Epistemic modality through the use of adverbs: a corpus-based study on learners' written discourse

Orfanó, Bárbara Malveira; Adorno, Ana Larissa; Tenuta, Adriana Maria

doi:10.14393/ll60-v30n2a2014-6

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Concerning the use of adverbs in the writing production of Brazilian learners of English, Almeida Andrade (2010), though working with a different set of adverbs, highlighted that the use of adverbs by Brazilian learners is more attached to the function of intensifi cation than to the expression of epistemic meanings, as it happens with the writing production of native speakers. From this preliminary analysis, one can speculate that the use of adverbs to express modality is underpresented in learners' academic essays, as stated in a research carried out by Orfanó, Oliveira and Tenuta (2014), which has shown that Brazilian learners heavily rely on a rigid set of verbs to express modal values. However, the analysis proposed in this paper intends to go beyond stating quantitative differences.…”

Section: Adverbsmentioning

confidence: 83%

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How Brazilian learners express modality through verbs and adverbs in their writing: a corpus-based study on n-grams

Tenuta

Oliveira

Orfanó

2015

DELTA

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RESUMOCom base na visão de modalidade do arcabouço teórico da sintaxe descritiva, este trabalho analisou um corpus de aprendizes em comparação com um corpus de falantes nativos do inglês com o objetivo de identifi car padrões diferenciados na expressão de valores modais. Para tanto, o estudo concentrou sua análise em n-grams contendo verbos modais e advérbios que expressam modalidade. Essa análise revelou a prevalência dos valores modais epistêmicos em ambos os corpora, bem como a existência de padrões distintos na expressão desse tipo de modalidade. No corpus de não-nativos, percebeu-se uma expressão mais restrita da modalidade quando comparada à do corpus de nativos. No corpus de nativos, houve uma prevalência de advérbios com sentido modalizador. Nessa comparação, percebeu-se também um uso diferenciado de alguns verbos modais. Este estudo pode contribuir para a área emergente dos estudos linguísticos de corpora e para a área da sintaxe, com possíveis implicações para o ensino de escrita acadêmica em inglês. ABSTRACTBased on the view of modality in the theoretical framework of descriptive syntax, this study examined a corpus of learners compared with a corpus of native speakers of English, aiming to identify different patterns of expression of modal meanings, particularly, adverbs and modal verbs. Therefore, the study focused its analysis on n-grams containing modal verbs and adverbs that express modality. This analysis revealed the prevalence of epistemic values in both corpora, and the existence of distinct patterns in the expression of this type of modality. In the non-native corpus, the expression of modality is restricted when compared to the native speakers'. In the corpus of native speakers, there was a prevalence of adverbs with modalizing meanings. In addition, learners tend to use some modal verbs differently. This study may contribute to the emerging fi eld of corpora linguistic studies as well as to the area of syntax, with possible implications for the teaching of academic writing in English.

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Section: Adverbsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The low frequency of modal adverbs in the learners' academic writing (CABrI) was previously acknowledged by Orfanó, Oliveira and Tenuta (2014). The authors showed that learners seemed to heavily rely on modal verbs to express epistemic modality.…”

Section: Likely Tomentioning

confidence: 92%