Functions of Coordinators in Native English and Korean EFL Learner Corpora

Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the usage patterns of coordinators used in Korean learner and native English(NE) written corpora. Traditionally, the phenomenon of using coordinate conjunctions like linking adverbials has been considered as misused ones in academic prose. However, sentence-initial coordinators are frequently found not only in L2 writing, but also in native written corpora. This study compares the distribution of and, but, or and so as focal examples across the corpora in terms of phrasal phrase/clause/sentence levels as well as local/ cohesive functions in contexts where they are used. With a morpho-syntactic analysis of cross-linguistic differences between the two languages in terms of conjunctives, this paper employs both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The result demonstrates that there are two types of coordinators; and and or mainly occur at a word/phrase level, while but and so quite often appear a sentence-initial position. Especially, or as a typical coordinators never occurs in a sentence-initial position, while so is the reversed case as an initiator of the following sentence. The overall function of coordinators is biased toward local use across all corpora. Interestingly, not a few inter-sentential coordinators are observed, especially in the use of but and so. Accordingly, coordinators need to be classified by two roles; as an initiator of the following sentence as well as an intra-clausal connector to link equal elements in a sentence-middle position. With an influence of L1-specific conjunction system as well as spoken register, this phenomenon refers to Korean EFL learners’ tendency to share merely equivalent meanings between conjunctive adverbials and coordinators in L1. The findings of this study suggest Korean EFL learners need to be aware of the two texture functions of coordinators by being exposed to broader discourse to identify various discourse-pragmatic functions.