Cross-linguistic transfer in academic journal writing: Evidence from lexical bundle analysis in Russian and English

Abstract

Lexical bundles are considered a fundamental feature of academic writing and have been extensively studied by corpus linguists. However, while learner corpus-based studies have noted the differences between first (L1) and second languages (L2) in the production of lexical bundles, few of them have assessed the underlying causes of such differences, particularly regarding cross-linguistic transfer. The present study investigates the use of lexical bundles in professional writing in the field of Educational Psychology produced by L1 English and L1 Russian authors in order to evaluate the evidence of cross-linguistic transfer in the writing of L2 English learners with L1 Russian background and examine the patterns of L2 English lexical bundle use that mirror L1 English production. This exploratory study compares the frequency and discourse functions of lexical bundles produced by native speakers of English to those used by Russian speakers in their L2 English professional writing, as well as professional writing in their L1. The results of the study indicate that L2 English writing produced by Russian speakers displays overlap in the composition and use of lexical bundles in L1 Russian writing pointing at possible L1 transfer.

A Corpus-Based Analysis of Lexical Bundles in Non-Native Post Graduate Academic Writing and a Potential L1 Influence

“…Similarly, Güngör and Uysal (2020) revealed that non-native Turkish researchers used 50% more lexical bundles than native speakers of English did in their research articles. In her study, Kostromitina (2022) also revealed that L2 English (227) and L1 Russian (264) writing contained more than twice the number of bundles in L1 English writing (83). These finding may be explained by the fact that learners might have utilized bundles with greater frequency in an attempt to produce texts that bore resemblance to academic discourse.…”

“…The findings showed that L2 English retained a small stock of bundles transferred from L1 Spanish (17% of all the bundles in L2 English) and exhibited a considerable percentage of idiosyncratic bundles (the remaining 36% of its bundles). Kostromitina (2022) sought evidence on the cross-linguistic influence on the use of L2 lexical bundles in academic writing by Russian writers. The result suggested an overlap in the use of lexical bundles between L2 English writing produced by Russian speakers and L1 Russian writing, which emphasized the possible L1 transfer.…”