Congratulations Dr. Tao!

Her thesis entitled ‘A valency-based corpus analysis of TAKE and GIVE in Learner Englishes and New Englishes’ was supervised by Gaëtanelle Gilquin (UCLouvain).

Other members of the jury included Prof. Sylvie DE COCK (UCLouvain), Prof. Sylviane GRANGER (UCLouvain), Prof. Thomas HERBST (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg), and Prof. Samantha LAPORTE (Université de Lille).

Abstract:

This dissertation re-evaluates the relationship between Learner Englishes (LEs) and New Englishes (NEs) by considering the role of language-internal factors (i.e., mode, lexical items, and linguistic levels) and statistical approaches. Relying on valency theory and comparable written and spoken corpora, it provides a multi-level analysis of valence, valency patterns, and senses of TAKE and GIVE across two LEs (Mainland Chinese English and Belgian French-speaking English) and two NEs (Singapore English and Hong Kong English). This is followed by a multifactorial analysis of light verb constructions with TAKE and GIVE (e.g., take a walk) to explore how grammatical contexts (e.g., voice) constrain their usage, employing both Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and Random Forests with Global Surrogate Model techniques. Qualitative analyses of non-standard features and their potential motivations further complement the quantitative results.

Across all analytical dimensions, the results show that LEs and NEs are neither two distinct categories nor a simple linear continuum, as reported in previous research. Instead, they constitute a dynamic spectrum, with varieties occupying dynamic positioning, depending on the language-internal factors investigated. This reconceptualization helps bridge the paradigm gap between Second Language Acquisition and World Englishes research and underscores the need for multidimensional analyses in future comparative English variety research.