Cover not available
Part of
Intercultural Perspectives on Research Writing
Edited by Pilar Mur-Dueñas and Jolanta Šinkūnienė
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 18] 2018
► pp. 175–194

Chapter 8
Hybrid rhetorical structure in English Sociology research article abstracts

The ambit of ELF and translation

| Universidad de Zaragoza
Research article abstracts play a significant role in our globalised scientific world, where findings are disseminated in English. This study aims to identify and analyse the rhetorical patterns which characterise English abstracts in Sociology, a discipline traditionally dominated by Anglophone writers. Three corpora will be explored and contrasted: abstracts written in English as L1, in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), and English abstracts translated from Spanish. Thirty texts will be analysed in each case. Features such as the frequency of moves and phraseology indicating rhetorical structure may illustrate the general level of hybridity that academic texts in English show internationally and can be interpreted as “innovative patterns of use”, as described in ELF literature (Jenkins, Cogo, & Dewey, 2011).
Keywords: rhetorical structure, research articles abstracts, Sociology, ELF, English L1, translation, hybridity
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Methodology and corpus description
  • 3.Results and discussion
  • 4.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Appendix
  • References
Published online: 6 December 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.18.08lor
References (61)
References
Alharbi, L. (1997). Rhetorical transfer across cultures: English into Arabic and Arabic into English. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 69–94.Google Scholar
Alharbi, L. M., & Swales, J. M. (2011). Arabic and English abstracts in bilingual language science journals: Same or different? Languages in Contrast, 11(1), 70–86. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alonso-Almeida, F. (2014). Evidential and epistemic devices in English and Spanish medical, computing and legal scientific abstracts: A contrastive study. In M. Bondi & R. Lorés-Sanz (Eds.), Abstracts in academic discourse: Variation and change (pp. 21–42). Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Baker, M. (1993). Corpus linguistics and translation studies: Implications and applications. In M. Baker, G. Francis, & E. Tognini-Bonelli (Eds.), Text and technology: In honour of John Sinclair (pp. 233–250). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bellés-Fortuño, B., & Querol-Julián, M. (2010). Evaluation in research article abstracts: A cross-cultural study between Spanish and English medical discourse. In R. Lorés-Sanz, P. Mur-Dueñas, & E. Lafuente-Millán (Eds.), Constructing interpersonality. Multiple perspectives on written academic genres (pp. 83–98). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Björk, B-C., Roos, A., & Lauri, M. (2009). Scientific journal publishing: Yearly volume and open access availability. Information Research, 14(1). [URL]]Google Scholar
Burgess, S. (2002). Packed houses and intimate gatherings: Audience and rhetorical structure. In J. Flowerdew (Ed.), Academic discourse (pp. 196–215). London: Longman.Google Scholar
Burgess, S., & Martín-Martín, P. (2010). Interpersonal features of Spanish social sciences journal abstracts. In R. Lorés-Sanz, P. Mur-Dueñas, & E. Lafuente-Millán (Eds.), Constructing interpersonality. Multiple perspectives on written academic genres (pp. 99–115). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Busch-Lauer, I. A. (1995). Textual organization in English and German medical abstract. In B. Warvik, S. K. Tanskanen, & R. Hiltunen (Eds.), Organization in discourse: Proceedings from the Turku conference (pp. 175–186). Turku, Finland: University of Turku.Google Scholar
(2014). Abstracts: Cross-linguistic, disciplinary and intercultural perspectives. In M. Bondi & R. Lorés-Sanz (Eds.), Abstracts in academic discourse: Variation and change (pp. 43–63). Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Carey, R. (2013). On the other side: Formulaic organizing chunks in spoken and written academic ELF. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 2(2), 207–228. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Diani, G. (2014). On English and Italian research article abstracts: Genre variation across cultures. In M. Bondi & R. Lorés-Sanz (Eds.), Abstracts in academic discourse: Variation and change (pp. 65–83). Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Divasson, L., & León Pérez, I. K. (2006). Textual and language flaws: Problems for Spanish doctors in producing abstracts in English. Ibérica, 11, 61–79.Google Scholar
Ferguson, G., Pérez-Llantada, C., & Plo, R. (2011). English as an international language of scientific publication: A study of attitudes. World Englishes. Journal of English as an International and Intranational Language, 30(1), 41–59.Google Scholar
