especially prosodic verbs,also predominate in Chang’s version.As a result,both versions may have shaped a different Ah Xiao.展开更多
In this study,it aims at examining the differences between humangenerated and AI-generated texts in IELTS Writing Task 2.It especially focuses on lexical resourcefulness,grammatical accuracy,and contextual appropriate...In this study,it aims at examining the differences between humangenerated and AI-generated texts in IELTS Writing Task 2.It especially focuses on lexical resourcefulness,grammatical accuracy,and contextual appropriateness.We analyzed 20 essays,including 10 human written ones by Chinese university students who have achieved an IELTS writing score ranging from 5.5 to 6.0,and 10 ChatGPT-4 Turbo-generated ones,using a mixed-methods approach,through corpus-based tools(NLTK,SpaCy,AntConc)and qualitative content analysis.Results showed that AI texts exhibited superior grammatical accuracy(0.4%–3%error rates for AI vs.20–26%for university students)but higher lexical repetition(17.2%to 23.25%for AI vs.17.68%for university students)and weaker contextual adaptability(3.33/10–3.69/10 for AI vs.3.23/10 to 4.14/10 for university students).While AI’s grammatical precision supports its utility as a corrective tool,human writers outperformed AI in lexical diversity and task-specific nuance.The findings advocate for a hybrid pedagogical model that leverages AI’s strengths in error detection while retaining human instruction for advanced lexical and contextual skills.Limitations include the small corpus and single-AI-model focus,suggesting future research with diverse datasets and longitudinal designs.展开更多
Verbs of creation in English and Chinese demonstrate asymmetries in its projection to double-object construction. But underling the projection process there is a uniform operation mechanism, namely that the configurat...Verbs of creation in English and Chinese demonstrate asymmetries in its projection to double-object construction. But underling the projection process there is a uniform operation mechanism, namely that the configuration is affected by the interaction between the Meaning Assignment Principle （MAP）, the Distance Principle of Iconicity （DPI） and the Lexical Feature Constraints （LFC）, among which MAP and DPI are inviolable due to its cross-linguistic universality. Once LFC is violated, there must be compensation on the part of DPI, otherwise, the verb of creation in question would be unacceptable to double-object construction.展开更多
Based on Tess of the D'urbervilles and its two versions in Chinese, the static feature of English is clarifi ed from two aspects: preponderance of nouns and feeble verbs while the dynamic feature of Chinese is ref...Based on Tess of the D'urbervilles and its two versions in Chinese, the static feature of English is clarifi ed from two aspects: preponderance of nouns and feeble verbs while the dynamic feature of Chinese is refl ected by the frequent and fl exible application of verbs and verbal reduplication. The realistic value of this contrastive analysis is that it can point out the key points and diffi culties in learning English which is helpful for FL teaching, translation and lexicography.展开更多
Through classifying modal verbs from the semantic aspect and the pragmatic aspect, this paper discusses difficulties that students may encounter in modal verb learning. It indicates that modal verbs have complicacy, a...Through classifying modal verbs from the semantic aspect and the pragmatic aspect, this paper discusses difficulties that students may encounter in modal verb learning. It indicates that modal verbs have complicacy, and a deductive approach and inductive approach should intermingle as an appropriate method to improve students' accuracy in use of modal verbs.展开更多
Adopting corpus-based approach, the use of copular verbs by Chinese college English learners is studied through a comparison between the COLEC and the LOCNESS. The main findings are: 1)Chinese college English learners...Adopting corpus-based approach, the use of copular verbs by Chinese college English learners is studied through a comparison between the COLEC and the LOCNESS. The main findings are: 1)Chinese college English learners under-use copular verbs; 2) Chinese college English learners select a limited variety of copular verbs; 3) Types of complement after most copular verbs used by Chinese college English learners lack variety; 4) Chinese college English learners use less various and more simpler complements than native speakers.展开更多
Empty categories,which lack phonological form and hence are not visible in the phonetic representation of the sentence,have both syntactic and semantic properties.Null subjects PRO and pro are base-generated empty cat...Empty categories,which lack phonological form and hence are not visible in the phonetic representation of the sentence,have both syntactic and semantic properties.Null subjects PRO and pro are base-generated empty categories.This thesis,based on Chomsky's theory about empty categories and research achievements made by Chinese scholars,attempts to analyze the liandong(Serial Verb) construction from Figure and Ground perspective.展开更多
