Hi I came across one more on-line paper on the appropriateness of inanimate subjects with active verbs by Eli Hinkel, who specializes in second language learning. Although nominally on the difficulty that non-native speakers of English have with the passive construction, the root of their problem is traced to a failure to realize that in English, inanimate subjects are commonly used with active verbs, which in the native language would not be permitted because animacy plays a greater role.
http://www.elihinkel.org/downloads/Why%20English%20Passive%20Is%20Difficult%20To%20Teach.pdf Here's a description citing Master's work (given in previous links) from the bottom of the first page. Hinkel goes on to show that non-native speakers often judge sentences ungrammatical that involve an inanimate subject and active verb, whereas native speakers of English do not. Note the proper (in English) sentence in the middle: "A thermometer measures temperature." "Although the teaching of L2 grammar almost always includes passive, investigations into L2 language learning have not been able to identify the features of the English passive that make it difficult for L2 learners to use appropriately. In one of the few studies devoted to the L2 use of passive, Master (1991) indicates that NNSs need to be explicitly taught the use of active verbs with inanimate nouns because they can become a formidable obstacle in L2 production. He explains that non-native speakers (NNSs) and, in particular, speakers of Asian languages often have difficulty with active verbs with inanimate subject nouns. For example, in A thermometer measures the temperature (p. 15), the thermometer is an inanimate noun that in English can be used with an active verb measures. Master points out that speakers of Japanese have difficulty with such sentences because, in their perception and due to L1 interference, animate subjects are needed in sentences with active verbs. He demonstrates that in English active or passive constructions, the notion of noun animacy does not appear to play an important role in sentences with inanimate and abstract nouns, which are frequently found as sentence subjects. He comments that the use of the active or passive voice in English sentences usually does not depend on the animacy of the subject noun, and the use of active verbs with inanimate subjects is a common phenomenon." It would be interesting to know whether the person who proposed the changes to Annette was in fact a non-native speaker? Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [email protected] >>> Annette Taylor <[email protected]> 21-Mar-11 1:41:37 PM >>> Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions on APA style. Carol wrote: How about something like, "analysis of the data revealed..." or "examination of the data (results, etc.)...?" Hah! But then isn't the "analysis" something inanimate? So how can it "reveal" something? I feel trapped by this type of thinking. But thanks to those who offered ideas on this. As far as first person, yes, that is an option. But for a single author paper, and this is something I come across in teaching APA style to single-author student papers, it just sounds wrong to me. Maybe it's all those years of avoiding first person like the plague under the old guidelines. And it still gets caught in the trap: Our analysis revealed.... Sigh. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D. Professor, Psychological Sciences University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ________________________________ From: Carol DeVolder [[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 8:58 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Writing in APA style Hi Annette, How about something like, "analysis of the data revealed..." or "examination of the data (results, etc.)...?" Carol On Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 10:53 AM, Annette Taylor <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I'm grappling with how to phrase some things in results sections especially. Because data are an inanimate thing they can't really "show" or "demonstrate" anything. Nor can a study do anything such as "observe" or "define" so what kind of language do you all use. Is there some boilerplate that works. I have a revision to an APA journal that asked me to fix these things...and I'm struggling with the data especially. Lengthy rewriting of "the study..." Finally fixed some of those problems. It came at a huge cost to precision and concise writing. Annette Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216244443341&n=T&l=tips&o=9499 or send a blank email to leave-<mailto:leave-9499-177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216244443...@fsulist.frostburg.edu>9499-177920<tel:9499-177920>[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> -- Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology St. Ambrose University 518 West Locust Street Davenport, Iowa 52803 563-333-6482 This e-mail might be confidential, so please don't share it. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. 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