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Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 15. Number 2, June 2024 Pp.52--72
Department of English Language and Literature, College of Science and Humanities
Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
This study explores linguistic variation in research papers published by Saudi and British researchers in Linguistics and English language teaching (ELT). The main aim is to identify and compare interdisciplinary lexico-grammatical patterns between and within the sub-disciplines of these research articles, exploring the extent to which Saudi research articles align with or diverge from their British counterparts. Utilizing Biber’s (1988) multidimensional model, this research developed a specialized corpus of academic research articles, which was analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques to investigate linguistic variation. The corpus included tagging of 67 linguistic features, and factor analysis was employed to identify patterns of linguistic co-occurrence. Significant findings indicate that Saudi research papers distinctly differ from British papers in their preference for informational, explicit, non-argumentative, and abstract discourse. Notably, while most sections of the research papers showed variations in non-argumentative discourse, the ELT conclusion sections from both regions demonstrated a tendency towards mixed-purpose discourse. The significance of the study lies in its detailed analysis of how regional differences affect lexico-grammatical choices within academic writing, offering a deeper understanding of linguistic strategies in scholarly communication. The study concludes with recommendations for further research to explore underlying factors contributing to these differences and suggests the development of targeted academic writing aids to support researchers in achieving greater international coherence in their discourse. This could potentially enhance the clarity and impact of scholarly communication across diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Keywords: British linguistics, English language teaching research papers, lexico-grammatical patterns, linguistics
research papers, multidimensional analysis, register variation, Saudi context
Sadia Ali, S., & Abdulhaleem, E. (2024). Multidimensional Analysis of Differences in Lexico-Grammatical Patterns
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Sadia Ali is an Assistant Professor at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, KSA. She published research articles in internationally reputable journals and presented research papers at international research conferences. She is also serving as a reviewer for international academic journals of popular publishers. Her research interests include discourse analysis, genre studies, corpus linguistics, linguistic variations, ELT, ESP, AI, World Englishes etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0262-2909
Ebtesam Abdulhaleem is an Assistant Professor specializing in language testing and assessment and serves as the Director of the Assessment Development Unit at a Saudi Arabian government organisation. With a strong commitment to leadership and educator well-being, she advances language assessment practices and fosters professional development among educators nationwide. She is also interested in academic writing, corpus linguistics studies and empowering educators through research.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5589-6615