A Corpus-Based Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of Objectivity Manifestations in Academic Texts

Khaghaninejad, Mohammad Saber; Azarian, Maryam; Javanmardi, Fatemeh

doi:10.22049/jalda.2022.27325.1333

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

¹ Associate Professor of TEFL, Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6438-351X

² PhD Candidate of TEFL, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22049/jalda.2022.27325.1333

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the manifestations of objectivity in American academic texts across different disciplines and various time spans. To achieve this, the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) was surveyed in terms of the frequency of occurrence of the four identified linguistic features (i.e., passive voice, impersonality, hedging, and attitude markers) as the indicators of objectivity (e.g., Alvin, 2014; Bal-Gezegin & Baş, 2020) to find the cross-disciplinary differences during the last twenty years. The results indicated that passive voice was employed differently across the academic disciplines of COCA and the notion of impersonality was more realized in hard sciences in comparison to soft ones. Moreover, the findings revealed a decline in the occurrence of passive voice through time in all the academic disciplines. In addition, hedging and attitude markers were more manifested in hard sciences probably due to the writers’ inclination to be judged objectively. Finally, objectivity was shown to have a steady increase in American academic texts implying that, though the authors of academic texts revealed less inclination to employ passive voice to avoid difficulty and ambiguity, they have employed less personal authorial references to stick to the notion of objectivity and impartiality during the recent years.

Keywords

20.1001.1.28208986.2022.10.1.7.0

Main Subjects

Discourse Studies

Article Title [Persian]

بررسی میان رشته ای و پیکره-بنیاد مظاهر "بی طرفی علمی" در متون پژوهش های دانشگاهی

Authors [Persian]

دکتر محمد صابر خاقانی نژاد ¹
مریم آذریان ²
فاطمه جوانمردی ²

¹ دانشیار آموزش زبان انگلیسی، گروه زبانشناسی و زبانهای خارجی، دانشگاه شیراز، شیراز، ایران

² دانشجوی دکتری آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه شیراز، شیراز، ایران

Abstract [Persian]

این مطالعه با هدف بررسی نمودهای "بی طرفی علمی" در متون پژوهشهای دانشگاهی در رشته های مختلف و در بازههای زمانی مختلف انجام شده است. به همین منظور، متون دانشگاهی پیکره COCA (پیکره انگلیسی معاصر آمریکایی) از نظر فراوانی وقوع چهار شاخص زبانی افعال مجهول، استفاده از زبان غیر شخصی، نشانگرهای بیان نگرش وتلطیف کننده های زبانی به عنوان مضامین "بی طرفی علمی" در بازه زمانی 20 سال اخیرمورد بررسی قرار گرفت. نتایج نشان داد که افعال مجهول به طور متفاوتی در نه رشته دانشگاهی به کار گرفته شده اند و استفاده از زبان غیر شخصی در علوم تجربی در مقایسه با علوم انسانی و اجتماعی بسیار متفاوت بوده است. علاوه بر این، یافته ها حاکی از آن بود که وقوع افعال مجهول در طول زمان در همه رشته های دانشگاهی به صورت چشمگیری کاهش یافته است. همچنین، استفاده از زبان غیر شخصی، نشانگرهای بیان نگرش وتلطیف کننده های زبانی در رشته های علوم و مهندسی احتمالاً به دلیل تمایل نویسندگان این رشته ها به قضاوت عینی تر وغیر شخصی تر وقوع بیشتری داشته است. به طور کلی نتایج بیانگر آن بودند که "بی طرفی علمی" به صورت پیوسته در متون پژوهشهای دانشگاهی افزایش یافته و این بدان معناست که اگرچه نویسندگان مقالات دانشگاهی تمایل کمتری به استفاده از افعلال مجهول داشته اند، آنها از زبان غیر شخصی وتلطیف کننده های زبانی در راستای پرهیز از بیان نظرات شخصی در سالهای اخیر بیشتر بهره برده اند.

Keywords [Persian]

متون پژوهش های دانشگاهی
مظاهر "بی طرفی علمی"
بررسی پیکره-بنیاد
پیکره انگلیسی معاصر آمریکا (COCA)

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Journal of Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature: Dynamics and Advances

A Corpus-Based Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of Objectivity Manifestations in Academic Texts

References

References

Volume 10, Issue 1
April 2022
Pages 119-140

A Corpus-Based Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of Objectivity Manifestations in Academic Texts

References

References

Volume 10, Issue 1April 2022Pages 119-140

Volume 10, Issue 1
April 2022
Pages 119-140