Verb-Governor Based Comparative Analysis on the Move Structure of Abstracts in Six English Varieties

Abstract

This study compares the move structure of abstracts in six English varieties based on verb-governors to explore their similarities and differences. In this study, we use English abstracts in journals published in six official languages of the United Nations as material, and follow the five-move model which is put forward by Santos in 1996 for move analysis. We found that the six English varieties have a general move structure: 1) All of the six varieties are composed of five moves and there is no move omission. 2) Research method usually occupies the largest proportion. 3) Research purpose usually occupies the smallest proportion. But there are also differences in the proportion of moves among the varieties, which may be influenced by the cultural background of L1, the subjective choice of the author, or the requirements of the journal publisher.