Comparative Patterns of Lexical Bundles and Adjective Collocations in Academic Writing: Insights from Native English and Arab Writers

Subject Areas :

Ali Jabbar Zwayyer ¹ , Sousan Sattar Boroujeni ² , Haider Hussein Katea Khanjar ³ , Elahe Sadeghi Barzani ⁴

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Received: 2024-08-23 Accepted : 2024-09-30 Published : 2024-06-23

Keywords: Lexical bundles, adjective collocations, academic writing, native speakers of English, Arab speakers of English, contrastive rhetoric, corpus analysis,

Abstract :

 

 

This study investigates the use of lexical bundles and adjective collocations in academic writing by native English speakers and Arab speakers of English, with a particular focus on identifying significant similarities and differences in their usage. Lexical bundles—frequent multi-word sequences—and adjective collocations—commonly co-occurring adjective-noun pairs—are essential for academic fluency, coherence, and precision. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines quantitative measurements of lexical bundles and collocations with qualitative discourse analysis. The corpus consists of 30 academic articles, 15 written by native speakers of English and the other 15 by Arab English speakers, all extracted from the fields of linguistics and economics. The findings reveal notable discrepancies in the employment of lexical bundles, as native English authors utilize a wider array of these bundles, especially in terms of discourse structuring and argumentative expression. Conversely, Arab English authors exhibit a greater dependence on bundles related to formality and clarity, a tendency shaped by the conventions of discourse prevalent in their native Arabic language. Conversely, the examination showed no significant differences in the use of adjective collocations, suggesting that Arab authors tend to use a similar range of adjective-noun pairs to those of native speakers of English. The research underscores the significance of L1 transfer and cultural influences in the development of academic writing, with a specific focus on the employment of lexical bundles.

 

 

 

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Biodata
Ali Jabbar Zwayyer is an instructor, teacher and trainer in the General Directorate of Education in Thi-Qar, Gifted School in Thi-Qar where he has been a headquarter since 2020. He earned a BA in English Language & Art 1991, and an MA in TESOL applied Linguistics in 2013. Throughout his academic career, he has published one academic paper to peer-reviewed journals. His primary research interests lie in TESOL, pragmatics, discourse analysis, and stylistics.
E-mail: [e-mail]
Sousan Sattar Boroujeni is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, where she has been a faculty member since 2001. She earned a BA in English Teaching in 1992, an MA in TEFL in 1996, and further advanced her expertise by obtaining a PhD in TEFL in 2018. Throughout her academic career, she has authored two books, "Study Skills" and "Basic English Grammar." She has also contributed several academic papers to peer-reviewed journals and presented her research at national and international conferences. Her primary research interests lie in pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and methodology.
Email: [e-mail]
Haider Hussein Katea Khanjar is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Thi-Qar University, where he has been a faculty member since 2011. He earned a BA in English Language & Art 2004, an MA in Linguistics & English Language in 2011, and further advanced his expertise by obtaining a PhD in Linguistics in 2018. Throughout his academic career, he has contributed several academic papers to peer-reviewed journals and presented his research at national and international conferences. His primary research interests lie in pragmatics, discourse analysis, and stylistics.
E-mail: [e-mail]
Elahe Sadeghi-Barzani, an assistant professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch, was born in 1980 and began her teaching career at the age of 22. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she served as the head of her department for two years. She has published articles on TEFL and translation issues, with a strong interest in applied linguistics, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics. Elahe has supervised numerous M.A. and Ph.D. students in TEFL and translation, resulting in many dedicated teachers and translators who share their passion for English with joy
E-mail: [e-mail]