中英高中生英語(yǔ)作文中比較形式的對(duì)比研究

AComparativeStudyontheUseofEnglishComparativeDegreeinCompositionsbyChineseandBritishHigh-SchoolStudents1Introduction1.1ResearchBackgroundComparisonmeanstheactiontofinddifferencesbetweenoramongtwoorseveralthings.Ithelpspeoplebetterunderstandandfeeltheworld.Inlinguistics,itisalsoanimportantcategorythatarefrequentlyused.Accordingly,comparativedegreeiscommonandcanbefoundineverylanguage,thereforeitexistsinChineseaswellasEnglish.EnglishcomparativedegreeismorecomplicatedthanChinesecomparativedegreebecauseithastochangemorphologically,whilecomparativedegreeinChineseonlyneedstoaddextraChinesecharacter“更”or“越”.Specifically,inEnglish,therearethreecategories:positive,comparativeandsuperlativedegree.Theyvaryindifferentlinguisticphenomena.Therefore,Chinesestudentsfeelnoteasywhentheyuseitandusuallymakesomemistakes,especiallyinEnglishwritings.Inaddition,itisanoteworthymoduleinEnglishteaching.Tosomedegree,writingcandetermineone’slanguageability.Whenpeoplewrite,theypresenttheirideasbyselectingwordsfromtheirvocabularyreserveandorganizingsentencesaccordingtogrammarlaws.Also,comparedwithlistening,speakingandreading,writingisarelativelycomplexactivityanditischallengingforbothnativeandnon-nativespeakersnomatterinEnglishstudyingorteaching.Therefore,manyscholarsnoticethedifficultyandfocustheirstudyonit.However,mostofthemconcentrateonotherexpectssuchasvocabulary,grammarandsyntax,whereasonlyafewofthemareabouttheuseofcomparativedegreebyhigh-schoolstudentsbasedoncorpus.Therefore,thisresearchcanprovidesomesuggestionsorguidanceforEnglishlearningandteaching.1.2ResearchObjectivesandSignificanceByanalyzingdataresultspresentedinthecorpora,thisstudyaimstosummarizethefeaturesontheemploymentofcomparativedegreebyhigh-schoolstudentsinChinaandBritain.Inaddition,fromthetwoperspectivesoflanguagetransferofmothertongueandsecondlanguagelearning,thisstudyalsodiscussespotentialfactorsthatcausethecharacteristicsoftheuseofcomparativedegreeinthetwocorpora.ThisresearchhassignificantmeaninginEnglishlearningandteaching.Besidesdataanalysis,itofferssomeusefuladviceonthisaspectsoastoimproveEnglishwritingsofdomestichigh-schoolstudents.1.3ResearchQuestionsChineseandEnglisharecreatedindifferentcountriesanddevelopedindistinctculturebydifferentnations.Forthisreason,theybelongtodifferentlanguagesystemandhavedifferentgrammarrules.Therefore,theyareverydifferentintheuseofcomparativedegree.Inthisstudy,keyquestionsarelistedhere:1)Whatistheresultofcomparisonamongtheuseofinflectional,periphrasticandirregularformsofcomparativedegreebyhigh-schoolstudentsinChinaandthoseinBritain?2)Whatarethepotentialfactorsforthesimilaritiesordifferences?3)WhetheristhererelatedmistakemadebyChinesehigh-schoolstudents?Ifyes,whatarethey?WhatarepossiblereasonsforthemistakesandhowcanteachersleadChinesestudentstouseitintherightway?1.4OrganizationTherearefivechaptersinthethesis:Chapteronebrieflytellsthebackground,significanceandobjectivesofthestudy.Inthemeantime,thekeyquestionsarelistedandtheorganizationofthethesisareoffered.Chaptertworeviewsrelatedliterature,includingtheoreticalbackgroundandpreviousstudiesinChinaandEnglishcountries.Chapterthreepresentsthemethodologycorpus-basedapproach.Italsocoversthecorpora(CLECandALEVELS)andthetools(AntConcandBFSUStanfordPOSTagger),whichareusedintheprocessofcollectingdata.Chapterfourfocusesthedataresultsinthecorporaandconcludessimilaritiesanddifferencesexistingintheemploymentofthethreecomparativeformsbyhigh-schoolstudentsinChinaandthoseinBritain.Chapterfivesummarizestheresearchresultsinafewwordsandpresentssometeachingimplications.Inaddition,itprovidessomelimitationsofthecurrentstudyandgivessomesuggestionsforfurtherresearchoncomparatives.

