Suzuki, Daisuke;
(2024)
The use of epistemic stance markers by Japanese learners of English: A corpus-based approach.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This doctoral thesis investigates the use of epistemic stance markers in spoken and written contexts by Japanese learners of English (JLE) in comparison with native speakers of English (NS). The target epistemic devices belong to three word classes: verbs such as I think and I guess; adverbs such as maybe and definitely; and modal verbs such as may and might. These markers are used not only to express speakers’ or writers’ certainty or uncertainty about statements but also to convey their judgement about propositions expressed, based on their beliefs and thoughts. Additionally, these devices play an important role in interpersonal communication, by mitigating the strength of disagreements, contrary opinions, and suggestions. The results of this research are triangulated by different data types: spoken and written language, lower to advanced proficiency levels, and task types such as dialogue or monologue in language assessments. Findings concur with previous studies in that JLE rely on adverbs and verbs over modal verbs to realise epistemic modality. As proficiency level rises, a greater variety of epistemic devices are used, and their frequency of occurrence also increases. However, findings also indicate a non-linear and complex developmental pattern by JLE due to the multifunctionality of epistemic devices. In addition, analysis of the use of epistemic devices per task type indicates that JLE use these forms in description tasks to express uncertainty, whereas NS utilise them more in interactive tasks such as role-playing. This result indicates that NS use epistemic stance markers more in an interpersonal way, where these devices are used to hedge their assertions or to mitigate requests. These findings underscore the importance of exposing learners to the wide range of functions that epistemic devices can serve in effective communication.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | The use of epistemic stance markers by Japanese learners of English: A corpus-based approach |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of English Lang and Literature |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10202741 |
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