1 Introduction

We discussed the application of digital technology in the field of education, especially the popularity of online course platforms, and how learners can access high-quality interdisciplinary educational resources through these platforms. Emphasis was placed on the importance of mastering the linguistic features of discourse rhetoric in different disciplines to meet the needs of the times. It is pointed out that complex noun structures are a key hallmark of academic English discourse, which can enhance information density and abstract concepts, and meet the formal and precise requirements of academic communication. Meta discourse nouns have dual functions of guidance and interaction in academic discourse, and are important resources for interpersonal interaction. Previous studies have mostly focused on the academic written language domain, with relatively little research on the academic oral language domain, especially interdisciplinary comparative studies. This article compares and analyzes metadiscourse nouns in philosophical and computer science text corpora, and finds that there are differences in the use of metadiscourse nouns by authors from the two disciplines, reflecting the influence of different research paradigms and cultural norms on rhetorical strategies. The research findings contribute to enhancing the awareness of rhetorical strategies in academic English speaking domains and providing language learning materials for teaching.

The rhetorical function of binary discourse nouns

This chapter explores the rhetorical function of meta discourse nouns in academic oral discourse. Rhetoric is defined as the function of discourse inference based on social interaction and reader orientation, as well as the interpersonal function of authors expressing their positions and evaluations to readers. Meta discourse nouns are noun resources that mark the structure of discourse and shape readers' understanding, with dual dimensions of guidance and interaction, and are an important expansion of meta discourse resources. They can indicate the essence, descriptive features, or expressive relationships of things, and their specific referents cross the boundaries of clauses, connecting with the discourse content through anaphora and premonition to achieve semantic coherence. Meta discourse nouns often appear in five grammatical structures, among which the "qualifier+meta discourse noun" structure is the most common in academic discourse, which helps to enhance text coherence and consistency. The rhetorical function includes two dimensions: discourse coherence and stance expression. The discourse inference function is achieved through the paradigm of noun grammar, while the stance construction function subtly conveys the author's attitude through the static characteristics of nouns, promoting consensus.

A Study of Meta discourse Nouns in 3 Academic Terminology Texts

Focusing on the rhetorical function of meta discourse nouns in the field of academic English, particularly their application in academic writing. The research is mainly divided into three directions: the use of meta discourse nouns by Chinese academic English learners, discourse analysis research, and interdisciplinary/sub disciplinary comparative research. There are significant differences in the frequency and semantic function selection of using meta discourse nouns between Chinese academic English learners and native English speakers, indicating that learners lack awareness when using meta discourse nouns, which affects the persuasiveness of academic discourse. The research on discourse analysis mainly focuses on the usage tendency of meta discourse nouns in paper abstracts. Cross disciplinary/sub disciplinary comparative studies have revealed differences in cognitive understanding and experiential encoding of meta discourse noun constructions across different disciplines. At present, there is a relative lack of research on the rhetorical function of meta discourse nouns in academic oral discourse. This study adopts corpus analysis method to compare and analyze the rhetorical function of meta discourse nouns in philosophical and computer science academic oral popular science discourse.

4 Research Design

This article introduces crash courses as a source of research materials, covering multiple fields such as natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences, and is suitable as learning and popular science materials. Based on the epistemological analysis framework proposed by Becher et al., disciplines are divided into four dimensions: pure theory, applied theory, soft science, and hard science. Philosophy and computer science are selected as research objects. The two disciplines differ in research content, but are interconnected in methodology. We have built two small corpora, PHILOS (Philosophy) and PUT (Computer), and used TagAnt-64bit software to assign part of speech codes. AntConc software was used to extract five lexical and grammatical structures of co-occurrence of meta discourse nouns, and functional semantic classification and frequency statistics were conducted. Finally, we compared and analyzed the differences between meta discourse nouns in the two corpora. The classification of metalinguistic noun types is based on their functions in context, and the same term may belong to different types. To ensure classification accuracy, the contextual information contained in the index rows was carefully read and analyzed, and if necessary, the contextual scope was expanded to make judgments. Classify the meta discourse nouns twice, with a two-week interval, achieving a consistency of 95% in classification, and adjust ambiguous terms.

5 Results and Discussion

This study reveals the rhetorical function of meta discourse nouns in academic oral discourse, particularly in the application of philosophy and computer science. The research results show that the frequency of using meta discourse nouns in philosophical texts is significantly higher than that in computer science texts, with an average of 133.2 and 64.8 cases per 10000 words, respectively. Meta discourse nouns play a role in discourse coherence and position expression in two disciplines, but their implementation paths differ.

6 Conclusion

This study reveals the differences in rhetorical functions of meta discourse nouns in academic oral popular science discourse between philosophy and computer science. Philosophical authors tend to use the structures of "finite words+metalanguage noun" and "metalanguage noun+complement clause", especially the substructures of "metalanguage noun+that clause" and "metalanguage noun+to infinitive", to achieve semantic fading and enhance persuasive effects. Computer science authors tend to use "meta discourse nouns+to infinitives" to convey directive modal meanings. Philosophical authors use meta discourse nouns more frequently to achieve discourse coherence and persuasive functions, while authors from the two disciplines have similarities but differences in their semantic function choices. Philosophical authors tend to use cognitive, discursive, and state related terms to reflect disciplinary speculation and diversity, while computer science authors tend to use empirical and state related terms to specifically explain computer principles and mechanisms. The specific semantic choices of specific categories by authors from two disciplines also reflect disciplinary differences. Philosophical authors tend to use "possibility" and "truth" more to demonstrate inclusivity and critical thinking, while computer science authors tend to use "ability" and "potential" to illustrate practical applications and performance potential. For relational terms, philosophical authors place more emphasis on the relationships between concepts, while computer science authors place more emphasis on the logical causal relationships between events. These semantic choices are also reflected in the use of corresponding lexical and grammatical structures, supporting the view of lexical grammatical integration. The study demonstrates the impact of disciplinary paradigms and cultural differences on the rhetorical function of meta discourse nouns, revealing the commonalities in the implementation of meta discourse noun rhetorical strategies between academic oral popular science discourse and academic written discourse. This provides linguistic basis for the construction and interpretation of popular science discourse in the oral domain, as well as language materials for academic English oral teaching. The limitation of the research is that the corpus only involves philosophy and computer science, and the quantity is relatively small. Future research can be expanded to other disciplinary categories.