Relative Clauses - Research Paper Example

Relative Clauses Introduction Humans are social beings that interact with each other as well as with the environment that they exist in at varied levels. These interactions enable them to coexist in a harmonic manner and at the same time derive optimal benefits from the resources that the environment offers. Although they have devised distinctive modes of communication, language remains the most important mode through which they communicate with each other. At this point, it cannot be disputed that understanding is elemental in enabling different groups of individuals to live peacefully. Language as a mode of communication differs considerably amongst different groups of persons across the globe. It has a cultural orientation and reflects the societal values and virtues as well as the broad environmental conditions of that particular group. Through language, individuals within a group are able to share emotions and understand as respond to the needs of each other accordingly. In the current globalized world, adoption of a single language is of paramount importance. This is particularly imperative in learning environments where students are expected to grasp wide ranging and relatively complex concepts. Adoption of the English language has enabled students from minority populations to understand the learning process. Although they have employed English as their main language of communication, it is worth appreciating that they are still greatly influenced by their cultural languages. To a great extent, this is attributable to the experiences that they have had since their childhood. Just like other students from minority factions, Arabic students have equally been influenced by their previous experiences in different ways. Thus their use of relative clauses in English texts distinctively differs from use of relative clauses in Standard English. It is against this background that this paper provides a review of relative clauses in light of how they are used by Arabic students in English texts. To enhance coherence, it begins by detailing the concept of relative clauses. It then proceeds to a literature review, then to methodology, the sample, analysis of data and comparison and finally to a conclusion. Relative clauses are important components of English language sentences. Essentially, they are subordinate clauses that play an instrumental role of modifying nouns. In typical English, these are usually introduced by different relative pronouns (McKee and McDaniel 6). Examples of relative pronouns include who, whoever, whose, whom, whomever, which, that and so forth. From a syntactical point of view, they are named ‘complementizers’ (McKee and McDaniel 7). Under normal circumstances, they are co-indexed by antecedents. These antecedents are usually subject of main clauses, their objects or any given verb-phrase relationship. The relative sentences comprise of two main parts that are joined by the relative pronoun. These include the relative clause and the antecedent. Since relative clauses tend to add more information to nouns, they are commonly known as adjective clauses. Literature Review As aforementioned, language in the cultural contexts of Arabic populations is very complex. Cultural influences have greatly impacted on the use of English language by minority students of Arabic decent. Seemingly, Arabic language is reflected in both their written and spoken English. The most pronounced effect according to Carrol pertains to the use of relative clauses (Carrol 59). Relative clauses in typical Arabic have several distinctive features that differentiate them from relatives in Standard English. In the former, Carrol indicates that clauses are divided in two main classes; definite and indefinite (Carrol 61). The definite clauses usually require a relative noun and they are normally connected. This is unlike the indefinite clauses that does not require a relative noun and are unconnected. The similarity between these two pertains to the fact that they both require resumptive pronouns and usually, they do not exemplify island effects. Notably, in Arabic, interrogative who-elements such as when, where and who are not employed when forming relatives. In this regard, the wh-word is not used for introducing a relative clause. However, Carrol notes that there are certain exceptions where the word what appears in some clauses (Carrol 63). At this point, there are distinct differences in the manner in which the Arabic students introduce their relative clauses in English texts. Just like in their Arabic language, Huddleson and Pullum indicate that they in some cases entirely eliminate the wh-word during the introduction of these important clauses (Huddleson and Pullum 71). In their research, Townsend and Bever found out that there are distinct differences in the use of marked clauses by Arabic students (Townsend and Bever 53). Native English speakers usually use relative pronouns that agree with the respective nouns that these replace. For instance, ‘who’ is used when referring to subject-case human while ‘whom’ is used when referring to object-case human, ‘whose’ for human and ‘which’ for non human. This is unlike Arabic speakers who use relative nouns that need to be in agreement with specific head nouns with regards to gender, number and case. According to Carrol, case agreement in this respect is applied only when dealing with dual relative nouns that are in most instances accusative, genitive or normative (Carrol 66). Another distinct difference in use of relative clauses by the Arabic and English speakers pertains to the absence or presence of resumptive pronoun or pronominal reflex. In this respect, McKee and McDaniel indicate that native English speakers do not allow the retention of a pronoun and employment of this as preposition or pronoun object (McKee and McDaniel 7). Arabic speakers on the contrary retain the object noun in their relative clauses. These are usually in their pronominal forms. Further, they allow for use of pronominal reflex as objects of preposition (McKee and McDaniel 7). In their consultative research about pedagogical problems that Arabic students encounter, Townsend and Bever found out that in most instances, these speakers face difficulties during their acquisition of relative clause structure (Townsend and Bever 72). Relative problems range from misuse of the clauses and problems pertaining to agreement to incidences relating to repletion, substitution and omission. Although not all of them, it can be agreed that most of the problems these speakers face are attributable to the negative interferences from their native language. Also worth appreciating is the recognition that most errors are form related as opposed to use related. For this reason, respective inconsistencies have not been able to significantly affect the use of the clauses in communication. Regardless of these errors, McKee and McDaniel assert that Arabic speakers have been able to communicate meaningfully. Methodology This study’s sample was drawn from students from the English language Institute of this institution. In particular, it comprised of 50 students of Arabic descent. All participants were required to have at least completed a high school course and previously used English as a mode of instruction. A significant percentage of these had already