A Contrastive Study Of The Production Of Binomials In English Writing Between Native Speakers And Chinese EFL Learners

Binomials are a typical type of coordinate construction,usually composed of two words linked by a conjunction.An investigation into binomials produced by learners in their second language writing can help us better understand how language proficiency influences the characteristics of binomials and the uniqueness of interlanguage.Using ICNALE as research material,the present research investigates the features of binomials produced by Chinese learners of English and that produced by English native speakers.It also compares features of binomials produced by L2 learners of three proficiency levels.This study intends to answer the following questions:（1）.What are the differences and similarities of binomials in English writing produced by Chinese learners of English and native English writers?（2）.What are the differences and similarities of binomials in English writing produced by Chinese learners of English across English proficiency levels?The result suggests that:In terms of binomials produced by Chinese learners of English and native English speakers,（1）native English speakers produce more nominal and verbal binomials,while L2 learners produce more adjectival and adverbial binomials;（2）compared to L2 learners’ writing,in native English speakers’ writing there are more binomials of synonymy,binomials whose two conjuncts share the same beginning sounds,and idiomatic binomials,but fewer echoic binomials;（3）binomials in native English speakers’ writing are more diverse and even in distribution,having lower association strength（in terms of t-score）and frequency in BNC and containing more binomials that could not be found in BNC,suggesting a higher level of innovation;（4）both native and non-native speakers show a tendency to obey the frequency constraint that requires the conjunct with higher lexical frequency to be put first and the syllable constraint that requires the conjunct with fewer syllables to be put first.In terms of binomials produced by Chinese learners of English across English proficiency levels,with the improvement of L2 proficiency,in L2 learners’ writing there is a larger proportion of binomials of synonymy over binomials of antonymy,a larger proportion of binomials that violate the frequency constraint and binomials that show the influence of syllable constraint,a larger proportion of binomials whose conjuncts share the same beginning sounds,a higher level of binomial diversity,but fewer echoic binomials.The present study provides a new perspective for research in binomials and extends the scope of research in word combinations in L2 writing.