Abstract Acommon approach to analyzing phraseological knowledge in first language (L1) and second language (L2) learners is to employ raw frequency data. Several studies have also analyzed n-gram use on the basis of statistical association scores. Results from n-gram studies have found significant differences between L1 and L2 writers and between intermediate and advanced L2 writers in terms of their bigram use. The current study expands on this research by investigating the connection between bigram and trigram association measures and human judgments of L2 writing quality. Using multiple statistical association indices, it examines bigram and trigram use by beginner and intermediate L1 Korean learners of English in English placement test essays. Results of a logistic regression indicated that intermediate writers employed a greater number of strongly associated academic bigrams and spoken trigrams. These findings have important implications for understanding lexical development in L2 writers and notions of writing proficiency.

中文翻译：

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初级和中级 L2 写作者对 N-gram 的使用：一项关联测量研究

摘要 分析第一语言 (L1) 和第二语言 (L2) 学习者的短语知识的常用方法是使用原始频率数据。几项研究还根据统计关联分数分析了 n-gram 的使用。n-gram 研究的结果发现，L1 和 L2 写作者之间以及中级和高级 L2 写作者在使用二元语法方面存在显着差异。目前的研究通过调查二元组和三元组关联度量与人类对二语写作质量的判断之间的联系来扩展这项研究。使用多个统计关联指数，它检查初级和中级英语 L1 韩语学习者在英语分级测试论文中的二元词和三元词使用情况。逻辑回归的结果表明，中级写作者使用了更多的强相关的学术二元词和口语三元词。这些发现对于理解二语写作者的词汇发展和写作能力的概念具有重要意义。