The Issue of Register-Style in Language Teaching: Analyzing Register-Style Errors of Learners of Cantonese as a Second Language

Siu-lun Lee; Kin Wing Kevin Chan

doi:10.4236/ojml.2015.54028

Home > Journals > Social Sciences & Humanities > OJML

Open Journal of Modern Linguistics > Vol.5 No.4, August 2015

The Issue of Register-Style in Language Teaching: Analyzing Register-Style Errors of Learners of Cantonese as a Second Language ()

Siu-lun Lee, Kin Wing Kevin Chan

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

DOI: 10.4236/ojml.2015.54028 PDF HTML XML 5,347 Downloads 7,426 Views Citations

Abstract

This paper analyzes the register-style errors of learners of Cantonese as a second language. It is a pilot study of building up learners’ corpus containing learners’ speeches and storytelling samples of about 5000 minutes. All data are collected from spontaneous speeches delivered and storytelling by 44 Cantonese L2 learners during different learning stages. The data shows examples containing utterances and samples with register-style errors produced by Cantonese L2 learners. Examples show violation of rules in register-style grammar by using inappropriate register-style or mingling different levels of formality in particular language context. The research is a preliminary analysis of register-style grammar in Cantonese and discusses some implications and suggestions for teaching Cantonese as a Second Language as well as in teaching Chinese as a Second Language.

Keywords

Pragmatics, Register, Style, Error Analysis, Teaching Cantonese as a Second Language, Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

Share and Cite:

