Inferential Discourse Markers in Discussion Section of Psychology Research Articles across English and Persian
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| Title | Inferential Discourse Markers in Discussion Section of Psychology Research Articles across English and Persian |
| Authors | |
| Abstract | The use of inferential discourse markers (IDMs) as a linguistic device implies significant results in satisfying conversational coherence. Therefore, with the aim of investigating their distribution of the use, this study was developed across three different sets of psychology articles written by English native speakers (NS), Persian non-native speakers (PNNS) and Persian native speakers (PNS) during the years 2005 to 2010.To this aim, Fraser’s (1999), and Halliday and Hasan’s (1976) suggested taxonomies were adopted in the analysis of IDMs in the discussion section of 198 psychological research articles. As a result, two micro- (13 minor categories) and macro-levels (3 major categories) analyses of the IDMs were presented. The extent of difference in the type and frequency of use was then assessed through Chi- square across these examined groups. Based on the findings, the extent of difference was significant (p<0.05) at the micro-level, yet insignificant (p>0.05) at macro-level. Although therefore and thus were the commonest markers for all the native and non-native writers, there was a higher record of the former in the English articles written by Persian speakers (38%). Yet, the latter was more frequent among the English native speakers (34.9%). On the other hand, the major function of general causal relation proved as the common type of IDMs across all three groups of articles. The findings may promise some implications for syllabus designers, material developers and language practitioners, as well. |
| Publisher | ACADEMY PUBLISHER |
| Date | 2011-12-01 |
| Source | Theory and Practice in Language Studies Vol 1, No 12 (2011) |
| Rights | Copyright © ACADEMY PUBLISHER - All Rights Reserved.To request permission, please check out URL: http://www.academypublisher.com/copyrightpermission.html. |