2LiteratureReviewThispartintroducessomefundamentalknowledgesaboutcomparativedegreeforthefollowinganalysisanddiscussioninChapter4.Specifically,itexplainshowcomparativedegreeisdefined,whatformsithas,howitworksandwhatfunctionsithas.Aimingtoillustratethenecessityofthisstudy,previousstudiesoncomparativesarealsopresented.2.1ComparativeDegreeAccordingtoSinclair(1995),,thecomparativedegreegrammaticallyreferstotheformofanadjectiveoradverbclearlydescribingthedegreeofapropertyorqualityownedbysomeoneorsomething.Moreover,whenitisused,thereisusuallyasubordinatingconjunctionthanbehindit.Forhighercomparativedegree,thereisathree-termcomparisonsysteminEnglish.ItiscomposedofthreeformsandtheyareABSOLUTE,COMPARATIVE,andSUPERLATIVEforms.Grammaticallyspeaking,theabsolutereferstothebaseform.(Quirketal.,1985,p.458).InotherEnglishgrammarreferences,absolutedegreeisalsocalledaspositivedegree.Herearesomeexamplesofthethreedegreesofcomparison:Positivedegree:young,easy,quicklyComparativedegree:younger,easier,morequicklySuperlativedegree:youngest,easiest,mostquicklyFromcomparisonsystemgivenabove,positivedegree(orabsolutedegree)isgenerallyrealizedastheground-form.Comparativedegreeismodifiedwith-eroraddmorebeforethebase.Superlativedegreeissimilarinthetransformation.However,theycanbedifferentiatedbydifferentaddition.Tobespecific,theformmodifiedwith-estorhavingmostbeforethebaseisgenerallyrecognizedassuperlativedegree.Inthefollowingsections,comparativeadjectivesformedbyadding-erareintroducedasinflectionalformsofcomparativedegree,whilethosewithmorebeforethepositiveformareintroducedasperiphrasticformsofcomparativedegree.Logically,thepositivedegree(orabsolutedegree)isnotakindof'degreeofcomparison',becauseinmostoftimewhenwesayabottleoratree,werarelymentionanyotherbottlesandtreesforcomparison.Butforthereasonthatpositiveformisthefundamentalform,thethreedegreesclearlyformasimplegradedscale.Forexample,young,youngerandyoungestmakeupaprogression.(Jesperson,1933,pp.35).Thetypewithendings-eror-estaccountsforlargeproportionofcomparativeandsuperlativedegree.Theyarepartlytransformedfrommonosyllabicwords,whilepartofthemarefromdisyllabicwordswithavocalsoundending.Someexamplesareshallow,lazy,busy.Besides,thereisafewwhosefundamentalformhasstressonthelastsyllable.However,someothersaddpre-posedmoreandmostratherthan-erand-es.Thesewordshaveasimilarityisthattheyhavemorethantwosyllableswithseveralconsonantsintheend.HerearesomesentencestakenoutofthetwocorporaCLEC-ST2andALEVELS:Oneday,MathildeseeJeanneinthepark,butJeannecan’trecognizeher,becauseMathildelookolderthanJeanneagenow.(CLEC-ST2)Whatisahealthydiet?Thefoodswhichcontainsomefat,somefiber,alittlesaltandsoonisahealthydiet.SuchastheChinesedietthatisconsideredtobethehealthiestintheworld.(CLEC-ST2)Theclosestthatcanhappenisforaprogrammertoinventanappropriatelycomplicatedsetofinstructions(analgorithm)thatwilldeliveranapproximationofasetofrandomnumbers.Ofcourse,oncethisisdone,thecomputercanquicklycalculatemillionsof(pseudo)randomnumbersfarmorequicklythanahuman.(ALEVELS)Thesimplewaytosolvethisproblemwouldbetoeitherbuildmoreroadsormakethepresentoneslarger.