Self-mention in scientific articles written by Turkish and non-Turkish authors

Abstract

This study explored the distribution and frequency of first person pronouns, particularly the use of "I" and "we" perspective, through comparative qualitative and quantitative analysis of 20 articles written by Turkish authors in English, and 20 articles written by non-Turkish authors in English. All articles were randomly selected from one specific English Language Teaching (ELT) Journal. Results indicated that both Turkish and non-Turkish authors mostly preferred to employ the inclusive "we" perspective instead of the "I" perspective in their academic writing. Depersonalization strategies such as the use of passive constructions were mostly observed in the articles written by the Turkish authors.