Yixi Yang

doi:10.70711/wef.v2i7.5789

Overuse and Misuse of But: A Corpus Analysis ComparingEnglish Writers and Native Writers

Yixi Yang

Abstract

This study aims to explore the differences between Chinese English learners and native English speakers in the use of the conjunction but in academic writing. The study adopts a corpus-based analysis approach, comparing the frequency and semantic functions of but
in the learner corpus (BAWC-Chinese author) and the native speaker corpus (BAWC-English author). The results show that, compared to
native speakers, Chinese learners overuse the conjunction but. Native speakers use but more flexibly, expressing contrasts, concessions,
and multiple transitions, while learners often misuse but to express contrasts, leading to semantic contradictions. This indicates that Chinese
learners have a limited understanding of the pragmatic features of conjunctions.

Keywords

Corpus Analysis; Pragmatic Features; Misuse and Overuse; Academic Writing

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/wef.v2i7.5789

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