The Pronominal bu-şu and this-that: Rhetorical Structure Theory

This study presents a contrastive analysis of the pronominal uses of bu and şu and this and that in written academic discourse within the framework of Rhetorical Structure Theory (Mann and Thompson, 1988; Marcu 2000). The comparative analysis of these pronominals is done with respect to the rhetorical relations in which they are used. Data for this study were retrieved from journal articles on linguistics and education. The results show that bu-şu and this-that are sensitive to rhetorical relations. Although bu and this are used in similar rhetorical functions (i.e. interpretation, explanation and reason relations), in some occurrences they are used in different rhetorical relations (i.e textual organisation and hypothetical relations). On the other hand, şu is used differently from that and this in the establishment of rhetorical relations. Şu is used in the subtypes of elaboration relation (i.e. elaboration-set-member, elaboration part-whole), while that is not used in elaboration relations. That is used in antithesis, list and contrast relations, where occurrences of şu are not seen. While this is used in addition, interpretation, hypothetical, summarisation and concession relations, şu is not

Achieving Representativeness Through the Parameters of Spoken Language and Discursive Features The Case of the Spoken Turkish Corpus

In this paper we overview the ongoing debate on achieving representativeness in general spoken corpora with the purpose of proposing a model for spoken corpora design and construction workflows. The proposal is illustrated in the context of an ongoing implementation for the Spoken Turkish Corpus, a corpus that will consist of one million words of present-day Turkish spoken in Turkey in its initial stage. The paper proposes a cyclic workflow and design scheme that is based on the principles of an “agile” corpus design and annotation system (Voorman and Gut, 2008), and argues that a three-pronged set of feature criteria, namely, demographic, contextual, and discursive features can be fruitfully combined to monitor and achieve representativeness. The paper discusses the underlying principles in the design scheme and outlines the metadata features of the web-based corpus management system, which utilizes and complements EXMARaLDA tools (Schmidt, 2004) in corpus construction and monitorin

Sustaining a Corpus for Spoken Turkish Discourse Accessibility and Corpus Management Issues

This paper addresses the issues of the long-term availability of language resources and the financing of resource maintenance in the context of the web-based corpus management system employed in the Spoken Turkish Corpus (STC), which operates with EXMARaLDA. Section 2 overviews the capacities of the corpus management system with respect to its software infrastructure, online presentation, metadata management, and interoperability. Section 3 describes the plan foreseen in STC for sustaining the resource, and dwells on the ethical issues surrounding the conflicting demands of free resources for non-commercial research and resource maintenance

Selected research in applied linguistics and English language teaching in Turkey: 2010–2016

In this state-of-the-art review, we aim to build on Alptekin & Tatar's (2011) article covering research conducted in Turkey between 2005 and 2009, and survey published research in 31 Turkey-based journals between 2010 and 2016. As the second review paper on Turkey's English language teaching (ELT) agenda, our goal is twofold: first, to introduce the research of those researchers whose high-quality, Turkey-based work may not be known outside Turkish academia; and second, to point to recent scholarly developments that have occurred in Turkey and set these in the context of recent shifts in language teaching research worldwide. This paper presents approximately 140 articles that appeared in locally published peer-reviewed academic journals, and clearly demonstrates that Turkey as an English as a foreign language (EFL) context presents a vibrant research scene in language teaching. The reviewed works cover a wide spectrum of timely topics (e.g., computer-assisted language learning (CALL), the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL), language assessment, affective factors), and present findings that have much to contribute to current discussions in the field. Nevertheless, our review also reveals some concerning trends, including an almost exclusive emphasis on practical concerns over conceptual development; shortcomings in locating research within broader disciplinary debates; and few efforts to bring together and build on local research in a manner that might allow for original and creative influences on the broader discipline. It is therefore the further aim of this article to spark debates on these issues among Turkish scholars and contribute to the strengthening of the local disciplinary community