Fernández Antolín, M. J., López Arroyo, B., & De Felipe Boto, R. (2006). Contrasting the rhetoric of abstracts. Hermēneus. Revista de Traduccion e Interpretación, 8, 85–110.Google Scholar
Hansen-Schirra, S. (2008). Corpora in human translation. In A. Lüdeling & M. Kytö (Eds.), Corpus linguistics. An international handbook (pp. 1159–1175). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Google Scholar
(2011). Between normalization and shining-through. In S. Kranich, V. Becher, S. Höder, & J. House (Eds.), Multilingual discourse production: Diachronic and synchronic perspectives (pp.133–162). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2017). EEG and universal language processing in translation. In J. W. Schwieter & A. Ferreira (Eds.), The handbook of translation and cognition (pp. 232–247). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hansen-Schirra, s., & Steiner, E. (2012). Towards a typology of translation properties. In S. Hansen-Schirra, S. Neumann, & E. Steiner (Eds.), Cross-linguistic corpora for the study of translations. Insights from the language pair English-German (pp. 255-280). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.Google Scholar
Hartse, J. H., & Kubota, R. (2014). Pluralizing English? Variation in high-stakes academic texts and challenges of copyediting. Journal of Second Language Writing, 24, 71–82. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyland, K. (2018). Academic writing and non-anglophone scholars. In P. Mur-Dueñas, & J. Šinkūnienė (Eds.), Intercultural perspectives on research writing. (pp.vii-x) Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, J., Cogo, A., & Dewey, M. (2011). Review of developments in research into English as a lingua franca. Language Teaching 44(3), 281–315. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kirkpatrick, A. (2009). English as the international language of scholarship: Implications for the dissemination of “local” knowledge. In F. Sharifian (Ed.), English as an international language (pp. 254–270). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lewin, B. A. (2010). Writing readable research. London: Equinox.Google Scholar
Lillis, T., & Curry, M. J. (2010). Academic writing in a global context. The politics and practices of publishing in English. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
López Arroyo, B., Fernández Antolín, M. J., & de Felipe Boto, R. (2007). Contrasting the rhetoric of abstracts in medical discourse: Implications and applications for English Spanish translation. Languages in Contrast, 7(1), 1–28. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lorés, R. (2004). On RA abstracts: From rhetorical structure to thematic organization. English for Specific Purposes, 23(3), 280–302. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lorés-Sanz, R. (2006). ‘I will argue that’: First person pronouns and metadiscoursal devices in RA abstracts in English and Spanish. ESP across Cultures, 3, 23–40.Google Scholar
(2009a). Different worlds, different audiences: A contrastive analysis of research article abstracts. In E. Suomela-Salmi & F. Dervin (Eds.), Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives on academic discourse (pp. 187–198). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009b). (Non-) critical voices in the reviewing of history discourse: A cross-cultural study of evaluation’. In K. Hyland & G. Diani (Eds.), Academic evaluation. Review genres in university settings (pp. 143–160). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
(2012). Local disciplines, local cultures: Praise and criticism in British and Spanish history book reviews. Brno Studies in English, 38(2), 97–116. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2014). Lost (and gained) in translation: A contrastive (English/Spanish) analysis of rhetorical and lexicogrammatical patterns in sociology research article abstracts. In M. Bondi & R. Lorés-Sanz (Eds.), Abstracts in academic discourse: Variation and change (pp. 85–109). Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
(2016). ELF in the making? Simplification and hybridity in abstract writing. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 5(1), 53–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lorés-Sanz, R., Mur-Dueñas, P., Rey-Rocha J. & Moreno, A. I. (2014). Motivations and attitudes of Spanish chemistry and economic researchers towards publication in English-medium scientific journals. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 69, 81–88.Google Scholar
