Are Academics Becoming More Confused Than Before? A Diachronic Study of Confusion Markers in Applied Linguistics Research Articles

Research articles generate and disseminate disciplinary knowledge in a specific field of study. They are expected to be objective, faceless, free from expressions emotion. However, linguistic confusion that signal authors’ affective attitude toward the propositional information not uncommon research articles. To determine describe dynamic changes occurred deployment such communicating knowledge, this study examined linguistically expressed corpus 160 applied linguistics were published two periods separated by 30 years. Drawing on frame-based analytical approach, revealed time publication was robust predictor academic overall use markers presence some subcategories across four frame elements Confusion frame. This sheds new light possibilities applying semantics discourse analysis. More importantly, it has pedagogical implications terms helping raise awareness novice writers about necessity acquiring time-sensitive repertoire discursive resources convey an appropriate authorial identity for effective communication.