Linguistic Tools for Written Communication

“In this groundbreaking interdisciplinary study, Reshmi Dutta-Flanders examines the ways in which the linguistic deviations of non-native speakers inform and shape the writing of academic essays in English. By following the processes set out across this book, teachers and markers will be able to adopt more inclusive methods and provide feedback that is more relevant to the needs of individual students. The methodological framework that Dutta-Flanders puts forward is thus an important one that reveals the cultural, social and psychological aspects of secondary language use in an academic context.” —Joanne Pettitt, University of Kent, UK This book uses a linguistically and stylistically grounded analytical approach to written discourse to explain the patterns that appear when evaluating academic essays, and to explore the potential of ‘nativized’ linguistic tendencies as strategies in written communication. As 'linguistic behaviour', these strategies constitute a multinorm, and the author argues that comprehensive awareness of a written norm in a multilingual context is not about language rules for ironing out inequalities, but rather about varieties of linguistic practices that construct alternative strategies and patterns in written discourse. The book combines topics such as study skills, English as a Second Language and English for Academic Purposes, but grounds them within a World Englishes and syntactic paradigm, exploring why students write in a certain way due to their linguistic instincts, as well as helping students to see practical examples of what this means from the immediate perspective of sentence construction. It will be of interest to scholars of Education, Language and Linguistics, Study Skills, EAP and World Englishes, as well as students across disciplines who are encountering the academic essay as a form for the first time. Reshmi Dutta-Flanders is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent, UK.