Small Words, Big Patterns: Cross-Journal, Stylistic, and Diachronic Perspectives on Function Word Use in Astrophysical Research Abstracts
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
In this study, we examine the use of function words in a specialised corpus of 220 research paper abstracts published between 2011 and 2021 in four leading astrophysical journals written in English. Although often overlooked in linguistic analyses, function words play a crucial role in ensuring textual cohesion, clarity, and rhetorical structure in scientific writing. However, they pose significant challenges for non-native English speakers who publish in international journals. Despite extensive research on academic writing, the use of function words in specialised scientific disciplines such as astrophysics remains unexplored. Our pilot analysis focuses on four categories of function words—prepositions, determiners, conjunctions, and pronouns—using quantitative corpus-based frequency analyses and cross-journal comparisons. The results show that prepositions are the most frequently used function words, followed by determiners, conjunctions, and pronouns. The differences observed among journals could be attributed to differences in authorial backgrounds (e.g. authors who acquired English as a first language versus those who learned it as a second or third language) and the divergent stylistic conventions between British and American authors. Some variations may also be linked to the journal’s scope, with more generalist and experimental outlets exhibiting distinct linguistic tendencies. These findings contribute to ongoing corpus-based research on disciplinary, stylistic, and diachronic patterns in scientific communication and may inform academic writing pedagogy across diverse scholarly and professional domains.
Article Details
References
Aarts, B. (2001). English syntax and argumentation. New York: Palgrave.
Alawerdy, A. S., & Alalwi, F. S. (2022). Enhancing English as a foreign language university students’ writing through explicit instruction of conjunctions as cohesive devices: An experimental study. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1053310. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1053310
Alonso, R. A. (2017). L1 influence on second language acquisition and teaching. New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(9), 136–149. https://doi.org/10.18844/gjhss.v2i9.1094
Antes, T. A. (2019). Countability versus flexibility: Rethinking vocabulary and determiner instruction. TESL-EJ, 24(2), 1–18. https://www.tesl-ej.org/pdf/ej90/a3.pdf
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech G., Conrad, S., & Finegan E. (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
British Council. (2025, March 1). Definite article. British Council LearnEnglish. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/definite-article
Budiharto, R. A., Azizah, L. T. M., & Yazunka, Z. W. (2022). Investigating mother tongue effect in the acquisition of English prepositions by Indonesian-speaking learners. ELTR Journal, 7(1), 34–47. https://doi.org/10.37147/eltr.v7i1.163
Chen, C. W. (2006). The use of connective adverbials in the academic papers of advanced Chinese ESL learners. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 11(1), 113–130. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.11.1.05che
Chung, C. K., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2007). The psychological functions of function words. In K. Fiedler (Ed.), Social communication (pp. 343–359). Psychology Press.
Corver, N., & van Riemsdijk, H. (2013). Semi-lexical categories: The function of content words and the content of function words. De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110874006
Crystal, D., & Robins, R. H. (2025, April 11). Language. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/language
Derkach, K., & Alexopoulou, T. (2024). Definite and indefinite article accuracy in learner English: A multifactorial analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 46(3), 710–740. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263123000463
Divjak, D., Romain, L., & Milin, P. (2023). From their point of view: The article category as a hierarchically structured referent tracking system. Linguistics, 61(4), 1027–1068. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2022-0186
Du, H., & Du, S. (2024). The acquisition and application of prepositions by Chinese middle school students: Taking in, on, and at as examples. SHS Web of Conferences, 187, Article 01026. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202418701026
Fries, C. C. (1952). The structure of English: An introduction to the construction of English sentences. Harcourt, Brace.
Granger, S. (1998). Learner English on computer. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315841342
Haggan, M. (2004). Research paper titles in literature, linguistics and science: Dimensions of attraction. Journal of Pragmatics, 36(2), 293–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(03)00090-0
Harnad, S. (2023, September 16). Content words, function words, and LLM analysis of dictionaries. Skywritings. https://generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk/skywritings/2023/09/16/content-words-function-words-and-llm-analysis-of-dictionaries/
Hartley, J., & Benjamin, M. (1998). Use of abstracts when reading journal articles: The first stages of information retrieval. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 49(7), 640–645.
