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‘Fresh variants and formulations frozen’: Structural features of commercial signs in O man
Author(s) -
Buckingham Louisa
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of applied linguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.712
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1473-4192
pISSN - 0802-6106
DOI - 10.1111/ijal.12075
Subject(s) - genitive case , linguistics , noun , plural , context (archaeology) , gerund , flexibility (engineering) , psychology , computer science , mathematics , history , philosophy , statistics , archaeology
This study analyses structural features of E nglish on commercial signs on shop frontages throughout O man. The study identifies frequently used structural features which appear to be undergoing a process of nativization ( S chneider 2003) within the context of this text type. These include word class flexibility, the extensive use of the gerund at the end of noun phrases and the use of multiple verbs to itemize discrete activities. In some cases, features appear to serve the functions of economizing, or heightening the prominence or degree of explicitness of content; in other cases, structural features revealed the influence of A rabic. Limited evidence was also found for features previously identified in other lingua franca contexts such as the genitive structure with inanimate nouns and plural uncountable nouns.