AN ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF THE ARTICLES IN SCIENCE-RELATED
TEXTS AND SCIENTIFIC TEXTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
LEE YEOK JANG (GINA)
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
AN ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF THE ARTICLES IN SCIENCE-RELATED
TEXTS AND SCIENTIFIC TEXTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
LEE YEOK JANG (GINA)
A PROJECT SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT FOR AWARD OF BACHELORS
OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION
(TESL)
FACULTI PENDIDIKAN
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
MARCH 2004
DEDICATED TO FATHER IN HEAVEN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The completion of this project owes everything to the guidance, support and
encouragement of my supervisor, Dr. Noor Abidah bt. Mohd. Omar. I am grateful to her
as she has shaped my ideas and inspired me to write this project.
Many course mates and friends have offered their comments and suggestions about this
paper. To each of them goes an expression of special appreciation.
A special word of thanks must go to many scholars whose writing has provided useful
source of information for my project.
Finally, I am indebted to all who directly or indirectly contributed to the completion of
this project. Of which without them, this would all not have been possible.
LEE YEOK JANG (GINA)
MARCH 2004
ABSTRACT
It is not true, as it is sometimes stated, that the indefinite article is always used
for ‘first mention’ and that the definite article is used subsequently for reference back.
Real language use cannot be reduced to a simple grammatical pattern like the statement
above. As part of an effort to understand the underlying patterns and functions of the
English articles, the present study aimed to analyse the use of the articles in two genres
of written English: Science-related texts from newspapers and scientific texts from
reference books. This study employed the use of a concordance program called Simple
Concordance Program (SCP) 4.0.7 to inspect a corpus of data that consisted of ten
Science-related texts and another ten scientific texts. This study presented a quantitative
analysis of article use in terms of the overall frequency of the articles in each genre, the
co-occurrence frequency of the articles in relation to nouns, and the frequency of the
articles in relation to their functions. The quantitative patterns of article use were then
discussed in terms of the communicative functions each genre served and the pragmatic
factors which influenced the results of the analysis. The findings of this study showed a
higher frequency of the indefinite article in Science-related texts. On the contrary, the
frequency of the definite article was higher in scientific texts. A brief discussion of
pedagogical implications of this study is provided together with some suggestions about
direction for further study.
ABSTRAK
Ini adalah tidak benar, sepertimana yang sering dinyatakan bahawa indefinite
article selalu digunakan untuk ‘sebutan pertama’ manakala definite article selalu
digunakan berikutnya untuk rujukan balik. Penggunaan bahasa yang sebenar tidak boleh
dikurangkan kepada corak tatabahasa yang semudah seperti penyataan di atas. Sebagai
sebahagian daripada usaha untuk memahami corak asas dan fungsi bagi English articles,
kajian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa penggunaan English articles dalam dua jenis
penulisan bahasa English: teks mengenai Sains daripada surat khabar dan teks saintifik
daripada buku rujukan. Kajian ini melibatkan penggunaan satu program konkordans
yang dikenali sebagai Simple Concordance Program (SCP) 4.0.7 untuk menganalisa
satu korpus maklumat yang terdiri daripada sepuluh teks mengenai Sains dan sepuluh
teks saintifik. Kajian ini mempersembahkan satu analisis kuantitatif yang menerangkan
penggunaan English articles dari segi kekerapan keseluruhan English articles dalam dua
jenis teks, kekerapan bersama English articles dengan kata nama, dan kekerapan bagi
fungsi English articles. Analisis kualitatif ini seterusnya dibincangkan dari segi fungsi
komunikasi bagi setiap jenis teks dan juga faktor pragmatik yang mempengaruhi
keputusan analisis. Dapatan daripada kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa kekerapan
indefinite article adalah lebih tinggi dalam teks mengenai Sains. Sebaliknya, kekerapan