(ALEVELS)In(1)and(4),olderandlargerarecomparativedegreeofoldandlarge.Theyaretransformedwiththesuffix-er,becausebothofthebaseformsaremonosyllables.Similarly,in(2)and(3),healthiestandclosestbecomethesuperlativedegreeofhealthyandclosebytheadditionof-est.Butin(3),quicklyhasmorethantwosyllables.Therefore,thetransformationisfinishedbydirectadditionofpre-posedmore.Besides,moreandmostcanbeusedinotherway.ThiscanbeillustratedbythefollowingsentenceschosenfromthetwocorporaCLEC-ST2andALEVELS:Jimismorethanseriousaboutthismatter.(CLEC-ST2)Hescreamedatthegirlmorecrazilythanexcitedly.(ALEVELS)Sentence(5)meansthat“Jimissoseriousaboutthismatterthatthewordseriousisnotenoughtoexactlydescribethegreatdegree”.Sentence(6)means“Ifuseawordtodescribethedegreeofhisscreamatthegirl,crazilyismuchmoreappropriatethanexcitedly”.Inthetwosentences,moreisusedinthetwounusualwaysratherthanasacomparativedegreeinmostoftime.2.2FormsofComparativeDegree“Comparisoninrelationtoahigherdegreeisexpressedbytheinflectedformsin-erand-estortheirperiphrasticequivalentswithmoreandmost.”(Quirketal.,1985,p.458).Inaddition,thereareirregularformsofcomparativeswhosestemsaredifferentfromthebase.Thenumberofthemissmallbutsomehavehighfrequency.Basedonit,comparativedegreeinthisstudywillbeanalyzedininflectional,periphrasticandirregularforms.2.2.1InflectionalFormofComparativeDegreeIngeneral,monosyllablesformtheircomparisonbyendingin-eror-est,likecold-colder-coldest.However,theprepositionlikeisanexceptionanditcanonlyaddmoretoformitscomparativedegree.Hereisanexample:Alexismorelikehisfather.Intheabovesentence(7),likecanonlybetransformedtomorelike.Differentfromothermonosyllables,ithasnoinflectionalform,solikeriswrong.Incontrast,manydisyllabicadjectivescanbeusedinbothinflectionalandperiphrasticforms.Forexample:Thisstreetismuchnarrower/morenarrowthantheother.Inthesentence(8),narrowcanformcomparativedegreebyaddingmorebeforeabsoluteformorwiththesuffix-er.Ifanadjectiveisadisyllablelikenarrowwhichhasanunstressedvowelending,inflectionalandperiphrasticformsbothcanbeadopted.Herearesomeinstances:-er,-ure:clever,obscure,mature,-le:simple,feeble-ow:shallow,callow,mellow-y:pretty,happy,lazy,easy2.2.2PeriphrasticFormofComparativeDegreeAdjectiveshavingovertwosyllablescanonlybetransformedintoperiphrasticform.However,thosewiththeprefixun-areexceptionsthatcanonlybeinflectedwiththesuffix-er.Forexample,unhappyandhealthyaremodifiedintounhappierandunhealthier.Whenparticipleformsfunctionasadjectivestodescribesomeoneorsomething,theyuseonlyperiphrasticforms.Herearesomeexamples:worn-morewornexciting-moreexcitingexhausted-moreexhaustedPeriphrasticformsofcomparativesarealwayscreatedbymeansoftheadditionofmoreorlessbeforetheabsoluteforms.Ontheonehand,moreandlesscanberespectivelyusedasthecomparativedegreeofmanyormuchandlittle,forexample,more+nandless+n.Ontheotherhand,theycanalsobeusedasarequisitecomponentintheperiphrasticforms,forexample,more+adj/advandless+adj/adv.2.2.3IrregularFormofComparativeDegreeTherearecomparativeformswhohavestemsdifferentfromthebase.Theyarecalledirregularformsofcomparativedegree.Thecommonestirregularformsthatcanbefoundareasfollows:many/much-more,good/well-better,far-further(farther),old-elder,bad-worse,little-less.Fartherandfurtherareusuallyadoptedbyuserstoexpressphysicalandabstractrelations.Butthetwowordsareusedindifferentcontext.Fartherisusedtoexpressphysicaldistanceandfurtherhasmorefunctionsandcanexpressmoremeaningsthanfarther.Herearetwoexamplesinsentence(9)andsentence(10)fromALEVELS:Theyarelivingfurtherawayfromthecountry.