This paper proposes a new way to improve the performance of dependency parser: subdividing verbs according to their grammatical functions and integrating the information of verb subclasses into lexicalized parsing mod...This paper proposes a new way to improve the performance of dependency parser: subdividing verbs according to their grammatical functions and integrating the information of verb subclasses into lexicalized parsing model. Firstly,the scheme of verb subdivision is described. Secondly,a maximum entropy model is presented to distinguish verb subclasses. Finally,a statistical parser is developed to evaluate the verb subdivision. Experimental results indicate that the use of verb subclasses has a good influence on parsing performance.展开更多
The synthetic defining style, a predominant way used to define verbs in many dictionaries, is the main factor that makes dictionary definitions vague and incomplete. The present paper argues that instead of the synthe...The synthetic defining style, a predominant way used to define verbs in many dictionaries, is the main factor that makes dictionary definitions vague and incomplete. The present paper argues that instead of the synthetic defining mode, an analytical meaning-explaining way should be used in dictionaries designed for SLA learners. The analytical meanings of verbs are viewed as mini-narratives and form event schemata comprised of three sub-schemata, namely, participant schema, action schema and scenario schema. The three sub-schemata should be clearly fore-grounded in verbs＇ definitions in learners＇ dictionaries.展开更多
文摘This study attempts to examine the colligational use of the high-frequency verbs DO, HAVE and BE in Chinese EFL learners'written production in the CIA (Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis) approach. Findings of the study indicate that: Chinese learners use a much smaller variety of colligational patterns, they tend to underuse the inflected forms of these verbs in their colligations and they tend to use pronouns as the subject of these verbs. Though at advanced level, they still have difficulty with grammar in terms of tense, aspect and voice. The influence of L1 transfer, the learners'spoken style in writing, the classroom teaching and the learners'use of the avoidance strategy are thought to be the major reasons. The findings in this study may have some light to shed on the EFL teaching and research in China.
文摘The Berne Convention plays a very important role in the protection of the copyright in its member states. Good Chinese translation for the Berne Convention will undoubtedly improve the implementation of it in China. One of the key factors that affect the translation of the Berne Convention is the translation for the modal verbs, because they are concerning the rights conferred to or obligations imposed on authors or countries of the Union. Based on the statistics of the modal verbs used in the Berne Convention, this paper discovers that ＂shall＂ and ＂may＂ are the most frequently used modal verbs among the ones in English language and they are translated into many types of phrases in Chinese, but not all of them are accurate or appropriate, because the expressions used in the Copyright Law of the People＇s Republic of China to indicate rights, obligations or prohibitions are not all those that ＂shall＂ or ＂may＂ are translated into. Some suggestions can be put forward to improve the current Chinese translation for ＂shall＂ or ＂may＂ in the Berne Convention.
文摘Unquestionably, anyone born to Urhobo parents, being biologically Urhobo, should speak the Urhobo language. But does everybody born by an Urhobo parent speak Urhobo？ From our observation, the answer to this question is clearly ＂no＂. Many of the Urhobo people in the Diaspora as well as those at home have chosen to shift from their own language to other languages. Hence Urhobo language has gradually acquired the status of a second language. Therefore, its teaching would also veer away from language teaching methods that are used for first languages. Based on Noam Chomsky＇s theory of Generative Grammar, aspects of the Urhobo grammar will be treated as we present specifically the verb ＂edia＂/＂to be＂. As it is, it is being presented as a second language bearing in mind the great population of Urhobo people in the Diaspora as well as Mowarin＇s ＂miguo generation＂ of Urhobo children back home in Urhobo land. This being so, the methods applied in this study are the Grammar Translation Method Approach as well as the Direct Method Approach. To facilitate its learning especially for the new generation of Urhobo persons, the poetic approach would also be applied.
文摘Reporting verbs are not only an important means of presenting characters’speeches,but also an important means of characterization in narratives.The original and the two English versions of Eileen Chang’s novella“Steamed Osmanthus”are used as a corpus to conduct a comparative analysis focusing on the reporting verbs of the heroine Ah-Xiao.The analysis shows that the two translators-Eileen Chang herself and Simon Patton-have different styles.Patton favors the use of structuring verbs(especially“replied”)and neutral verbs in serial verb constructions while Chang tends to use neutral verbs glossed by an adverb,an adjective or a prepositional phrase.Descriptive verbs,especially prosodic verbs,also predominate in Chang’s version.As a result,both versions may have shaped a different Ah Xiao.