definite article adalah lebih tinggi dalam teks saintifik. Kajian ini juga
mempersembahkan satu perbincangan yang ringkas mengenai implikasi kajian ini di
samping memberikan beberapa cadangan untuk kajian selanjutnya.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS THESIS
PENGESAHAN PENYELIA
TITLE PAGE i
DECLARATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
ABSTRAK vi
CONTENTS vii
LIST OF TABLES xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES xv
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background of Problem 3
1.3 Statement of Problem 4
1.4 Objectives of Study 5
1.5 Research Questions 6
1.6 Significance of Study 7
1.7 Scope of Study 8
1.8 Limitations of Study 9
1.9 Definition of Terms 10
1.9.1 Science-related Texts (SRT) 10
1.9.2 Scientific Texts (ST) 10
1.9.3 Concordance 11
1.10 Conclusion 12
II LITERATURE REVIEW 13
2.1 Introduction 13
2.2 Basic Forms and Nature of the Articles 14 12
2.3 Origins and Historical Developments of the Articles 15
2.4 Positions of the Articles 17
2.5 Relationship Between the Articles and Nouns 18
2.6 Theoretical Considerations of the Articles 21
2.6.1 Determination Theory 21
2.6.2 Actualisation Theory 22
2.6.3 Substantiation Theory 22
2.6.4 Familiarity-Unity Theory 22
2.7 Functions of the Indefinite Article 25
2.8 Functions of the Definite Article 27
2.8.1 Classifying 27
2.8.2 Specifying 29
2.8.3 Time Expression 31
2.8.4 'The' and Adjectives 32
2.8.5 'The' and Proper Nouns 32
2.9 The English Article System and Its
Significance of Use 34
2.10 Formal Instruction on the Learning of the English
Article System 35
2.11 Data-driven Learning 37
2.12 Corpus-based Studies of Grammar 38
2.13 Concordance 41
2.14 Conclusion 42
III RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES 44
3.1 Introduction 44
3.2 Research Design 45
3.3 Samples of the Study - Texts 46
3.4 Research Procedures 48
3.5 Data Analysis 50
3.5.1 Part One of Data Analysis 51
3.5.2 Part Two of Data Analysis 51
3.5.3 Part Three of Data Analysis 52
3.5.4 Part Four of Data Analysis 52
3.5.5 Part Five of Data Analysis 52
3.6 Conclusion 53
IV DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 54
4.0 Introduction 54
4.1 Part One of Data Analysis 56
4.2 Part Two of Data Analysis 57
4.3 Part Three of Data Analysis 60
4.3.1 Frequency of ‘a’ in Relation to Categories
of Nouns 60
4.3.2 Frequency of ‘an’ in Relation to Categories
of Nouns 64
4.3.3 Frequency of ‘the’ in Relation to Categories
of Nouns 66
4.4 Part Four of Data Analysis 69
4.4.1 Frequency of ‘a/an’ in Relation to Its
Functions 69
4.4.2 Frequency of ‘the’ in Relation to Its
Functions 72
4.5 Part Five of Data Analysis 77
4.5.1 Comparison Type One 77
4.5.2 Comparison Type Two 81
4.5.3 Comparison Type Three 84
4.6 Summary of the Findings 90
V CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
5.1 Conclusion 92
5.2 Implications of the Study 96
5.2.1 The Sequence of the Presentation of the
Articles 96
5.2.2 The Teaching of the Prevalent Uses of
the Articles 97
5.2.3 Teaching of Grammar in Context 97
5.2.4 Teaching of English for Specific Purposes 98
5.3 Suggestions for Further Study 98
BIBLIOGRAPHY 100
APPENDICES 103
APPENDIX A 103
APPENDIX B 104
APPENDIX C 105
APPENDIX D 106
APPENDIX E 107
APPENDIX F 108
APPENDIX G 126
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE TITLE PAGE
2.1 Positions of the Articles 17
2.2 Jespersen Versus Christophersen’s Classifications
of Nouns 19
2.3 Five Combinations of a Substantive Noun with Articles 20
2.4 Possible Combinations of Five Substantives Nouns with
Articles 20
2.5 Functions of the Indefinite Article 26
2.6 The Use of ‘the’ for Classifying 28
2.7 The Use of ‘the’ for Specifying 29
2.8 The Situational Contexts for Specifying 30
2.9 The Use of ‘the’ for Time Expressions 31
2.10 The Use of 'the' with Adjectives 32
2.11 The Use of 'the' with Proper Nouns 33
4.1 General Description of Data 57
4.2 Overall Frequency of the Articles 58
4.3 Frequency of 'a' in Relation to Categories of Nouns 63
4.4 Frequency of ‘an’ in Relation to Categories of Nouns 65
4.5 Frequency of ‘the’ in Relation to Categories of Nouns 68
4.6 Frequency of ‘a/an’ in Relation to Its Functions 71
4.7 Frequency of ‘the’ in Relation to Its Functions 75
4.8 Comparison of the Frequency of article ‘a’, ‘an’ and
‘the’ in the SRT Texts and the ST texts 78
4.9 Comparison of the Frequency of ‘a’ in Relation to
Categories of Nouns in the SRT Texts and the ST Texts 81
4.10 Comparison of the Frequency of ‘an’ in Relation to