(ALEVELS)Ithinkthelawshouldbemadeclearnowbeforethisalteringofnatureisallowedtogoanyfurther.(ALEVELS)Moreover,furtheriscommonlyusedtoexpressthemeaningof“more”,“l(fā)ater”and“additional”.Incontrast,itislessfrequentlyusedascomparativeformsoffar.Inmostoftime,oldistransformedasoldertoexpresscomparativemeaning.However,whenitisinattributiveposition,especiallybeingusedtodescribetheorderofbirth,theirregularformelderistheusualchoice.TwoexamplesfromCLEC-ST2areasfollows:ThethirddaywhenIgothere,myeldercousinshowedmearoundhisuniversity.(CLEC-ST2)Aftersupper,theeldersisterrememberedherbrother’strousers.(CLEC-ST2)Badandillhavethesameirregularcomparativeformworse.Herearetwoexamplesfromthetwocorporaandtwoworseinsentence(13)and(14)botharethecomparativeformofbad.Ithought:“Becausepersonsdestroyednature,sotheworldbecameworseandworse”.(CLEC-ST2)Thegovernmentstrenuouslydeniedthis,makingmattersworse,andasnobodyknowstherealsituationorevenifCJDcanbecaughtfromeatinginfectedbeef,manypeoplewouldseemunwillingtotaketherisk.(ALEVELS)Lesscanbeusedintwoways.Ontheonehand,itcanbedirectlyadoptedasthecomparativeequivalentoflittle.Ontheotherhand,itcanplaythenecessarypartintheperiphrasticforms.HerearetwosentencesfromCELE-ST2andALEVELS.Iftheytakelessfatandsugar,theywouldhavelesspower.(CLEC-ST2)However,ifmucholderwomenhavechildren,sheislesslikelytobeabletocareforthemwhentheyareolder.(ALEVELS)Insentence(15),lessplaysthecomparativeequivalentoflittle.Insentence(16),lessisusedbeforetheadjectivelikelywhichindicatesthatitistheperiphrasticformofcomparativedegree.2.3MeaningandFunctionofComparativeDegree2.3.1MeaningofComparativeDegreeAccordingtoQuirketal.(1985),ifwewanttodividecomparisonofgradableadjectivesandadverbs,theycanbethefollowingthreetypesinrelation:(a)toahigherdegree(b)tothesamedegree(c)toalowerdegreeThesethreecategoriesmentionedcanbeclearlyandsimplyillustratedasfollows:(a)Therearetwowaystoexpresscomparisonwithregardtoahigherdegree:inflectionalandperiphrasticforms:e.g.:Billis{cleverermoreclever}thanBob.Billis{cleverestmostclever}teacherintheschool.(b)Comparisonwithregardtothesamedegreealsohasspecificexpressionthatisbytheuseofas/so...as:LisaisasfatasCindy.Lindaisnot{asso}youngasHarper.(c)Comparisonwithregardtoalowerdegreeonlyhasoneexpressionpatternthatisbylessorleast:Thisanswerislessappropriatethantheother.Thisistheleastappropriateansweramongallanswersbystudents.2.3.2FunctionofComparativeDegreeAccordingtoSinclair(2000),whenweusecomparativedegreeindifferentcontext,positionorcollocation,itexpressesdifferentmeanings.Ingeneral,itcanbeusedinfivewaysandaccordinglyithasfivefunctions.Theyareasfollows:(a)Makeclearcomparisonwithacomparativeformplusthan,whichisfollowedbyaclauseorgroup.However,amongallcomparativedegree,thiskindofuseisnoteasytobefoundandmerelytakesuplessthan20%.HerearesomeexamplesfromthetwocorporaCLEC-ST2andALEVELS.AsIhavesaid,changingtechnologyhasallowedfactoriestouserobotsforproduction.Ithasalsocreatedtheinternet,aglobalforumlinkingeverypartoftheworldupsothatinformationcanbepassedonmoreeasily.