基金supported by the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund(FDCT)(No.0071/2023/RIB3)Joint Research Funding Program between the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund(FDCT)and the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province(FDCTGDST)(No.0003-2024-AGJ).
文摘In this study,it aims at examining the differences between humangenerated and AI-generated texts in IELTS Writing Task 2.It especially focuses on lexical resourcefulness,grammatical accuracy,and contextual appropriateness.We analyzed 20 essays,including 10 human written ones by Chinese university students who have achieved an IELTS writing score ranging from 5.5 to 6.0,and 10 ChatGPT-4 Turbo-generated ones,using a mixed-methods approach,through corpus-based tools(NLTK,SpaCy,AntConc)and qualitative content analysis.Results showed that AI texts exhibited superior grammatical accuracy(0.4%–3%error rates for AI vs.20–26%for university students)but higher lexical repetition(17.2%to 23.25%for AI vs.17.68%for university students)and weaker contextual adaptability(3.33/10–3.69/10 for AI vs.3.23/10 to 4.14/10 for university students).While AI’s grammatical precision supports its utility as a corrective tool,human writers outperformed AI in lexical diversity and task-specific nuance.The findings advocate for a hybrid pedagogical model that leverages AI’s strengths in error detection while retaining human instruction for advanced lexical and contextual skills.Limitations include the small corpus and single-AI-model focus,suggesting future research with diverse datasets and longitudinal designs.
文摘Verbs of creation in English and Chinese demonstrate asymmetries in its projection to double-object construction. But underling the projection process there is a uniform operation mechanism, namely that the configuration is affected by the interaction between the Meaning Assignment Principle （MAP）, the Distance Principle of Iconicity （DPI） and the Lexical Feature Constraints （LFC）, among which MAP and DPI are inviolable due to its cross-linguistic universality. Once LFC is violated, there must be compensation on the part of DPI, otherwise, the verb of creation in question would be unacceptable to double-object construction.
文摘Based on Tess of the D'urbervilles and its two versions in Chinese, the static feature of English is clarifi ed from two aspects: preponderance of nouns and feeble verbs while the dynamic feature of Chinese is refl ected by the frequent and fl exible application of verbs and verbal reduplication. The realistic value of this contrastive analysis is that it can point out the key points and diffi culties in learning English which is helpful for FL teaching, translation and lexicography.
文摘Through classifying modal verbs from the semantic aspect and the pragmatic aspect, this paper discusses difficulties that students may encounter in modal verb learning. It indicates that modal verbs have complicacy, and a deductive approach and inductive approach should intermingle as an appropriate method to improve students' accuracy in use of modal verbs.
文摘Adopting corpus-based approach, the use of copular verbs by Chinese college English learners is studied through a comparison between the COLEC and the LOCNESS. The main findings are: 1)Chinese college English learners under-use copular verbs; 2) Chinese college English learners select a limited variety of copular verbs; 3) Types of complement after most copular verbs used by Chinese college English learners lack variety; 4) Chinese college English learners use less various and more simpler complements than native speakers.
文摘Empty categories,which lack phonological form and hence are not visible in the phonetic representation of the sentence,have both syntactic and semantic properties.Null subjects PRO and pro are base-generated empty categories.This thesis,based on Chomsky's theory about empty categories and research achievements made by Chinese scholars,attempts to analyze the liandong(Serial Verb) construction from Figure and Ground perspective.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.60435020, 60575042 and 60503072).
文摘This paper proposes a new way to improve the performance of dependency parser: subdividing verbs according to their grammatical functions and integrating the information of verb subclasses into lexicalized parsing model. Firstly,the scheme of verb subdivision is described. Secondly,a maximum entropy model is presented to distinguish verb subclasses. Finally,a statistical parser is developed to evaluate the verb subdivision. Experimental results indicate that the use of verb subclasses has a good influence on parsing performance.
文摘The synthetic defining style, a predominant way used to define verbs in many dictionaries, is the main factor that makes dictionary definitions vague and incomplete. The present paper argues that instead of the synthetic defining mode, an analytical meaning-explaining way should be used in dictionaries designed for SLA learners. The analytical meanings of verbs are viewed as mini-narratives and form event schemata comprised of three sub-schemata, namely, participant schema, action schema and scenario schema. The three sub-schemata should be clearly fore-grounded in verbs＇ definitions in learners＇ dictionaries.
