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Abstract Abstract: Many previous studies indicate that general nouns play an important role in textual cohesion, stance construction and other discourse functions. However, the focus has mostly set on interpersonal and discourse functions of them in academic texts with few systematical descriptions of their characteristic meanings in such texts. Using a corpus-driven approach, this paper thus investigates the characteristic discourse acts of general nouns in academic articles. Based on data from a corpus of academic research articles by Chinese scholars, we selected the most frequent general nouns and observed their recurrent co-selection patterns for characterizing their local functions. Results indicate that general nouns perform various kinds of characteristic discourse acts, helping to construct the conventional academic discourse. These discourse acts are closely linked to the local textual environment, functioning as metadiscourse devices which allow authors to interact with readers and thereby gain the acceptance of discourse community. The findings may have implications for academic discourse analysis and academic English teaching.
Key words: general nouns; co-selection patterns; local environment; discourse acts
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