Signalling nouns in corpora of learner and native speaker English

This thesis investigates the use of signalling nouns (SNs) in writing by Arabic speakers who are learning English and by native speakers of English. The thesis has three aims: to compare the frequency of tokens and types of SNs in the two corpora; to compare the frequency of tokens and types of SNs in the language of learners at four levels of proficiency; to study in detail the usage of selected SNs in the two corpora. To address these aims, the thesis uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The thesis examines the frequency of tokens and types of SNs in the learner and native speaker corpora. The key quantitative finding is that the learners were found to use fewer SN tokens and types compared to the native speakers. The thesis also investigates the frequency of SN tokens and types across the four levels of proficiency of the learners. The rationale for doing this investigation is to test the hypothesis that SNs are a developmental phenomenon. The quantitative findings show that the frequency of SN tokens and types increased as the level of proficiency of the learners increased. The thesis argues that the difference in proficiency of writers is responsible for the variation in the use of SNs. It also suggests that writing quality can be enhanced by the use of SNs. The thesis then undertakes three detailed studies of specific SNs, with particular focus on: general SNs, stance SNs and causal SNs. First, three frequent and shared general SNs in the two corpora are thoroughly examined. The study shows the uses of these nouns in discourse and compares the learners with the native speakers of English in their uses of these nouns. Similarities were present in the uses of these nouns. Both groups of writers were found to frequently use these nouns within clause boundaries, to specify them in clauses and to use the meaning categories of these nouns with approximately equal frequency. Next, stance SNs and causal SNs used in the two corpora are investigated. These studies explore how stance and causality through SNs are constructed, identify the patterns associated with the construction of stance and causality through SNs, and compare the learners with the native speakers of English in their uses of stance SNs and causal SNs. The learners were found to use stance SNs and causal SNs significantly less than the native speakers. The learners were found to be less varied in their uses of stance SNs and causal SNs. The thesis discusses the findings with relevant literature and offers pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research on SNs