Noun Phrase/Nominal Group: This paper uses noun phrase and nominal group interchangeably
as both allow a noun to expand into a nominal group/phrase by pre-modification and post- modification. Halliday used the term ‘nominal group’, but as Halliday and Hasan (1976) explain below, the term nominal group has been employed by Halliday and other researchers due to two main reasons (Fontaine, 2008). First, the term was taken over by Halliday (1956) from another researcher (Allen, 1951), and since then have been consistently used by Halliday in his
publications. Second and most importantly, Halliday’s term ‘verbal group’ shows different characteristics than Chomsky’s ‘verb phrase’. However, his term ‘nominal group’ does not deviate much from the term ‘noun phrase’ (Halliday and Hasan, 1976, p. 39). Although both terms do not differ generally, Halliday labeled the term nominal group in place of noun phrase for consistent terminology (Fontaine, 2008, p.79). As Halliday and Hasan explain:
We retain the term nominal group in reference to the more usual noun phrase, partly because it has been used throughout Halliday’s writings and related publications, having originally been taken over by Halliday (1956) from W. S. Allen (1951), but more
because, although the noun phrase and nominal group are more or less equivalent, Halliday’s verbal group is very different from the verb phrase, so that the term verbal group has to be retained in any case, and by the same token, nominal group belongs in a somewhat different conceptual framework from noun phrase. (1976, p.39)
Considering the similarity of noun phrase and nominal group as indicated by Halliday and Hasan (1976), this study uses both terms. Noun phrase is used when discussing it from a
structural/formal linguistic perspective, and nominal group when discussing it from functional linguistic perspective.
Phrasal Embedding and Clausal Elaboration: In this study, I use the term phrasal embedding,
following Biber and Gray (2010), to refer to the ‘structural compression’ through which information can be packed into noun phrases/nominal groups (Banks, 2005; Halliday, 1998). These noun phrases/nominal groups allow for the expression of longer clausal structures with more condensed versions (Gray, 2015). In contrast, I use the term clausal elaboration to refer to the elaboration of structure through embedded clauses (e.g., adverbial clauses) that are added to the main clause to provide additional information. Table 1.3 explains in detail how clausal elaboration and phrasal compression features are used. For example, finite adverbial clauses are features of clausal elaboration which are added to the main clause as a dependent clause. To illustrate, the main clause in Table 1.3 ‘The process is easier these days’ is lengthened by the dependent adverbial clause ‘because people can use widely accepted data about many materials and products’. Conversely, the noun phrase ‘city water management infrastructure’ is packed in a nominal group which would otherwise be possibly construed as ‘the infrastructure that is
Table 1.3 Features Related to Clausal Elaboration and Compression
Clausal Elaboration Features Examples
Finite Complement Clauses Findings demonstrate that students may benefit from programs that teach effective coping strategies
It is important that colleges and universities take measures to ensure Non-finite Complement Clauses It is possible to show them the advantages of the methods
It is instead intended to create a wider understanding of the pervasive problem
Finite Adverbial Clauses Although they had been enemies, one of them now held the other’s hand
The process is easier these days because people can use widely accepted data about many materials and products
Non-finite Adverbial Clauses The company tracks users’ locations in order to provide local weather updates
Clauses with Nominals Examples
Finite Relative Clauses The context in which the concept of matter is taught was difficult to discern from the sampled textbooks
Non-finite Relative Clauses External factors affecting the implementation Policies proposed by the committee
Phrasal Compression Features Examples
Adjectives as nominal pre- modifiers
slight reduction, positive effects, excess material, interesting properties, sustainable agriculture, main constraint, collaborative revision, reduced economic risk, optimal solution, short-term fluctuations
Nouns as nominal pre-modifiers soil structure, large-scale energy storage technologies, optimization model, chat transcript, learner output, eye fixations, soybean seed treatment response, product life cycle demand, city water
management infrastructure, water content reflectometer sensors Prepositional Phrases as nominal
post-modifiers
long-term effects of inorganic and organic fertilizers, the increasing rate of demand for products, the knowledge of spatial distribution of soil carbon with depth, the research on the relationship between the overstatementof the reported output and management
compensation, her posted list of publications in reverse
chronological order with publication titles within the same year
Independent Clause: A clause is defined as a structure with a subject and a finite verb, and includes independent clauses, adjective clauses, adverbial clauses, and nominal clauses (Lu, 2010). An independent clause expresses a complete thought (e.g., He left early; The rain started).
Dependent Clause: A dependent clause refers to a finite adjective, adverbial, or nominal clause (Lu, 2010). It contains a group of words containing a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause is often marked by a marker (e.g., Because he left early, …; When the rain started, …)
T-unit: It is defined as “one main clause plus subordinate clause or nonclausal structure that is attached to or embedded in it” (Hunt, 1970, p. 4; see also Wolfe-Quintero et al., 1998)
Mean Length of T-unit: This measure of syntactic complexity is calculated by dividing the total number of words by the total number of T-units. It is one the most commonly used measures of syntactic complexity (Yang, Lu, & Weigle, 2015).
Mean Length of Clause: This measure of syntactic complexity is calculated by dividing the total number of words by the total number of clauses. It is the level of complexity within the clause through which it is possible to package information in a more condensed form (Beers & Nagy, 2009).
Dependent Clauses per Clause: These are calculated by dividing the total number of dependent clauses by the total number of clauses.
Coordinate Phrases per Clause: These are calculated by dividing the total number of coordinate phrases by the total number of clauses.
Complex Nominals per Clause: These are the number of complex nominals divided by the total number of clauses. Complex nominals include nouns plus adjective, possessive, prepositional phrase, relative clause, participle, or appositive; nominal clauses; and gerunds and infinitives in the subject position (Cooper, 1976, as cited in Lu, 2010).
Verb Phrases per T-Unit: These are the number of both finite and nonfinite verb phrases divided by the total number of T-units.