Cross-Cultural Examination of Argumentative English Essays: AMultidimensional Analysis of Pakistani and Chinese Learners

Arooba Abid; Hina Manzoor; Ali Raza Siddique

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Published: 2022-12-31

Keywords:

argumentative essays, Pakistani learners, Chinese learners, ICNALE, multidimensional analysis tagger

Arooba Abid

BS Graduate, Department of Applied Linguistics, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan

Hina Manzoor

M.Phil. Applied Linguistics, Department of Applied Linguistics, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

Ali Raza Siddique

PhD Scholar, Department of Applied Linguistics, Government College University, Faisalabad.

Abstract

This study presents a cross-cultural investigation of linguistic variations in English argumentative essays authored by Pakistani and Chinese learners, employing a multidimensional analysis (MDA) approach following Biber's framework (1988). The corpus, composed of 400 essays from Pakistani and Chinese learners, was sourced from the online repository ICNALE, electronically processed, tagged, and analyzed using the MAT tagger. Focusing on five dimensions, this study investigates the comparative linguistic characteristics that distinguish these two groups of learners in the context of argumentative essay writing. It is essential to note that this research centers on learners from Pakistan and China, specifically within the sub-register of argumentative essays. The findings reveal that Pakistani learners' essays demonstrate an informational style, while those of their Chinese counterparts exhibit narrative elements on Dimension 1. Moreover, Chinese learners' essays embrace a more context-dependent and nominalization-rich approach on Dimension 3, whereas Pakistani essays prioritize independence from context. Chinese essays are characterized by explicitness and persuasive language, including extensive use of modal verbs on Dimension 4, while Pakistani essays exhibit a more concrete and objective quality, maintaining a natural tone. Finally, Chinese essays exhibit a formal, technical, and abstract style, in contrast to the non abstract, objective, and natural tone found in Pakistani essays on Dimension 5. In conclusion, this study highlights how learners acquire and tilize vocabula y and expressions from diverse texts, influencing various lexical.

and grammatical aspects that shape their distinct linguistic styles. The MD analysis identifies specific linguistic features that are either overor under-utilized, thus contributing to a richer understanding of cross-cultural variations in argumentative essays.