A Corpus Study of Lexical Bundles Used Differently in Dissertations Abstracts Produced by Chinese and American PhD Students of Linguistics

Abstract

This study examined lexical bundles (LBs) used differently by Chinese and American PhD students of linguistics in their dissertation abstracts. Two corpora were built, with each having 700 dissertation abstracts produced by Chinese and American PhD students of linguistics, respectively. The study then used lexical analysis software to retrieve frequently used three-word LBs, from which LBs having different frequencies at a significant level across the two corpora were identified and termed as bundles used differently (BUDs). BUDs were then categorized and analyzed manually in terms of structure, function, and distribution in rhetorical moves. The major findings were: (1) 57.14% of the frequently used LBs were BUDs, of which 90.67% had occurrences in both corpora. The BUDs distributed inequivalently across categories and moves, with the text-oriented category and the move of Result having the most BUDs; and (2) BUDs exhibited two major patterns: the Chinese and American students filled different constituents into structurally and functionally similar constructions, and used LBs of dissimilar functions to fulfill the same communicative purposes. These findings indicate that variations in LB use have a high pedagogic value and confirm the need for using corpora to identify and teach core genre-specific vocabularies to second/foreign language learners.

Comparative Analysis of Move-Specific Lexical Bundles in Linguistics Dissertation Abstracts: A Study of Students from China and the United States

“…While we concur that there are disparities in the English language proficiencies between Chinese and American students, we contend that when interpreting findings related to DAs, it is crucial to consider the high-stakes nature of these academic texts, as underscored by Hyland (2008a). Given that degree papers serve dual purposes—the demonstration of research findings and the fulfillment of degree requirements—Chinese students are inclined to employ language sequences that instill confidence (Bao & Liu, 2022). In this context, authors are compelled to use LBs that align with the expectations of both dissertation committee members and anonymous reviewers, adhering to their standards of academic writing.…”

“…The divergent abstract lengths between the two corpora may be indicative of differing discoursal expectations for the genre in China and the U.S. For instance, many professors in Chinese universities may anticipate the inclusion of research questions in DAs, while this may not be as prevalent among professors in American universities. It is therefore crucial for L2 instructors and learners to recognize that DAs “are a high-stake genre, concerning both research manifestation and degree fulfillment” (Bao & Liu, 2022, p. 10). Although research presentation primarily caters to an international readership, degree fulfillment requires the approval of a dissertation committee, primarily composed of domestic professors.…”

“…LBs are “recurrent expressions, regardless of their idiomaticity, and regardless of their structural status” (Biber et al, 1999, p. 990). They are characterized by “non-idiomaticity, structural incompleteness, and frequency-driven identification” (Bao & Liu, 2022, p. 2). As an illustrative example, characteristics of the lacks idiomaticity, displays structural incompleteness, but is recognized as a LB owing to its high frequency in CLC.…”

“…The majority of LB research within the abstract genre has been concentrated on journal articles (Kim & Lee, 2021; Omidian et al, 2018; Qi & Pan, 2020). However, recognizing that dissertations and RAs constitute “two distinct genres” (El-Dakhs, 2018, p. 58), recent scholarship has begun to investigate LBs in dissertation or thesis abstracts authored by students from China and the United States (Bao & Liu, 2022; Lu & Deng, 2019; Lyu & Gee, 2019), and those by students from different L1 backgrounds (Li et al, 2020). These studies have scrutinized general LBs (Lu & Deng, 2019; Lyu & Gee, 2019), LBs with noteworthy variations in token frequencies across corpora (Bao & Liu, 2022), and sentence-initial LBs (Li et al, 2020).…”

“…However, recognizing that dissertations and RAs constitute “two distinct genres” (El-Dakhs, 2018, p. 58), recent scholarship has begun to investigate LBs in dissertation or thesis abstracts authored by students from China and the United States (Bao & Liu, 2022; Lu & Deng, 2019; Lyu & Gee, 2019), and those by students from different L1 backgrounds (Li et al, 2020). These studies have scrutinized general LBs (Lu & Deng, 2019; Lyu & Gee, 2019), LBs with noteworthy variations in token frequencies across corpora (Bao & Liu, 2022), and sentence-initial LBs (Li et al, 2020). Nonetheless, MLBs, which are LBs characterized by their frequent occurrences within a particular rhetorical move and thus integral to its construction, have been relatively unexplored in existing literature.…”