A Comparative Analysis of Evidentiality in L1 And L2 Academic Writings and Its Reflected Identity Construction

Evidentiality is a linguistic phenomenon in which speakers expose the source of their knowledge and convey their attitudes towards knowledge. Data for our study are composed of written texts including L2 masters’ thesis and L1 published research articles and are analyzed through the software AntConc to explore characteristics of the use of evidentiality and identity construction of L1 and L2 writers. It is found that there is an overall similarity but still considerable disparities between L1 and L2 writers in their specific uses of evidentials. Moreover, due to differences in ways of thinking and cultural consideration, identity constructions by L1 and L2 writers are also different.