چكيده
Over time, researchers have recognized the significance of word sequences in language structures, and there is a unanimous agreement among scholars on this matter. Various terms, such as phraseology, chunks, n-grams, and lexical bundles, have been used to study these co-occurring word sequences. Lexical bundles, often referred to as extended collocations, are employed more frequently than expected by chance. They play a fundamental role in discourse and serve three main functions. Among these functions, stance expressions are commonly utilized in academic discourse to convey the attitudes of speakers or writers towards different propositions. Based on this premise, the present study aims to investigate the prevalent usage of stance expressions in academic lectures and explore the discourse functions that these stance bundles serve. The study analyzes the most frequently used stance expressions and the most frequency textual formulaic sequences in English lectures sourced from the TED talk and BlOOMBERG corpora. A total of 5,000 words were extracted from each lecture for thorough analysis. ANTCONC software was used for processing the corpora, and each word was examined individually. The findings indicated that TED talks exhibited the highest frequency of Casual-condition textual function, while the BlOOMBERG corpus predominantly featured Exposition. Additionally, the Attitudinal/modality stance function was commonly observed in both corpora. This analysis seeks to determine the extent to which stance expressions are employed and how English lecturers utilize them in their discourse. The outcomes of this study have practical implications for students, teachers, curriculum designers, and course developers.
