First language and second language English editorialists’ use of interactional metadiscourse

This study explores the use of interactional1 metadiscourse by first language (L1) and second language (L2) English editorialists. The study uses Hyland’s (2019) model of metadiscourse to analyse 80 editorials published between 2020 and 2021 in The Guardian and The Jordan Times newspapers (40 from each newspaper). A mixed-method approach  – adopting quantitative and qualitative measures – was used to analyse the data. The frequency of interactional metadiscourse resources was statistically examined to find similarities and differences (if any) between the two corpora. The analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in the use of interactional metadiscourse resources in the editorials of the two newspapers. For instance, L2 editorialists used fewer hedges in their editorials and more boosters than L1 editorialists. In addition, engagement markers were used the most by L1 editorialists. The study provides some implications for editorialists who write in English and recommendations for future research.