Martín-Martín, P. (2003). A genre analysis of English and Spanish research paper abstracts in experimental social sciences. English for Specific Purposes, 22(1), 25–43. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2005). The rhetoric of the abstract in English and Spanish scientific discourse. A cross-cultural genre-analytic approach. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Mauranen, A. (2012). Exploring ELF. Academic English shaped by nonnative speakers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mauranen, A., Pérez-Llantada, C., & Swales, J. M. (2010). Academic Englishes: A standardized knowledge? In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of world Englishes (pp. 634–652). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Moreno, A. I., & Suárez, L. (2008). A study of critical attitude across English and Spanish academic book reviews. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7, 15–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009). Academic book reviews in English and Spanish: Critical comments and rhetorical structure. In K. Hyland & G. Diani (Eds.), Academic evaluation. Review genres in university settings (pp. 161–178). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Mur-Dueñas, P. (2010). Attitude markers in business management research articles: A cross-cultural corpus-driven approach. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 20(1), 50–72. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013). Spanish scholars’ research article publishing process in English medium journals: English used as a lingua franca? Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 2(2), 315–340. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mur Dueñas, P. (2015). Looking into ELF variants: A study of evaluative it-clauses in research articles. ESP Today, 3(2), 160–179.Google Scholar
Mur-Dueñas, P. (2018). Promotional strategies in academic writing: Statements of contribution in Spanish and ELF research articles. In J. Pelclova & L. Wei-lun (Eds.), Persuasion in public discourse: Cognitive and functional perspectives (pp. 259–277). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mur-Dueñas, P., Lorés-Sanz, R., Rey Rocha, J., & Moreno Fernández, A. I. (2014). English specialized discourse in the academia: Publishing practices by Spanish scholars in Chemistry and Business. In M. Murawska, A. Szczepaniak-Kozak, & E. Wąsikiewicz-Firlej (Eds.), Discourses in co(n)text – the many faces of specialised discourse (pp. 253–275). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Perales-Escudero, M., & Swales, J. M. (2011). Tracing convergence and divergence in pairs of Spanish and English research article abstracts: The case of Ibérica. Ibérica, 21, 49–70.Google Scholar
Pho, P. D. (2008). Research article abstracts in applied linguistics and educational technology: A study of linguistic realizations of rhetorical structure and authorial stance. Discourse Studies, 10, 231–250. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Preacher, K. J. (2001) online. Calculation for the chi-square test: An interactive calculation tool for chi-square test of goodness and independence [Computer software]. Available at <[URL]> (15 March 2018).
Salager-Meyer, F., Alcaraz Ariza, M. A., & Zambrano, N. (2003). The scimitar, the dagger and the glove: Intercultural differences in the rhetoric of criticism in Spanish, French and English medical discourse (1930–1995). English for Specific Purposes, 22(3), 223–247. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Seidlhofer, B., Breiteneder, A., & Pitzl, M. L. (2006). English as a lingua franca in Europe: Challenges for applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 26, 3–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. (2009). Abstracts and the writing of abstracts. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Teich, E. (2002). Instance and corpus: A methodology for the study of the properties of translations and comparable texts. Paper presented at the 29th International Systemic Functional Congress. 15–19 July, 2002. Liverpool, UK.
(2003). Cross-linguistic variation in system and text. A methodology for the investigation of translations and comparable texts. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive translation studies and beyond. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Trutchot, C. (2002). Key aspects of the use of English in Europe. Strasbourg, Council of Europe.Google Scholar
Tse, P., & Hyland, K. (2010). Claiming a territory: Relative clauses in journal descriptions. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(7), 1880–1889. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van Bonn, S., & Swales, J. M. (2007). English and French journal abstracts in the language sciences: Three exploratory studies. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(2), 93–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vassileva, I. (2000). Who is the author? A contrastive analysis of authorial presence in English, German, French, Russian and Bulgarian academic discourse. Sankt Augustin: Asgard.Google Scholar