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...egree of magnification by boosters is less signified than that ofsmaximizers; maximizers differ from boosters in that maximizers indicate the absolutesdegree rather than the relative degree of words (=-=Quirk et al., 1985-=-); maximizers aresoften used to modify non-scalar words, while boosters are used for scalar words (Wangsand Chen, 2007). Common maximizers include totally, entirely, absolutely, andscompletely, while ...

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...sChinese EFL learners’ L2 collocation use. However, when language is perceived as thesproduct of culture, different languages may determine or influence perceptions ofspeople from different cultures (=-=Whorf, 1956-=-). In other words, it is also important tosexamine whether the different use of English amplifier collocation by native speakerssand Chinese EFL learners possibly results from their different percepti...

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...he strong linguistic determinism view seems untenable, many weaker but stillsinteresting formulations can be entertained.” Two important claims were mentioned insthe linguistic relativity hypothesis (=-=Wardhaugh, 2010-=-). The first claim suggests thatsspeakers would find it easier to talk about something if his or her language coversscertain words to describe it, while it is more difficult for speakers whose languag...

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...ssary for researchers to investigate amplifiers orsdegree words in Mandarin.s(2) Features and Structures of Chinese AmplifierssAmplifier is regarded by researchers as the subsystem under intensifiers(=-=Greenbaum and Quirk, 1990-=-). Meng (2008) compared English and Chinese intensifierssand found both similarities and differences exist between them. For example,sintensifiers in both languages can modify various word classes and...

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...r collocation use by Mandarin and Englishsspeakers in real life since the study investigates “what speakers believe they should say”sinstead of “what people actually do say” in amplifier collocation (=-=Golato, 2003-=-: 111). Insother words, the purpose of this study is to investigate Mandarin and English speakers’sawareness and knowledge of scalar/ non-scalar distinction in amplifier collocation.sWhat speakers kno...

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...astery of collocations is one of the native like features of thestarget language (Kukulska-Hulme, 2000), and collocation has been the focus in Englishsteaching, one of which is amplifier collocation (=-=Kennedy, 2003-=-). Previous studies (Tang,s2010) have analyzed how English amplifier collocations are used differently by nativesspeakers and EFL learners from a linguistic perspective, i.e., how L1 structure influen...

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...ught?:sChinese and English Speakers’ Conceptions of Amplifier Collocationss．325．s1. IntroductionsIt is believed that mastery of collocations is one of the native like features of thestarget language (=-=Kukulska-Hulme, 2000-=-), and collocation has been the focus in Englishsteaching, one of which is amplifier collocation (Kennedy, 2003). Previous studies (Tang,s2010) have analyzed how English amplifier collocations are use...

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...rpose of the StudysIt was found that in Mandarin, unlike English, both absolute and relative adverbsscan modify words with absolute heads and gradable heads, since the boundary betweensthem is vague (=-=Meng, 2008-=-). This study is to examine whether this different languagesstructure between English and Mandarin may lead to different perceptions of amplifierscollocation for each speaker. Therefore, the relations...

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...rfactual marking systems that shape speakers’sthoughts in different ways. Some findings in this current study may explain whysChinese learners’ use of English amplifier collocation pattern is random (=-=Tang, 2010-=-).sOne of the possible reasons is that Mandarin speakers are less aware of scalar andsnon-scalar boundary of associations when collocated, and this less awareness may resultsChang Gung Journal of Huma...

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...ed norm” such as “absolutely, completely, really, and very”s(Kennedy, 2003: 469), or “operate on certain linguistic elements to magnify the degreesof intensification or to amplify certain qualities” (=-=Tao, 2007-=-: 5-6). They can be furtherssubdivided into maximizers and boosters based on the degree of intensification. Theirsdifferences lie in that degree of magnification by boosters is less signified than tha...