A Corpus Analysis on Food-related Borrowing Words Between English and Chinese and its Influences on Cultural Implication and Language Development (Published)
Language borrowing, also known as lexical borrowing, occurs when words are assimilated from one language into another. The integration of loan words from foreign languages is a common occurrence in different tongues, contributing to linguistic diversity and reflecting cultural exchange and influence. This research aimed to investigate and analyze the borrowing of food-related words in English and Chinese languages through a comprehensive review of written texts, such as recipes, restaurant menus, articles, and blogs to compile a list of loan words in both languages. Additionally, the paper analyzed the factors contributing to the culinary vocabulary between English and Chinese and the methods of accessing loan words between the two languages, as well as the role of food-related loan vocabulary in reflecting and influencing cultural assimilation and language development. The objectives of this study included identifying and analyzing food-related borrowing words in English and Chinese, comparing and contrasting patterns and frequency of borrowing in food-related vocabulary between the two languages, and exploring the cultural implications and language development arising from the usage of borrowing words in food-related contexts. Through this analysis, this paper gained insights into the linguistic and cultural exchanges between English and Chinese, shedding light on the dynamic nature of language and its impact on food-related terminology.
Keywords: Chinese, Corpus, English, borrowing words, cultural implication, food-related, language development
A Contrastive Investigation of English and Ekpari Inflection System (Published)
Inflectional morphemes perform grammatical functions. It is often added to a root word to show a particular grammatical function. The inflection system varies from one language to another. Second Language Learners of English tend to encounter problems due to this variation. Guided by Contrastive analysis as the theoretical underpinning, the study focuses on the extent to which the inflectional system of English and Ekpari are similar or different in number, tense, aspect and agreement. Data on Ekpari were generated from two indigenous speakers of Ekpari through interviews and discussion while data on English were sourced from relevant literature and grammar textbooks. Findings revealed that Ekpari typically uses prefixes as inflectional morphemes to mark grammatical categories while the English language typically uses inflectional suffixes to mark the same function. Besides, it was also discovered that Ekpari does not mark genitive case and agreement inflection. In English, nouns are inflected to mark genitive cases while verbs are inflected in terms of person and number to show agreement with the subject but such does not exist in Ekpari. Ekpari does not mark possession, aspect or agreement relations. The nouns do not have to agree or correspond with the finite verb for agreement in the language. Thus, verbs do not change their forms for purposes of agreement in Ekpari. Hence, Ekpari learners of English must be adequately exposed to master the rules guiding inflection process in the English language to overcome the likely problems these differences will pose to them
Keywords: Ekpari, English, contrastive, inflection system
English: The Linguistic Alpha and Omega in Nigeria (Published)
This paper observed the dominant role of English language in Nigeria. Various factors responsible for the spread and domination of the language in Nigerians’ lives were observed. These include; the multilingual nature of the country; the inability of the country to select a national language from the three indigenous languages (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) or other minor languages; influence of the Western culture and attitudes of Nigerians towards the English language. The paper also discussed the various roles English language plays in Nigerian societies which make it dominates the indigenous languages in the country. English is both the official and the National language in Nigeria. It is the language of education, law, commerce and religion in the country. It is the language in which most activities are carried out. The writer concluded by recommending that the indigenous languages, especially the “three big”, should be promoted to the status of National language. A credit pass at O level in the indigenous languages should be made a criterion for admission into higher institutions of learning in the country. Otherwise, the values attached to the indigenous culture and traditions will be eroded; the incoming generation will have no indigenous languages to inherit but the English language.
Citation: Foyewa, R.A. (2022) English: The Linguistic Alpha and Omega in Nigeria, British Journal of English Linguistics, Vol.10, Issue 5, pp.1-7
Keywords: English, Linguistic, alpha, omega
Classifiers of Animals in Mandarin and English: A Semantic Map Model Approach (Published)
Semantic Map Model serves as an effective tool for typological analysis of languages, has a practical meaning and feasibility. The temporary use of words as quantifiers of animals in both Mandarin Chinese and English reflects the commonalities and differences between two languages in terms of conceptual dimensions. Based on the semantic map model and quantifiers corpus, this study investigates into the collocations, cognitive mechanisms and mapping in mental space which play significant roles in the construction of semantic construals of classifiers of this type.
Keywords: Classifier, Contrastive Analysis, English, Mandarin, Semantic Map Model
The Translation of Synonyms in Arabic and English, (Published)
This paper shows that synonyms are inevitable in language. Arabic or English are no exceptions. Both employ synonymy, i.e. synonymy can be within and across languages. It is a controversial issue among linguists of both languages. The study explores the translation of several synonymous lexical items. These samples were taken from Arabic and English specialized dictionaries of synonyms. Through adopting a comparative investigation to these samples, the study explains that the translation of synonyms is problematic in the said languages. The study argues that although Arabic and English have synonyms, each one tackles its synonyms through its own linguistic system, using its own rules. The translation of synonyms in Arabic and English shows that similarities between both languages tend to be less than differences for they differ in different aspects.