completed their undergraduate studies in their home countries and have entered graduate school in the United States. Typically, the students attending this program study English twenty hours each week. They pursue different topics that arrange form comprehension, speaking and listening to grammar and reading. For the purposes of this study, the researcher chose only advanced and intermediate students. Statistical evidence in this respect indicates that the reset have low proficiency in their use of relative clauses. Thus they would not sufficiently capture the inherent distinctions in the use of relative clauses by the Arabic student population. To obtain optimal outcomes, the research focused solely on the use of the relative clauses in English compositions. The relative lack of restriction is imperative in allowing the researcher to understand the extent to which the students use relative clauses in their English composition. From this point of view, it is easier to capture their level of competency and proficiency in use of the relative clauses. The students were given two hours to write the compositions. With this, the researcher was able to capture the use of relative clauses because they wrote adequate lengths. At this point, it is worth acknowledging that lengths of the compositions determine the frequency that writers use the relative clauses. These compositions were solely limited to distinct expository topics; some of which were comparison based while others were strictly exposition. Further, students were given a chance to pick topics that they were conversant with in terms of background information and vocabulary. Furthermore, they were allowed to use thesauruses and dictionaries during writing. Analysis of Data and Comparison Results of the findings indicate that there are distinct differences in the use of English language by the Arabic speakers. As aforementioned, these are attributable to the cultural influences of the speakers. Seemingly, the speakers utilize Arabic forms of relative clauses in English contexts. This is regardless of the fact that the contexts or environments differ considerably. From this point of view, their environments have greatly influenced their language structure in different ways. The sample indicates that the structure of their sentences differ considerably from the Standard English structure. This is particularly so in the form of the sentences. From the findings, the differences are minor and do not have marked impact on the meanings that they wish to relay. The differences in the structure of the relative clauses are both syntactical and semantic in nature. In Arabic, findings show that relative clauses follow the respective head noun. This was apparent in 80% of the compositions presented by the findings. Further, they indicate that English speakers of Arabic decent use relative nouns that agree with head nouns in case, number and gender. Likewise, this was exemplified by a significant 88% of the participants. Nonetheless, the case agreement is usually applicable only when using dual relative nouns that are typically accusative, genitive or normative. From the findings, it is certain that unlike native English speakers, the Arabic speakers retain object noun in the respective relative clauses in pronominal forms. To a great extent, this allows for perception of pronominal reflex as the preposition object. Also worth appreciating is the recognition that Arabic speakers confine their relative clauses to exophoric pronominal reference and distinct contexts. This was apparent in 92% of the students. Another characteristic in the use of English by speakers of Arabic decent pertains to the reference to logical rather than grammatical meaning of the entire sentence. In this respect, 96% of the participants upon further interviews placed great emphasis on the logical meaning of their phrases. Thus as long as the phrases relayed the meanings, they were credible to be used in varied contexts. This is unlike for native English speakers and writers who place great emphasis on the grammatical meanings of their relative clause. In this regard, sentences and clauses achieve their goals and are acceptable for use only when they are grammatically coherent. Also worth noting is the frequency of use of the relative clauses by the learners. From the findings, the frequency of use of relative clauses by these learners was 72%. In this regard, most learners wrote an essay of three pages in two hours. In this, most of them used at least one relative clause in each paragraph. This had various implications on the usage of this provision in their native language. In essence, it implied that they were conversant with the use of relative clauses in communication. Besides, it shows that they not only understood but also appreciated the use of the relative clauses in communication. Most importantly, it showed that their environment greatly dictated the frequency as well as type of the relative clauses they employed in communication. Conclusion At this point, it cannot be disputed that language is an important component of communication. It enhances interactions amongst populations and aids in ensuring harmonic co existence between and within between populations. To a great extent, use of a common language has been imperative in enabling the students form minority factions to understand and appreciate the learning process. In this regard, English language has been employed as the sole mode of communication in learning environments in the United States. As it has come out from the study, there are distinct differences in the manner in which the Arabic students use relative clauses in English texts. This is attributable to the influences of their native Arabic languages as well as other cultural connotations. The literature review appreciates the fact that there are differences in use of relative clauses by native speakers and the Arabic speakers. Besides having distinct differences between the definite and indefinite clauses, Arabic speakers from this point of view accord resumptive pronouns a different position in their English texts. The methodology employed a sample of fifty students of Arabic decent who wrote English composition. An analysis of the compositions exhibited certain characteristics in use of relative clauses by this faction of the population. An analysis of this ascertained the fact that indeed, the manner in which Arabic students use relative clauses in their texts differs considerably. This is attributable to their cultural orientations and relative influences. Since the differences affect the form of the sentences, it does not have a significant impact on the meanings that learners wish to relay. This is further compounded by the fact that the Arabic speakers place particular emphasis on the logical as opposed to the grammatical meaning of their English texts. Works Cited Carrol David. Psychology of language. Belmont: Thomson & Wadsworth, 2008. Print. Huddleston Rodney and Pullum Geoffrey. The Cambridge grammar of English language. Cambridge: University Press, 2002. Print. McKee Cecile and McDaniel Dana. Resumptive pronouns in English relative clauses. Language Acquisition, 9.2 (2001): 6-9. Print. Townsend David and Bever Thomas. Sentence comprehension: The integration of habits and rules. Cambridge: University Press, 2001. Print. Read More