Harwood, N. (2005). “Nowhere has anyone attempted … In this article I aim to do just that”: A corpus-based study of self-promotional I and we in academic writing across four disciplines. Journal of Pragmatics, 37(8), 1207–1231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2005.01.012
Hertwig, R., Benz, B., & Krauss, S. (2008). The conjunction fallacy and the many meanings of “and.” Cognition, 108(3), 740–753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2008.06.008
Hinkel, E. (2003). Simplicity without elegance: Features of sentences in L1 and L2 academic texts. TESOL Quarterly, 37(2), 275–301. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588505
Huckin, T. (2001). Abstracting from abstracts. In M. Hewings (Ed.), Academic writing in context: Implications and applications (pp. 93–103). University of Birmingham Press.
Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. University of Michigan Press ELT. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.6719
Hyland, K. (2003). Self-citation and self-reference: Credibility and promotion in academic publication. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 54(3), 251–259. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.10204
Hyland, K., & Jiang, F. K. (2018). In this paper we suggest: Changing patterns of disciplinary metadiscourse. English for Specific Purposes, 51, 18–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2018.02.001
Kang, S., Shin, Y. K., & Yoo, I. W. (2024). Using lexical bundles to teach prepositions to Korean EFL students: Corpus-based instructed SLA. Journal of Second Language Studies, 7(1), 75–98. https://doi.org/10.1075/jsls.00022.kan
Kirmizi, O., & Karci, B. (2017). An investigation of Turkish higher education EFL learners’ linguistic and lexical errors. Educational Process: International Journal, 6(4), 35–54. https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2017.64.3
Kojima, T., & Popiel, H. A. (2023). Correct use of articles and prepositions in academic writing: Advice for non-native English-speaking researchers. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 38(48), Article e417. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e417
Kragh, H. (2023). A new literary style of science: The rise of acronyms in physics and astronomy. Physics in Perspective, 25, 175–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00016-024-00306-9
Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. (2013). A communicative grammar of English. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315836041
Leech, G., Rayson, P., & Wilson, A. (2001). Word frequencies in written and spoken English: Based on the British National Corpus. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315840161
Leung, C. (2005). A comparison of the use of major English conjunctions by American and Hong Kong university students [Bachelor’s thesis, Lund University]. Lund University Publications. https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1331671&fileOId=1331672
Li, Q. (2023). A corpus-based study on the use of high-frequency prepositions between Chinese English learners and native speakers. Curriculum and Teaching Methodology, 6, 104–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/curtm.2023.060616
Li, S., & Akram, H. (2024). Navigating pronoun-antecedent challenges: A study of ESL academic writing errors. SAGE Open, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241296607
Liu, D., & Gleason, J. L. (2002). Acquisition of the article “the” by nonnative speakers of English: An analysis of four nongeneric uses. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263102001018
Loke, D. L., Ali, J., & Anthony, N. N. Z. (2013). A corpus-based study on the use of preposition of time “on” and “at” in argumentative essays of Form 4 and Form 5 Malaysian students. English Language Teaching, 6(9), 128–135. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n9p128
Lorincz, K., & Gordon, R. (2012). Difficulties in learning prepositions and possible solutions. Linguistic Portfolios, 1, Article 14. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/stcloud_ling/vol1/iss1/14
Mahardika, A. A. A., & Bram, B. (2022). Preposition mistakes in English for Specific Purposes: The case of Indonesian accounting study program students. Pedagogy: Journal of English Language Teaching, 10(2), 97–110. https://doi.org/10.32332/joelt.v10i2.4560
Mahmoodzadeh, M. (2012). A cross-linguistic study of prepositions in Persian and English: The effect of transfer. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(4), 734–740. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.2.4.734-740
Master, P. (2013). A contrastive study of determiner usage in EST research articles. International Journal of Language Studies, 7(1), 33–58. https://ijls.net/sample/71-2.pdf
Méndez, D. I., & Alcaraz, M. A. (2020). Research paper abstracts in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (1943–2018). English Text Construction 13(1), 62–93. https://doi.org/10.1075/etc.00035.alc
Méndez, D. I., & Alcaraz, M. A. (2025a). Content Words and Compound Structures in English-Written Astrophysical Research Paper Abstracts (2011-2021). Atlantis. Journal of the Spanish Association for Anglo-American Studies 47(2), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.28914/Atlantis-2025-47.2.2