(ALEVELS)Aspeoplefindreligionhardertostomachandseeitsfeasibilityshakentoitsroots,theybegintoseekanewtruthwheretheproblemswiththeoldtruthbegan.(ALEVELS)Whenthephotoshavebeendeveloped,Ifoundthatmyfriend’sphotoswerebetterthanmine.(CLEC-ST2)Insentence(23),moreeasilyisusedtocomparenowwiththepasttime.Insentence(24),thestudentuseshardertocomparethesituation.Insentence(25),betterisusedtocompare“myphotos”and“myfriend’sphotos”.(b)Whenthereisacomparativeappearingwithoutthanfollowedbyclauses,itplaystheroleoflinking.However,itdoesnotmeanthatthereisnocomparison.Infact,thefore-mentionedpersonorthingconstitutesthecomparisonwiththelatterone.Forexample:Yetinmanycountriessuchfertilitytreatmenthasbeenoutlawedbygovernmentsworriedabouttheconsequencesforthehealthofthechildrenandofthepopulationingeneral;inothernations,amoretolerantattitudeisadopted.(ALEVELS)Insentence(26),moretolerantfunctionsasaconnectionbetweenthetwoclauses.(c)Describechangewithsomeverbswhichimplythemeaningthatdifferencesgraduallyappear.Getandmakearethecommonestamongtheseverbs.Usually,theyarefollowedbyn/pron.+adj.Sometimes,theyareusedwiththephrasemoreandmore.Forinstance:Forcommuterswhoregularlytravellongdistancesrailtransportshouldbemademoreappealing,morecomfortableandcheaper.(ALEVELS)Thehumanbrainhasnotbecomeredundantduetotheinventionofthecomputerbutinsteadmanhasfoundawayinwhichthelifeofahumancanbemademoreefficientandlessstressful,bytheinventionofthecomputer.(ALEVELS)Icriedatonce,thenmoreandmoreloudly.(CLEC-ST2)Itwasawfulthatwiththedevelopmentofourindustry,moreandmoreriverswerebeingpolluted.(CLEC-ST2)Insentence(27)and(28),make+adjpresentschanges.Insentence(29)and(30),moreandmoreisadoptedbythestudentstoexactlyexpresstheoccurrenceofgradualchange.(d)Laystressonapropertyownedbysomeonewithanegative.Forexample:Ican’tthinkofamoresuitablecandidatethanJohn.(ALEVELS)Insentence(31),moresuitablewiththenegativewordnotappearinginthepreviouspartofthesentenceisusedtoemphasizeandexpressthefactthatJohnisasuitablecandidate.(e)Indicateabreakoralinkbetweentwoparts.Forexample:Notonlydotheycreatemoreofinterestinscience,inamoreroundedsense,butalsolayafirmerfoundationforspecializingatalaterdate.(ALEVELS)Insentence(32),moreroundedisusedinaprepositionalphrasetoshowtherightwayforthefollowinginterpretation.2.4PreviousStudiesonComparativeDegreeHowtocorrectlychooseanduseEnglishadjectivalformsisanoteworthysubject.Previousstudiesonthistopicmainlyfocustwokindsofresearch:oneissynchronicresearchandtheotherisdiachronicresearch.Thisarticleisbasedontheformer,inwhichallthediscussionscomparethenumberofsyllablestomakeadecisionontheemploymentofcomparativeforms.AccordingtoQuirketal.(1985),whenexpressingthemeaningofcomparisonwithregardtoahigherdegree,theadjectivecantakeinflectionalorperiphrasticforms.Itsuggeststhereissomevacillationbetweenthetwoforms.LeechandCulpeper(1997),findthatsomemonosyllabicadjectivesareinclinedtousetheperiphrasticformsastheircomparativedegree,whiletrisyllableswithun-tendtobeusedintheinflectionalforms,whichiscontrarytogeneralsituation.Inaddition,theyfindthatperiphrasticcomparativesaremorefrequentlychosenthaninflectedformswhenitappearswithadverbsofdegree,andwhenitpresentsparallelismincoordinationandwhenitneedstofunctionasapredicative,Afterstudying60commondisyllabicadjectives,Peters(1999)pointsoutthat,exceptforafewexceptions,inthecomparativesandsuperlatives,inflectionalvariantin-eristhecommoncomparativeformamongadjectivesendingin-yor-ly.Differentfrompreviousstudy,Mondorf(2002)proposesanewexplanationforthefactorsthathavepoweronthechoiceofcomparativeforms.Shepointsoutthatthenumberofsyllableshasnoimmenseinfluence,butperiphrasticcomparativeismuchmorelikelytobeadoptedinthecognitivelycomplexenvironments.However,thisfactorisnotclearlydescribedandadequatelyillustratedfurther.Further,Smeds(2007)pointsoutthattherearealsoculturalandhistoricalfactorshavingpoweronthechangesofcomparativeforms.Mstsui(2010)alsodoesresearchonsemantics,syntaxandpragmaticsandpaysmuchattentiontothecloserelationshipwiththem.SomelinguisticexpertsevennoticethedifferencesfromChinese“比”-sentence.Moreover,someconcentrateontheerrorsortheuseofspecificexpression.Forexample,Yang(2013)findsgreatdifferencewhenheresearchesonthemistakesintheuseofcomparativedegreemadebyChineseEnglishandnon-Englishmajors.Yu(2010)findsthatEnglishnativespeakersdonotusuallyusethephrasemoreandmore.Bycontrast,thiskindofuseoftenappearsinthewritingsbyEnglishlearnersfromChina.Tosumup,thesescholarsdoresearchonEnglishcomparativedegreefrommanyperspectivesoflinguistics.Butfewofthemstudiesonthecomparativedegreeincompositionsbyhigh-schoolstudentsinChinaandBritain.Theyareinadequateforexplanationofcomparativeforms.

3MethodologyChapterthreepresentstheresearchmethodcorpus-basedapproach.Italsoincludesthecorpora(CLECandALEVELS)andthetools(AntConcandBFSUStanfordPOSTagger).3.1Corpus-basedApproachInthisstudy,corpus-basedapproachisadopted.AccordingtoSinclair(1991),corpusisacollectionofexpressions.Ingeneral,thesetextsinthecorpusaretypicaltocharacterizeacertainlanguage.Incorpus-basedapproach,theactionofsearchingitemsinthecorpusmustbeinaccordancewiththecategoriesclassifiedbygrammarlaw.(Flowerdew,2015).Inaddition,itisaccurateandefficientforusingcomputerandreliablecorpora.3.2CorporaUsedintheStudyInthisstudy,twocorporaareused:CLECandALEVELS.3.2.1CLECCLECistheabbreviationofChineseEnglishLearnerCorpus,whichwascreatedbytwolinguisticexpertsYangHuizhongandGuiShichun.Typesofarticlesareargumentativeandnarrativewritings.Therefore,itisreliableforresearcherstomakecontrastivestudybetweenChineseEnglishlearnersandEnglishnativespeakers.Itiscomposedof5sub-corporanamedst2,st3,st4,st5andst6.Accordingly,theyrefertothewritingcorporaofhighschoolstudents,non-Englishmajor’sfreshmenandsophomores,non-Englishmajor’sjuniorsandseniors,Englishmajor’sfreshmenandsophomores,Englishmajor’sjuniorsandseniorsrespectively.ThecapacityofCLECisabout1millionandthatofeachsub-corpusis0.2million.Inthisstudy,onlythefirsthalfofthesub-corpusst2ischosenasChineselearners’corpus,containing0.1millionwords.3.2.2ALEVELSALEVELSisthewritingcorpusofnativeEnglishspeakersfromBritishhighschools.Itcontainsonly60,404words.Therefore,thisstudyusesitsalltextstoguaranteethereliabilityoftheanalysis.Thecompositionsinthetwocorporaarewrittenbyhighschoolstudentswhonormallyhaveagoodlanguageability.Inthisstudy,thesearchingfrequencyintheALEVELSwillbeconvertedtostandardfrequencyforgreatgapbetweenthesizesoftwocorpora.Accurately,thefrequencyintwocorporabothwillbecalculatedin100,000words.Theformulais,standardfrequency＝(rawfrequency/totalnumberofwordsofthecorpus)*1,000,000.Specificallyspeaking,hereisanexample:ALEVELScontains60,404wordsand524ofthemarecomparativedegree.Accordingtothefore-mentionedformula,thestandardfrequencyofcomparativedegreeisobtainedfrom(524/60404)*10,0000andtheresultisabout833.3.3InstrumentsfordatacollectionTherearetwosoftwareappliedinthisstudy:BFSUStanfordPOSTaggerandAntConc.3.3.1BFSUStanfordPOSTaggerStanfordPOSTaggerisanautomaticpart-of-speech（POS）taggingprogramcreatedbyStanford’snaturallanguageprocessinggroup,whichcanbeemployedtoassigneachwordintexttoitspart-of-speech.ItadoptsPennTreebankTagsetandhasachieved96-97%accuracy.BFSUStanfordPOSTaggeristhegraphicalinterface.Itreducesthedifficultyinoperatingoriginalsoftwareinthewaythatusersdon’thavetoinputordersandindex.Beforerunning,JAVAneedstobeinstalled.ThefollowingsegmentistaggedbyBFSUStanfordPOSTagger:The_DTcuisine_NNof_INXinjiang_NNPreflects_VBZthe_DTregion_NN's_POSmany_JJethnic_JJgroups_NNSand_CCrefers_VBZparticularly_RBto_TOUyghur_NNPcuisine_NN.3.3.2AntConcAntConcisapowerfultextanalyticaltool,whichcontainsmanysub-toolslikeWordClusters,Concordance,KeywordListandsoon.ItisdevelopedbyLaurenceAnthony,aprofessorfromWasedaUniversity.AntConcisusedinthisthesistosearchthetypesofcomparativedegreeandcalculatethefrequencyofwordsinCLECandALEVELS.

4ResultsandDiscussionsBasedonthedataincorporaCLECandALEVELS,thischapterconcludesthesimilaritiesanddifferencesofcomparativedegreeemployedincompositionsbyhigh-schoolstudentsinChinaandBritain.Thediscussionsarecenteredoninflectional,periphrasticandirregularformsofcomparativedegree.Inaddition,thisstudyalsoclassifiesandanalyzestheerrorsontheuseofcomparativedegree.4.1OverallDistributionsofComparativeDegreeinCLEC-ST2andALEVELSAccordingtoSinclair(2000),comparativedegreecanbedividedintoinflectional,periphrasticandirregularform.Basedonthisdivision,comparativedegreeinALEVELSandCLEC-ST2willbeanalyzed.WiththesoftwareAntConc,dataforthecomparativeformsinALEVELSandCLEC-ST2areobtainedandshowninthetables.Table4.1FrequenciesandPercentageofComparativeDegreeinALEVELSandCLEC-ST2ALEVELSCLEC-ST2Std.frequencyPercentageStd.frequencyPercentageInflectionalform26631.87%18540.75%Periphrasticform21625.95%408.81%Irregularform35142.18%22950.44%Total833100.00%454100.00%Table4.1listsfrequencyofthreecategoriesofcomparativedegreeinALEVELSandCLEC-ST2inthesecondandfourthcolumns,andrespectivepercentagesinthethirdandfifthcolumns.Itshowsthatthepercentagesofthethreeformsofcomparativedegreearenotbalanced.AccordingtoQuirketal.(1985),inflectionalformismorecommonlyusedthanperiphrasticform.AstheTable4.1shows,wefindsomesimilarities:thepercentagesofperiphrasticformsinthetwocorporaarethelowestamongthethreeformsofcomparativedegree.Theyare25.95%inALEVELSand8.81%inCLEC-ST2.Incontrast,theirregularformsofcomparativedegreearemostfrequentlyusedinEnglishwritings(42.18%inALEVELSand50.44%inCLEC-ST2).Furthermore,Chinesehighschoolstudentsusehigherpercentageofinflectionalandirregularforms,andlowerpercentageofperiphrasticformsthandoBritishhighschoolstudents.Inthefollowingsections,specif