英美學術口語和學術寫作的片語動詞用法：語料庫分析

The Use of Phrasal Verbs in Academic Speaking and Academic Writing of British and American English: A Corpus Analysis

朱可銀(Chau Kha-Ngan)

指導教授 ： 陳浩然

國立臺灣師範大學/文學院/英語學系/碩士(2022年)

https://doi.org/10.6345/NTNU202200659

摘要

在學術語言當中，動詞片語常被視為非正式且應避免使用的；然而，學術語言不僅能以書面的方式傳遞，亦能以口語的方式呈現。相較於幾乎不接受非正式元素存在的學術寫作，學術口語卻較接近於日常用語。動詞片語在書面及口語兩者之間的使用方式會有所差異。本研究旨在探討動詞片語在學術口語和學術寫作中的使用，使學習者理解如何在學術寫作和學術口語中的正確使用動詞片語。
針對學術口語和寫作的動詞片語使用，研究問題如下：
(一)、英國學術口語和書面語料庫中使用的動詞片語為何？兩種模式之間的動詞片語及其使用頻率有何不同？
(二)、美國學術口語和書面語料庫中使用的動詞片語為何？兩種模式之間的動詞片語及其使用頻率有何不同？
針對第一個研究問題，本研究使用了兩個英國語料庫——英國學術口語英語 (BASE) 及英國學術書面英語 (BAWE)。先比對動詞片語的使用頻率後，再比對兩個語料庫中動詞片語的使用差異。針對第二個研究問題，本研究使用兩個美國語料庫——分別為密西根學術口語語料庫(MICASE)及密西根高年級學生論文語料庫(MICUSP)，其研究步驟如第一個研究問題。
本研究得出以下研究成果：首先，不論在英式英語或美式英語中，動詞片語在學術口語的使用頻率高於學術寫作。在學術口語語料庫中，每一百萬個字詞有 5000 個動詞片語；而在學術書面語料庫中，每一百萬個字詞有 1800 個動詞片語。 其次，本研究也探討出僅限使用於學術口語或學術寫作中的動詞片語，以及皆可用於兩種模式的動詞片語。學術口語語料庫中常見的動詞片語，如 blow up、mush up、shut up 等，應避免於學術寫作中使用；反之，學術書面語料庫中常見的動詞片語，如 conjure up、revolve around和 trace back，於學術口語中則較少見。
此外，有很高比例的動詞片語 (45%) 可同時用於學術口語和寫作。主要用於學術寫作的動詞片語在學術口語使用的頻率也很高，如 point out、carry out 等。此外，許多非正式的動詞片語亦會經常使用於學術寫作，如 set up、make up、come up、find out、pick up 及 end up。於本研究使用的 BAWE 和 MICUSP中發現，期刊文章所使用非正式動詞片語的頻率遠高於以往研究用的學術書面語料庫。這些差異表明：未經充足學術寫作訓練的母語學習者仍可能於學術寫作中誤用非正式的動詞片語；然而，母語學習者使用非正式動詞片語的程度仍低於非母語學習者。
希冀本研究有助提高學習者對動詞片語於學術口語和學術寫作中的認知，尤其是針對勿使用於學術寫作的動詞片語。

關鍵字

學術口語 ； 學術寫作 ； 語料庫分析 ； 學術英文 ； 動詞片語

並列摘要

Phrasal verbs are usually considered to be informal and should be avoided in academic language. However, academic language can be delivered in the spoken or written mode. While academic writing is very formal and hardly accepts informal features, academic speaking is closer to colloquial language. Thus, it is expected to have differences in the use of phrasal verbs between the two modes. This study attempts to probe the use of phrasal verbs in academic speaking and academic writing to provide learners a better understanding of the phrasal verbs that should and should not be used in academic writing and speaking.
Two research questions were raised to address the use of phrasal verbs in academic speaking and writing: (1) What are the phrasal verbs used in British academic spoken and written corpora? Are there any differences in the phrasal verbs and their frequencies between the two modes? (2) What are the phrasal verbs used in American academic spoken and written corpora? Are there any differences in the phrasal verbs and their frequencies between the two modes?
To answer the first research question, the study employed two British corpora, the British Academic Spoken English (BASE) and the British Academic Written English (BAWE). After comparing the overall frequency of phrasal verbs, the phrasal verbs in the two corpora were compared to find the differences in the phrasal verbs used in each mode. The second research question involved the two American corpora, the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE) and the Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers (MICUSP). A similar procedure was adopted in the second research question.
The study yielded several findings. First, phrasal verbs were more frequently used in academic speaking than in academic writing in British and American English. The overall frequencies of phrasal verbs in the academic spoken corpora were around 5000 PMWs, while the figures were only around 1800 PMWs in the academic written corpora. Second, the study points out the phrasal verbs exclusively used in each mode and the common phrasal verbs used by the two modes. Exclusive phrasal verbs in the academic spoken corpora, such as blow up, mess up, and shut up should be restricted in academic writing. Conversely, exclusive phrasal verbs in the academic written corpora, such as conjure up, revolve around, and trace back, are less common in academic speaking.
Besides, academic speaking and writing shared a relatively large number of phrasal verbs (45%). The phrasal verbs predominantly used in academic writing had high frequency in academic speaking, for example, point out, carry out. On the other hand, many informal phrasal verbs were frequently used in academic writing, for example, set up, make up, come up, find out, pick up, and end up. Compared to the other academic written corpora from previous studies, the informal phrasal verbs in the BAWE and the MICUSP of the present study had much higher frequencies than their frequencies in the journal articles. This discrepancy suggests that native students without adequate academic writing training still use informal phrasal verbs improperly. However, they employ informal phrasal verbs to a lesser degree than non-native learners.
The findings from the present study can help to raise learner awareness of the phrasal verbs in academic speaking and writing, especially the phrasal verbs that are restricted in academic writing.

並列關鍵字

academic speaking ； academic writing ； corpus analysis ； English for Academic Purposes ； phrasal verbs

參考文獻

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