Méndez, D. I., & Alcaraz, M. A. (2025b). The Use of Verbs in Astrophysical Research Paper Abstracts: Sociolinguistic Implications. Journal of Linguistics, Culture and Communication 3(1), 88–119. https://doi.org/10.61320/jolcc.v3i1.88-119
Méndez, D. I., & Alcaraz, M. A. (2025c). The Role of Adverbs in Astrophysical Research Paper Abstracts. Indian Journal of Language and Linguistics 6(2), 17–31. https://doi.org/10.54392/ijll2523
Mindt, D., & Weber, C. (1989). Prepositions in American and British English. World Englishes, 8(2), 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971X.1989.tb00658.x
Neary-Sundquist, C. A. (2013). The development of cohesion in a learner corpus. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 3(1), 109–130. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2013.3.1.6
Nghi, T. T., & Phuc, T. H. (2022). A corpus-based study on the most frequently used English prepositions: A conceptual transfer perspective. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 12(2), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1202.01
Nordquist, R. (2024, July 20). Definition and examples of function words in English. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/function-word-grammar-1690876
Pangaribuan, T., Haddina, E., & Manik, S. (2018). The students’ error in using conjunctions (because, since, as, in case) in sentences. English Language Teaching, 11(4), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v11n4p91
Parisse, C., & Maillard, C. (2019). Determiners. In The SAGE encyclopedia of human communication sciences and disorders (pp. 578–579). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483380810.n188
Pennebaker, J. W. (2011). Your use of pronouns reveals your personality. Harvard Business Review, 89(12), 32–33. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22250353/
Purba, D. R., Safnil, & Pulungan, R. (2017). A comparative study of types of conjunctions used in the results and discussion section of students’ RAs and TEFLIN JAs published in 2015. Journal of English Education and Teaching, 1(1), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.33369/jeet.1.1.65-73
Quirk, R., & Greenbaum, S. (1973). A university grammar of English. London: Longman.
Rahayati, N., & Herlina, R. (2021). Discourse markers in abstracts of international journals. Journal of English Education Program (JEEP), 8(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.25157/(jeep).v8i2.6426
Riadi, A., Nathania, N., & Barona Valentino, Y. (2023). Types and appropriateness: Students’ usage of conjunctions in academic writing. Linguists: Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching, 9(2), 165. https://doi.org/10.29300/ling.v9i2.2590
Rocha, J. V. P. (2022). Meanings of the preposition “of” in the oral interlanguage of A2 and B2 Brazilian learners. Revista X, 17(3), 1031–1053. https://doi.org/10.5380/rvx.v17i3.85093
Ruan, Z. (2018). Structural compression in academic writing: An English-Chinese comparison study of complex noun phrases in research article abstracts. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 36, 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2018.09.001
Sanjaya, A. A., & Bram, B. (2021). Investigating preposition usage problems of English language education study program students. Saga, 2(1), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.21460/saga.2020.21.65
Sanosi, A. B. (2024). Revisiting cohesion in academic writing: A corpus-based analysis of EFL learners’ use of conjunctions. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 64–78. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v14i1.70418
Snape, N. (2019). The acquisition of articles: The story so far. Second Language, 18, 7–24. https://doi.org/10.11431/secondlanguage.18.0_7
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge University Press.
Swales, J. M. (2004). Research genres: Exploration and application. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524827
Tang, W. (2020). The development of a functional function word list from form and meaning. Bulletin of University Education Center (Fukuyama University), 6, 51–61.
Tarone, E., Dwyer, S., Gillette, S., & Icke, V. (1981). On the use of the passive in two astrophysics journal papers. The ESP Journal, 1(2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-2380(81)90004-4
Tarone, E., Dwyer, S., Gillette, S., & Icke, V. (1998). On the use of the passive and active voice in astrophysics journal papers: With extension to other languages and other fields. English for Specific Purposes, 17(1), 113–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(97)00032-X
Weinberger, C. J., Evans, J. A., & Allesina, S. (2015). Ten simple (empirical) rules for writing science. PLOS Computational Biology, 11(4), Article e1004205. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004205
Xue, Q., & Ge, T. (2021). A corpus-based study on phrasal complexity in computer science abstracts of novice and advanced writers. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 11(5), 808–822. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2021.115062
Yakonthova, T. (2020). English writing of non-Anglophone researchers. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 35(26), Article e216. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e216
Yuan, H. C. (2014). A corpus-based study on the influence of L1 on EFL learners’ use of prepositions. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(12), 2513–2521. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.12.2513-2521