Givenness in discourse via passive constructions: An analysis of applied linguistics articles in Scopus Quartile 1 (Q1) and Thai-Citation Index (TCI) Tier 2 Journals

Authors

  • Habib Abdesslem Faculty of Letters, Arts, and Humanities, University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Abhinan Wongkittiporn English Language Department, College of Liberal Arts, Rangsit University, Thailand

Keywords:

A-movement, cohesion, coherence, givenness in discourse, passive constructions, Scopus Q1 Journal, Thai-Citation Index Tier 2 Journal

Abstract

This study examined givenness in discourse via passive constructions in research articles. While it is commonly held in grammar books and grammar classes that the passive voice is the counterpart of the active voice, the present study argues that Argument movement in passive constructions can act as a syntactic device contributing to sound semantic relations between sentences and to a smoothe flow of discourse. The data collected to support this view consisted of 12 applied linguistics articles. The first dataset was from the international journal System. It included 6 research papers whose authors were affiliated with USA or UK higher education institutions. The second dataset was from Pasaa Paritat Journal, a Thai academic journal. It included 6 research papers whose authors were Southeast Asian scholars, affiliated with Southeast Asian higher education institutions. A total number of 144 tokens of passive constructions was collected. The data analysis went through three stages: a syntactic identification and quantification of passive sentences, an inferential statistical analysis, and a close reading of illustrative excerpts, mainly from the Thai Journal. The syntactic identification of passive constructions was based on transformational generative grammar. The inferential statistical analysis used Pearson Correlation. The results of the statistical analysis showed a significant relation between passive constructions and givenness in international applied linguistics research articles where the p-value was 0.010. No statistically significant relation was found between passive constructions and givenness in the Southeast Asian applied linguistics research articles, where the p-value was 0.064. The study also revealed that international academic writers used raised DP in passive constructions as a syntactic cohesive device more often and with more variation than academic Southeast Asian writers. The close reading of excerpts from the Southeast Asian data revealed substantive aspects of indirectness, misconnection, and circularity in the development of ideas. The paper contends that the study of passive constructions realising intersentential giveness can contribute to the improvement of learners’ and novice academics’ writing skills. It can also open up fresh paths for applied linguistics research.

Author Biographies

Habib Abdesslem, Faculty of Letters, Arts, and Humanities, University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia

Habib Abdesslem, BA English (University of Tunis), MAQ & PhD Linguistics (University of Sheffield, UK), MA Philosophy of Language and Literary Criticism (University of Sheffield, UK). Professor of Linguistics and former Director of the Doctoral Program, University of Manouba, Tunisia. Visiting Professor at King Saud University (2000-2006). Author of Lesson Discourse Analysis (1992), Edwin Mellen Press; Co-author of The Teaching of Foreign Languages in the Arab World (2008), ALECSO Press. Published papers in International Review of Applied Linguistics, Journal of Literary Semantics, Cahiers de Linguisitique d' Ottawa, Langues et Litteratures (University of Algiers), and Lettres de Kairouan (University of Kairouan). Supervised more than 20 MA theses. Supervised and co-supervised Doctoral theses at the Universities of Manouba (Tunis, Tunisia) King Saud (KSA), Strathclyde  (Scotland), Lorraine (France) and  UCL (Belgium).  Supervising Doctoral Theses at The University of Manouba . Visiting Professor of Linguistics and Translation Studies, King Khalid University, since 2015.

Abhinan Wongkittiporn, English Language Department, College of Liberal Arts, Rangsit University, Thailand

English Language Department, College of Liberal Arts, Rangsit University, Thailand

References

Abdesslem, H. (2019). Editor-in-Chief’s Introduction. Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), i-vi.

Abdesslem, H. (2020). Writer-author presence and responsibility in attribution and averral: A model for the analysis of academic discourse. Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 25-62.

Adel, A. (2010). Just to give you kind of a map of where we are going: A taxonomy of metadiscourse in spoken and written academic English. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(2), 69-97.

Adel, A & Mauranen, A. (2010). Metadiscourse: Diverse and divided perspectives. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(2), 1-11.

Al Zumor, A. & Abdesslem, H. (2022). English Medium Instruction (EMI) in Saudi higher education: Challenges and prospects. Curle, S. et al. (eds). English-medium instruction in the Middle East and North Africa. (pp. 87-108). Bloomsbury.

Amdur, R. J., Kirwan, J., & Morris, C. G. (2010). Use of the passive voice in medical journal articles. AMWA Journal: American Medical Writers Association Journal, 25(3), 93-106.