Categories of Nouns in the SRT Texts and the ST Texts 82
4.11 Comparison of the Frequency of ‘the’ in Relation to
Categories of Nouns in the SRT Texts and the ST Texts 83
4.12 Comparison of the Frequency of ‘a/an’ in Relation to
Its Functions in the SRT Texts and the ST Texts 85
4.13 Comparison of the Frequency of ‘the’ in Relation to
Its Functions in the SRT Texts and the ST Texts 87
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ADJ Adjective
CLT - Communicative language teaching
CR - Conscious raising
DDL - Data-driven learning
EST - English for Science and Technology
KWIC - Key Word In Context
N - Noun
NIE - Newspaper in education
PG - Pedagogical grammar
SRT - Science-related texts
ST - Scientific texts
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX TITLE PAGE
A Inconsistencies of the Articles 103
B Cobuild Frequency Count – Top 113 Forms 104
C Old English Declension of Demonstrative ‘That’ 105
D Paradigm for German Definite Article 106
E French and Spanish Definite Articles with Nouns 107
F Samples of Texts 108
G Samples of Concordances 126
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Grammar may be defined as the rules of a language, governing the way in which
words are put together to convey meaning in different contexts (Nesamalar Chitravelu et
al., 1995). A sound knowledge of grammar is essential for competent users of a
language. It enables language users to put words together in the correct order to
communicate ideas effectively. Drawing from this point of view, the aim of grammar
teaching is to ensure that language learners are capable to communicate efficiently with
their current level of grammatical competence.
When language learners are presented with grammar through structural patterns,
they are at the same time being presented with tidy pieces of language to work with.
However, real language use is often very untidy and cannot be reduced to simple
grammatical patterns. Learners need to be aware of this in the same way that they need
to be aware of language and how it is used. This is why discovery activities are so
valuable. By asking learners to discover ways in which language is used, it can raise
their awareness about the creative use of grammar.
The concept of grammatical consciousness-raising leads to interests in
pedagogical grammar (PG). PG simply means grammar for teaching. Hadley (2003)
defines PG as a modest reference which can be used for course work, which principally
draws attention to language patterns. It can be used by teachers, native speakers and
second language learners to gain insight into and better utilize the target language.
According to Nunan (1991), the aim of PG is to provide those involved in language
teaching and learning with information on the grammar of the language for the purposes
of teaching and learning, syllabus construction, materials development and so on. One
practical application of PG is what is known as Data-driven Learning (DDL).
DDL approach to language teaching and learning suggests that the teaching and
learning process should consist largely of conscious raising (CR) activities rather than
the teaching of rules. In other words, the grammar system is organic rather than
mechanic in nature. DDL activities are well suited to CR because the focus of a DDL
activity is to create an awareness of a form, and also to emphasize the function and the
context that the form occurs in. With the notion that grammar teaching as CR in mind,
this research attempted to study the use of one of the components of the grammar
system, that is the English articles. This study took DDL approach out of classroom
context to analyse the articles in two types of texts: Science-related texts (SRT) and
scientific texts (ST). The principle applied in this study was just the same as classroom
concordancing. The underlying patterns of the articles and their regularities of
occurrence were uncovered in the process of analysing the use of the articles.
1.2 Background of Problem
In the early 1980s, communicative competence became the primary concern of
second language instruction while grammatical instruction fell into disfavour (Master,
1994). The emergence of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has tended to
reduce the explicit teaching of grammar in classroom. CLT emphasizes on verbal
fluency over formal accuracy. This unbalanced approach to language teaching can lead
to fossilization.