Keywords: Arabic, English, absolute synonymy, near synonymy, synonymy, translation
Investigating the Instructional Effect of TBLT on Business Students’ English Language Performance (Published)
The aim of this research paper was to explore the instructional impact of Task-Based Language Teaching on English language attainments among 81 second-year university business studies students. The participants were studying a private university located in the surrounding areas of Bangkok, and were introduced to a TBLT learning environment for the duration of one English course (16 weeks). To test the effectiveness of TBLT, t-tests analyses (0.05) were utilised to compare resulting end-of-term performances with prior achievements attained under the conventional form of instruction. Overall, the findings indicated that TBTL positively influenced English language performances when compared to conventional methodologies (TBLT: 60.9 = Grade C+; CONV: 54.93 = Grade C; p [0.0195] = sig <0.05). Nevertheless, the bulk of progress was concentrated in speaking skills (p = sig <0.05), as no significant difference was noted in formal comprehensive examinations. Furthermore, variability analyses highlighted that upper-quartile students showed significant improvements in both major sets of assessments (speaking and formal examinations); while speaking scores for the lower-quartile remained stagnant, and formal examination scores exacerbated altogether. This led to the unequivocal conclusion that learners’ response to TBLT is governed by linguistic potential.
Keywords: English, Language, Performance, TBLT, Task
An Analysis of the Use of Adverbs and Adverbial Clauses in the Sentences of Junior High School Pupils in the Ashanti Region of Ghana (Published)
The research shifts emphasis from the previously predominant area of analyzing the competence of Ghanaian school children in their use of the English Language by adopting the perspective of descriptive grammarians with much emphasis on process analysis. The study adopted qualitative and quantitative paradigm so as to adequately analyze the extent to which pupils in the Junior High School use adverbs and adverbial clauses in their sentences. In all, 100 pupils were selected using proportionate stratified sampling method. Essay texts and structured interview guide was used in gathering data from the sampled school pupils. After analysing using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the findings indicate that teachers and accessibility to language learning facilities play significant roles in second language acquisition.
Keywords: English, Junior High School, Teachers, adverbial clauses, adverbs
The Phenomenon of Gemination in English and Arabic (Published)
Gemination is a phonetic phenomenon whereby two identical /sounds/ co-occur in one word or at words boundaries. The co-occurrence of two identical sounds doesn’t matter, what matters is their pronunciation. Whether to pronounce them as one sound or two sounds is a matter treated differently across languages that have geminate sounds. As the present paper restricts itself to two languages only, Arabic and English, it investigates how gemination occurs in the two languages and how it can be represented? Is it restricted to consonants only or it can also occur with vowels? What type of gemination each language exhibits? These questions beside some more others are the main concern of the present paper in which the phenomenon of gemination is clarified in general, then a study of gemination is presented in English and Arabic respectively. There is a common view point which holds that English does not have gemination, but in fact it appears that English has gemination at certain conditions. Although it is unlike Arabic in its realization, but it can be said that gemination exists in English.
Keywords: Arabic, Comparison, English, Gemination, Phonetic Environment
Kinship Terms in Palestinian Arabic and Standard English: A Contrastive Study (Published)
This paper diagrams, classifies, and discusses the usage of kinship terms in Palestinian Arabic. First–of all, kinship terms are genealogically diagrammed from the Ego’s perspective on the bases of sex, generation, affinity and consanguinity. Secondly, kinship terms in PA are classified from structural, functional, and situational perspectives. Thirdly, the PA kinship system is shown to be descriptive, assigning a different term to each distinct relative. After that, P A and English are compared and contrasted, pointing out that whereas PA labels each member of the family with a distinct term, Eng1ish lacks such a distinction. This, in the case of PA, may be due to the importance of the family unit in the life of Arab societies; however, in the case of English it may be due to the lack of concern for the family as an extended unit. This point of view is consistent with the theory which advocates that people‘s needs determine the lexicon.
Keywords: English, Kinship Terms, Palestinian Kinship Terms
Multilingualism in Singapore: The Ethnolinguistic Vitality of Its Majority and Minority Languages (Published)
The purpose for this paper is to assess the ethnolinguistic vitality of language usage in the Republic of Singapore. For our purposes here, ethnolinguistic vitality refers to language sustainability, strength and vitality. Sustainability is the language’s ability to continue existing as a language. Strength refers to a language’s durability in terms of economics, culture, demographics and institutions. Vitality refers to the language’s ability to act as a collective entity; that is, to protect the language from external variables impacting upon it – it is a function of the shared perspective of all of those members of that particular language group (Meyerhoff, 2006, pp.107-108). In our investigation, we have used data taken from various sources: (Singapore Dept. of Statistics, 2000), Li et al. (1997, pp. 366), Liang (1999), Singaporean Census (2010), for the period (2000 to 2010). The data discussions showed that English possessed a wide range in economics and trade although it has combined with other aspects of life in Singapore. Furthermore, the Chinese has aroused to be used. English has interfered with Chinese that represents the majority community language; the Ethnolinguistic vitality has been moved from Chinese to English that has legalised the cultural, social, and symbolic capitals represented by English.
Keywords: Chinese, English, Ethnolinguistic, Majority, Minority