Lee, S. and Chan, K. (2015) The Issue of Register-Style in Language Teaching: Analyzing Register-Style Errors of Learners of Cantonese as a Second Language. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 5, 319-326. doi: 10.4236/ojml.2015.54028.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Chao, Y. R. (1968). A Grammar of Spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[2]	Corder, S. P. (1967). The Significance of Learners’ Errors. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 5, 161-170. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/iral.1967.5.1-4.161
[3]	Crystal, D. (1985). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
[4]	DeFrancis, J. (1963). Beginning Chinese. Yale: Yale University Press.
[5]	DeFrancis, J. (1964). Intermediate Chinese. Yale: Yale University Press.
[6]	DeFrancis, J. (1966). Advanced Chinese. Yale: Yale University Press.
[7]	Firth, J. R. (1957). Papers in Linguistics 1934-1951. London: Oxford.
[8]	Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
[9]	Helmbrecht, J. (2013). Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns. The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. http://wals.info/chapter/45
[10]	Huang, P. P.-F., & Gerald, P. K. (1973). Speak Cantonese: Book 1. New Haven: Far Eastern Publications.
[11]	Hymes, D. H. (1972). On Communicative Competence. In J. B. Pride, & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings (pp. 269-293). Harmondsworth: Penguin.
[12]	Ide, S. (1982). Japanese Sociolinguistics Politeness and Women’s Language. Lingua, 57, 357-385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0024-3841(82)90009-2
[13]	Lau, S. (1975). Advanced Cantonese. Hong Kong: The Government Printer.
[14]	Lauwereyns, S. (2002). Hedges in Japanese Conversation: The Influence of Age, Sex, and Formality. Language Variation and Change, 14, 239-259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954394502142049
[15]	Lee, S.-L. (2005). History and Current Trends of Teaching Cantonese as a Foreign Language: Investigating Teaching Approaches. EdD Dissertation, Leicester: University of Leicester.
[16]	Matthews, S., & Yip, V. (1994). Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar. London: Routledge.
[17]	McBrian, C. D. (1978). Language and Social Stratification: The Case of a Confucian Society. Anthropological Linguistics, 20, 320-326.
[18]	Okamoto, S. (1999). Situated Politeness: Manipulating Honrific and Non-Honorific Expressions in Japanese Conversation. Pragmatics, 9, 51-74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/prag.9.1.05oka
[19]	Siewierska, A. (2013). Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal Pronouns. The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. http://wals.info/chapter/44
[20]	Tanaka, L. (2010). Is Formality Relevant? Japanese Tokens Hai, ee and un. Pragmatics, 20, 191-211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/prag.20.2.04tan
[21]	Tao, H.-Y. (1996). Units in Mandarin Conversation: Prosody, Discourse, and Grammar. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/sidag.5
[22]	Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics (Learning about Language). London and New York: Longman.
[23]	Winter, B., & Grawunder, S. (2012). The Phonetic Profile of Korean Formal and Informal Speech Registers. Journal of Phonetics, 40, 808-815. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2012.08.006
[24]	陳健榮, 李兆麟(2014). 粵語二語學習者的語體偏誤分析. In 李兆麟, 謝春玲, 吳偉平(編), 語言學與華語二語教學:語用能力培養的理論與實踐(頁碼: 225-236). 香港: 商務印書館. [Chan, K. W., & Lee, S. (2014). Analyzing Yuti Errors of Learners of Cantonese as a Second Language. In S.-L. Lee, C.-L. Xie, & W.-P. Wu (Eds.), Linguistics and CSL Teaching and Learning: Theories and Practices in the Training of Pragmatic Abilities (pp. 225-236). Hong Kong: The Commercial Press.]
[25]	杜艷青(2006). 韓國學生漢語詞語偏誤分析. 安陽師範學院學報, 1期, 102-104. [Du, Y. (2006). Analysis of the Mistakes Made by the Korean Students in the Usage of Chinese Vocabulary. Journal of Anyang Teachers College, No. 1, 102-104.]
[26]	馮勝利(2006). 漢語書面用語初編. 北京: 北京語言大學出版社. [Feng, S. (2006). Expressions of Written Chinese. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.]
[27]	馮勝利(2010). 論語體的機制及其語法屬性. 中國語文, 5期, 400-412. [Feng, S. (2010). On Mechanisms of Register System and Its Grammatical Property. Studies of the Chinese Language, No. 5, 400-412.]
[28]	馮勝利(2011). 語體語法及其文學功能. 當代修辭學, 4期, 1-13. [Feng, S. (2011). Thegrammar of yuti and Its Function in Literature. Contemporary Rhetoric, No. 4, 1-13.]
[29]	馮勝利, 王潔, 黃梅(2008). 漢語書面語體莊雅度的自動測量. 語言科學, 2期, 113-126. [Feng, S., Wang, J., & Huang, M. (2008). An Automatic Feature Checking Algorithm for Degree of Formalities in Written Chinese. Linguistic Science, No. 2, 113-126.]
[30]	姜永超(2013). 外國留學生漢語語音意識偏誤及反思. 華章, 13期, 184. [Jiang, Y. (2013). The Errors and the Introspection on the Consciousness of the Chinese Phonetics of Foreign Students. Magnificent Writing, No. 13, 184.]
[31]	賴鵬(2006). 漢語能願動詞語際遷移偏誤生成原因初探. 語言教學與研究, 5期, 67-74. [Lai, P. (2006). A Study on the Causes of Interlingual Transfer Errors in the Acquisition of Chinese Modal Auxiliaries. Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies, No. 5, 67-74.]
[32]	李泉(2006). 對外漢語課程、大綱與教學模式研究. 北京: 商務印書館. [Li, Q. (2006). Duiwai Hanyu Kecheng Dagang yu Jiaoxue Moshi Yanjiu. Beijing: The Commercial Press.]
[33]	李曉琪(2006). 對外漢語文化教學研究. 北京: 商務印書館. [Li, X.-Q. (2006). Duiwai Hanyu Wenhua Jiaoxue Yanjiu. Beijing: The Commercial Press.]
[34]	李宇明(2007). 關于《中國語言生活綠皮書》. 語言文字應用, 1期, 12-19. [Li, Y. (2007). On Green Paper on Language Situation in China. Applied Linguistics, No. 1, 12-19.]
[35]	劉叔新(2004). 語言學與文學的牽手: 劉叔新自選集. 天津: 南開大學出版社. [Liu, S. (2004). The Association between Linguistics and Literature: A Personal Anthology of Liu Shuxin. Tianjin: Nankai University Press.]
[36]	潘慶雲(1986). “漢語語體學”應成為一門獨立的科學. 浙江師範大學學報(社會科學版), 1期, 93-97. [Pan, Q. (1986). “The Study of Register in Chinese” Should Become an Independent Science Subject. Journal of Zhejiang Normal University (Social Science), No. 1, 93-97.]
[37]	蘇丹潔, 陶紅印(2014). 話語語用學與口語教材的編寫和教學: 以 Working With Spoken Chinese 為例. In 李兆麟, 謝春玲, 吳偉平(編), 語言學與華語二語教學: 語用能力培養的理論與實踐(頁碼: 144-162). 香港: 商務印書局. [Su, D., & Tao, H.-Y. (2014). Teaching Discourse Pragmatics in the Spoken Mode: The Case of Working with Spoken Chinese. In S.-L. Lee, C.-L. Xie, & W.-P. Wu (Eds.), Linguistics and CSL Teaching and Learning: Theories and Practices in the Training of Pragmatic Abilities (pp. 144-162). Hong Kong: The Commercial Press.]
[38]	王新青(2011). 民族學生漢語詞語的偏誤分析. 長春教育學院學報, 5期, 80-81. [Wang, X. (2011). An Error Analysis of the Chinese Vocabularies of Ethnic Students. Journal of Changchun Education Institute, No. 5, 80-81.]
[39]	徐威(2010).韓國留學生使用連詞“還有”的偏誤分析及教學策略. 北京大學研究生學志, 3期, 59-70. [Xu, W. (2010). A Study on Korean Learners’ Biased Errors and Teaching Strategies of the Conjunction “haiyou”. Graduate Students’ Journal of Peking University, No. 3, 59-70.]
[40]	于根元(2003). 應用語言學概論. 北京: 商務印書館. [Yu, G. (2003). An Outline of Applied Linguistics. Beijing: Commercial Press.]
[41]	張黎(2010). 商務漢語口語的話語特征. 漢語學習, 3期, 90-94. [Zhang, L. (2010). The Discourse Features of Oral Business Chinese. Chinese Language Learninging, No. 3, 90-94.]
[42]	趙金銘(2008). 漢語作為第二語言教學: 理念與模式. 世界漢語教學, 1期, 93-107. [Zhao, J.-M. (2008). Concept and Mode of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language. Chinese Teaching in the World, No. 1, 93-107.]