In order to correct the perceived imbalance between fluency and accuracy, there
is a call for a shift from CLT to PG. PG serves as the middle ground between theoretical
and pedagogical approaches to the teaching of grammar. According to Beaumont &
Gallaway (1994), the article system of English provides an excellent context for bringing
both theoretical and pedagogic issues together. Learners in the classroom are often
presented with this ‘rule of thumb’ or ‘first/second mention’ rule as follows:
The use of 'a/an' when something is mentioned for the first time.
The use of 'the' when something that has been mentioned is referred to again.
According to Chalker (1984), it is not true, as is sometimes stated, that the
indefinite articles are always used for ‘first mention’ and that the definite article is used
subsequently for reference back. The can in fact be used for first mention or indefinite
article may persist in second and subsequent mentions. From here, it can be seen that
there is a distinction between theoretical and pedagogical descriptions of article use.
This can cause confusions to English learners if they attempt to operate the rule on
authentic texts in real life.
In addition to the problems that language learners face with the rules governing
the use of the articles, learners also encounter problems with the inconsistencies of the
use of the articles. This is especially true in the rhetoric of instruction found in technical
manuals and related materials. Based on the example in Appendix A - Inconsistent of
the use of the definite article in a set of instructions (Trimble, 1985), the learner had
twenty-six opportunities to use the definite article but he used it only in five instances.
The inconsistencies such as those illustrated above are more common in non-
native readers than in native readers. A native reader has little trouble in supplying the
missing articles when they are needed to classify the text. Non-native readers, however,
do not have this same ‘feel’ for the articles and so cannot bring to the reading the ability
of the native readers (Trimble, 1985). As a result, learners either by-pass the problem by
ignoring the article altogether or they spend time fruitlessly trying to reconcile an
unfamiliar article use with the ‘rules’ they have so carefully learned (Trimble, 1985).
1.3 Statement of Problem
The English articles are the most commonly used word in our daily
conversation as well as in writing. Nonetheless, the English article system is one of the
most difficult elements of English grammar for foreign students to master, especially for
those whose first language does not use articles (Master, 1987). Unlike native speakers
who have the ‘feel’ for the articles, second language users do not have such reservoir to
draw from. Therefore, some second language users learn the use of the articles by
remembering the rules and if the rules do not fit, they ignore the articles (Trimble,
1985).
The use of the articles presents a great many intricate problems mainly because it
is impossible to give a small number of settled rules for all cases (Jespersen, 1949). In
other words, the articles do not operate all the time according to the prescribed rules.
Therefore, learners who attempt to operate the rule on anything other than highly
controlled ‘model’ texts are likely to suffer considerable confusion (Beaumont &
Gallaway, 1994).
Most of the time in a language classroom, the articles are learned in isolation
rather than in context. Students are often given sentences whereby they are asked to fill
in the blanks with the correct articles. Regrettably, the conditions dictating the use of
the articles are determined by the needs of the current context. This means that the
articles should be presented and learned in context, not in isolation.
1.4 Objectives of Study
The objectives of this study are to:
1. Describe the general patterns of article use in selected
Science-related texts and scientific texts.
2. Describe the co-occurrence frequency of the articles in relation to categories of
nouns in selected Science-related texts and scientific texts.
3. Describe the occurrence frequency of the articles in relation to their functions in
selected Science-related texts and scientific texts.
4. Compare the use of the articles in Science-related texts from newspaper articles
and scientific texts from academic reference books.
1.5 Research Questions
Based on the objectives of the study, these research questions are
designed:
1. What are the general patterns of occurrence of the articles in selected Science-
related texts and scientific texts?
2. What types of nouns occur with the articles and how frequent do these nouns
appear?
3. What are the functions of the articles and how frequent are the articles used to
express those functions?
4. (a) What are the similarities or differences between the overall frequency of the
articles in Science-related texts from newspaper articles and scientific texts from
academic reference books?
(b) What are the similarities or differences between the frequency of the articles
in relation to categories of nouns in Science-related texts from newspaper articles
and scientific texts from academic reference books?
(c) What are the similarities or differences between the frequency of the articles
in relation to their functions in Science-related texts from newspaper articles and
scientific texts from academic reference books?