Anuwech, P. & Sapsirin, S. (2023). The effects of speaking portfolios on interactional competence of Thai EFL undergraduate students. Pasaa Paritat Journal, 38, 164-193.

Biber, D. & Hared, M. (1991). Dimensions of register variation in Somali. Language Variation and Change, 4, 41-75.

Bielak, J., Pawlak, M., & Mystkowska-Wiertelak, A. (2013). Teaching the English active and passive voice with the help of cognitive grammar: An empirical study. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 3(4), 581-619.

Chanyo, N. (2018). Cohesive devices and academic writing quality of Thai undergraduate sthdents. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(5), 994-1001.

Di Ferrante, L. (2023). How passive voice gets affected by popularization. Status Quaestionis, Language Text Culture, SQ 25, 268-299.

Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press.

Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, K. (1976). Cohesion in English. Longman.

Halliday, M.A.K., & Matthiessen, C.M. (2014). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar. Routledge.

Huang, Y. (2007). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.

Hunt, K. W. (1865). Grammatical structures written in three grade levels. NCTE research report 3. Champaign, Illinois, National council of teachers of English.

Hyland, K. (2004). Disciplinary interactions: Metadiscourse in L2 postgraduate writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13, 133-151.

Hyland, K. (2005). Metadiscourse: Exploring Interaction in Writing. Continuum.

Hyland, K. (2017). Metadiscourse: What is it and where is it going? Journal of Pragmatics, 113, 16-29.

Kaplan, R. (1966). Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language Learning, 16, 1-20.

Kearns, K. (2011). Semantics. Palgrave Macmillan.

Khairani, A. et al (2024). A comparative move analysis of interdisciplinary research articles written by reputable Indonesian authors throughout their early career period. Indonesian EFL Journal, 9(2), 95-108.

Khani, R., & Tazik, K. (2013). Towards the development of an academic word list for applied linguistics research articles. RELC journal, 44(2), 209-232.

Labov, W. (1985). Sociolinguistics. De Gruyter Mouton.

Lu, L. (2013). A contrastive study of the passive voice in journal articles in theoretical and applied linguistics. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 36(4), 465-478.

Masliza, Mat Zali, et al. (2021). Comparisons of interactive and interactional metadiscourse among undergraduates. Asian Journal of University Education, 16(4), 20-30.

McConnell, J., Tian, Z. & Yazan, B. (2024). Content-area teacher candidates’ identity work in an online teacher education course, System, 123, 103348.

McCutchen, D. (2011). From novice to expert: Implications of language skills and writing-relevant knowledge for memory during the development of writing skill. Journal of Writing Rresearch, 3(1), 51-68.

Radford, A. (2009). An introduction to English sentence structure. Cambridge University Press.

Rassaei, E. & Folse, K. (2024). Effects of L1 and L2 word-level vs. L2 sentence-level glosses on vocabulary learning. System, 122, 103273.

Subagio, U., Prayogo, J. A., & Iragiliati, E. (2019). Investigation of passive voice occurrence in scientific writing. International Journal of Language Teaching and Education, 3(1), 61-66.

Swan, M. (2015). Practical English usage. Oxford University Press.

Tangkiengsirisin, S. (2010). Promoting cohesion in EFL expository writing: A study of graduate students in Thailand. International Journal of Arts and Sciences, 3(16), 1-34.

Waller, S. (2015). Cohesion is still not coherence, so what is?. English Teaching in China, 6, 31-35-

Wei, J. & Duan, J. (2019). A comparative study of metadiscoursal features in English research abstracts in hard disciplines, Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 1-37.

Widdowson, H. (2000). On the limitations of linguistics applied. Applied Linguistics, 21(1), 3-25.

Wongkittiporn, A. (2022). Semantic interpretations of passive constructions in business news articles. Journal of Language, Religion and Culture, 11(2), 1-29.

Woodrow, L. (2014). Writing about quantitative research in applied linguistics. Springer.

Downloads

Published

12/14/2024

How to Cite

Abdesslem, H., & Wongkittiporn, A. (2024). Givenness in discourse via passive constructions: An analysis of applied linguistics articles in Scopus Quartile 1 (Q1) and Thai-Citation Index (TCI) Tier 2 Journals. Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics, 9(1), 1–27. Retrieved from http://arjals.com/ajal/article/view/386

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2024): Regular Issue September 2024

Section

New Articles

License

By submitting to AJAL, authors agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors grant the journal right of first publication, with the work for an indefinite period of time after publication.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.