Nominalization in the Abstract and Background Sections of Medical Journals: A Pragmatic Exploration
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Li, Chia-Hung
Abstract
English Abstract
This thesis investigates the distribution and functions of nominalization in academic writing. Using move analysis as our framework, we examine the usage of deverbalized eventive nominalization in the abstract and background sections in two medical journals.
Quantitatively, we found that the frequency of nominalization in the CONCLUSION of the abstract section was the highest, followed by BACKGROUND, METHOD, and RESULT. In the background section, the frequency of nominalization in Move 1 ESTABLISHING A TERRITORY was the highest, followed by Move 2 ESTABLISHING A NICHE, and Move 3 PRESENTING THE PRESENT WORK. The distribution of nominalization can be explained with regard to the amount of new information.
In terms of the pragmatic analysis, three main functions were found to serve the communicative purpose of the move where the nominalization occurred. These pragmatic functions are cognitive, textual and interactional functions. Specifically, cognitive function treats processes and events as abstract nouns and packs more information into a given clause. Textual function maintains cohesion in texts. Interactional function conveys an impersonal tone and expresses the author’s stance.
This thesis uncovers the use of nominalization with regard to the communicative purposes of the moves in the abstract and background sections of research articles. The findings should not only contribute to the understanding of discipline-specific linguistic features regarding rhetorical organization in journal articles but also carry pedagogical implications for academic English instruction.
Subjects
academic writing
nominalization
move analysis
grammatical metaphor
cohesion
impersonalization
Type
thesis
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