Is there a role for the lexis-grammar interface in interlanguage complexity research?
(2014) Colloquium on cross-linguistic aspects of complexity in second language research — Location: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (19.December.2014)
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- A major contribution of recent research in theoretical linguistics, corpus linguistics and psycholinguistics has been to provide convergent evidence that lexis and grammar are closely intertwined (Sinclair, 1991; Stefanowitsch & Gries, 2003; Goldberg, 2006, Ellis & Cadierno, 2009; Römer, 2009). It has also been convincingly demonstrated that language is essentially made up of word combinations that constitute single choices and that words acquire meanings from their context (Sinclair, 1991; Biber et al., 1999; Wray, 2002). The construct of linguistic complexity, however, is still typically narrowed down to syntactic complexity in second/foreign language acquisition research (Ortega, 2003). When lexical complexity is investigated, it is also often restricted to lexical variation and sophistication and analyzed by means of single word-based measures such as type/token formulas and frequency word lists (Wolfe-Quintero et al., 1998: 101-115; Lu, 2012). The main objective of this presentation is to examine the potential role of the lexis-grammar interface in interlanguage complexity research by comparing measures of syntactic and lexical complexity with indices tapping lexico-grammatical complexity. The data used are extracted from the Varieties of English for Specific Purposes dAtabase (VESPA, https://www.uclouvain.be/en-cecl-vespa.html), a learner corpus made up of 123 research papers written by French EFL learners in the context of BA and MA linguistics courses (c. 370,000 words). Each of the learner texts was assigned a grade according to the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR; Council of Europe, 2001) by two professional raters (plus a third one in case of substantial disagreement). Following Norris and Ortega (2009), I measure overall syntactic complexity (mean length of T-unit), complexity by subordination (clauses per T-unit), and complexity by subclausal or phrasal elaboration (e.g. mean length of clause, complex nominals per clause) with the L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyzer (Lu, 2010). Lexical complexity is investigated by means of a large battery of text-internal and text-external measures available in the Lexical Complexity Analyzer (Lu, 2012). Lexico-grammatical complexity is approached via a number of corpus-based methods: (1) a macro analysis centred on the routine aspects of learner language that investigates the frequency, structure and function of recurrent word combinations (Paquot, 2014); (2) a co-occurrence analysis that uses association tests to identify statistically salient collocations (Paquot, forthcoming); and (3) a collostructional analysis which aims at measuring the degree of attraction that words exhibit to syntactic patterns or constructions (Stefanowitsch & Gries, 2003). I will also discuss results cross-linguistically in the light of three recent studies I conducted on the influence of the first language on French and Spanish EFL learners’ use of recurrent word combinations (Paquot, 2013a; Paquot, 2013b; Paquot, 2014b). References Biber, D., Leech, G., Johansson, S., Conrad, S. & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman Biber, D. & B. Gray. 2010. Challenging stereotypes about academic writing: Complexity, elaboration, explicitness. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 9: 2-20. Ellis, N. & T. Cadierno. 2009. Constructing a Second Language. Introduction to the Special Section. Annual Review of Cognitive Linguistics 7: 111-139. Goldberg, A. 2006. Constructions at work: The Nature of Generalization in Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lu, X. 2010. 2010. Automatic analysis of syntactic complexity in second language writing. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 15(4): 474-496. Lu, X. 2012. The relationship of lexical richness to the quality of ESL learners’ oral narratives. The Modern Language Journal 96: 190-208. Ortega, L. 2003. Syntactic complexity measures and their relationship to L2 proficiency: a research synthesis of college-level L2 writing. Applied Linguistics 24(4): 492-518. Ortega, L. 2012. Interlanguage complexity: A construct in search of theoretical renewal. In Kortmann, B. & B. Szmrecsanyi (eds), Linguistic Complexity: Second Language Acquisition, Indigenization, Contact. Berlin, Boston: Mouton de Gruyter, 127-155. Paquot, M. 2013a. Lexical bundles and L1 transfer effects. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 18(3): 391-417. Paquot, M. 2013b. L1 frequency effects in input-poor environments: A corpus-based study of word combinations in learner writing. Paper presented at the 32nd Second Language Research Forum, 31 October – 2 November, Brigham Young University, Utah, USA. Paquot, M. 2014a. An integrated approach to phraseology in EFL learner writing. Paper to be presented at the Annual Conference of the American Association of Corpus Linguistics, September 26-28 2014, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. Paquot, M. 2014b. Cross-linguistic influence and formulaic language: recurrent word sequences in French learner writing. In L. Roberts, I. Vedder & J. Hulstijn (eds). EUROSLA Yearbook 14. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: Benjamins. Paquot, M. forthcoming. Phraseological competence in advanced learner varieties: The case of academic writing. Special Issue of Language Assessment Quarterly, 2016. Römer, U. 2009. The inseparability of lexis and grammar. Corpus linguistic perspectives. Annual Review of Cognitive Linguistics 7: 141-163. Sinclair, J. McH. 1991. Corpus, Concordance, Collocation. Oxford : Oxford University Press. Skehan, P. 2009. Modelling second language performance: integrating complexity, accuracy, fluency, and lexis. Applied Linguistics 30(4): 510-532. Stefanowitsch, A. & S. Gries. 2003. Collostructions: investigating the interaction of words and constructions. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 8(2): 209-243. Wray, A. 2002. Formulaic Language and the Lexicon. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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Paquot, M. (2014). Is there a role for the lexis-grammar interface in interlanguage complexity research? Colloquium on cross-linguistic aspects of complexity in second language research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/195667