Discourse Markers and Pragmatic Inference

Discourse markers have been studied within the relevance theoretical framework in this paper. According to relevance theory, every act of ostensive communication communicates a presumption of its own optimal relevance. The communicator, who is aiming at optimal relevance, must direct the audience to a particular set of assumptions by using discourse markers. Whereas, from the audience＇s point of view, discourse markers can minimize his contextual assumptions in looking for relevance, thus the pragmatic inferential process will be much easier.

A review of domestic studies on discourse markers

Based on the investigation of domestic studies on Discourse Markers （DMs）, this paper summarizes the major researches in this research field, analyzes the present research condition and predicts some future research topics.

Discourse Markers of “Saying”:A Comparative Study

The present study compares the discourse markers(DMs) of “saying” in Mandarin Chinese ke yi shuo(lit.“can say”) and ying gai shuo(lit.“should say”) with their equivalents in English,by drawing the parallel corpora from The Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping(Volume III)(henceforth The Works),so as to uncover the pragmatic motivation for the variation in translating the DMs of“saying.” The analysis is conducted within a theoretical framework of speech act theory,by grouping the DMs according to their personal pronouns.Moreover,by comparing the uses of personal pronouns in English and Chinese,the current study confirms that The Works keeps the consistency between the two languages as well as with the characteristics and styles of Deng Xiaoping’s locution.It also finds that modalized DMs of “saying”(e.g.,“I should say”),as a parenthesis,lose their status as matrix clauses and help reduce the tone of affirmation.

Errors in the Subtitling of Discourse Markers From English Into Arabic

This study aims at investigating errors which occur in the subtitling of discourse markers from English into Arabic in the subtitles of two movies,Wonder and Seven.Specifically,this study investigates the subtitling of five discourse markers,namely,well,yeah,you know,so,and oh by two movie websites,Netflix and Egybest.The findings reveal that two major errors occurred in the subtitles of the two movies,which are omission and wrong equivalence.The findings also show that omission occurred more frequently than wrong equivalence when subtitling these five discourse markers from English into Arabic.

Research on Discourse Markers from the Perspective of Relevance Theory

Discourse markers are a common discourse phenomenon that is now widely used in spoken and written language.For the study of discourse markers,all major schools have their own characteristics and advantages.The unique understanding of the cogni?tive characteristics and process of human communicative activities fully demonstrates the rationale for the existence of discourse markers.The pragmatic role of discourse markers in the process of discourse generation and discourse comprehension points out a new direction for the study of discourse markers.This paper draws on the relevant viewpoints of relevance theory and attempts to explore the discourse markers to illustrate that the unique interpretation of the discourse markers of relevance theory has broad ap?plication prospects.

A Mini Study of Discourse Markers and Age in Spontaneous English Conversations

This is a mini study of the variation of the use of discourse markers by the age dimension.The study finds salient differences in the choice and frequency of use of discourse markers between elder and younger native American English speakers.Younger and female speakers have a more extensive choice of tokens and use them much more frequently.EFL learners should adopt more discourse markers in target language interaction,as it could be a sign of fluency.

A Comparative Study on the Meta-functions of Artificial Intelligence and Human Discourse Markers

This study explores the use of discourse markers in AI-generated and human-generated texts, based on Halliday’s metafunctional theory. By analyzing 20 Shanghai college entrance exam essays generated by Baidu’s AI model Wenxinyiyan and comparing them with 20 human-written essays, it is found that both share similar use of discourse markers. However, AI tends to use transitional and topic-follow-up markers more frequently, while human texts show a higher usage of conditional and causal markers. These findings suggest AI’s capacity for maintaining discourse coherence but highlight its limitations in more complex reasoning.

ANOTHER LOOK AT FUNCTIONAL DISCOURSE MARKERS IN CET READING TEXTS

With the progress of the implementation of College English Reformation, the balance of distributed attention between six requirements is assuming more and more weight for the primary purpose of improving learners' listening and speaking competences. Under such circumstance efficiency in teaching and learning reading comprehension is increasingly becoming crucial since it constitutes an indispensable part of acquiring English as a second language. The orientation of functional discourse markers at various textual levels in CET reading texts is elaborated upon in this paper to map out one alternative way to contriving an effective reading strategy on the basis of reading test — reading strategy study.

On Pragmatic Functions of Discourse Marker I mean

Discourse markers are among the basic building blocks of spoken language.This study gauges the use of the discourse marker I mean in spoken English,specifically in the talk show setting,with the aim of providing a comprehensive description of the pragmatic functions of I mean.After extracting large quantities of extended conversations from various talk shows,a corpus for fur⁃ther extensive discourse analysis will then be established.Our small-scale yet fine-grained study proposes that the core functions of I mean includes reformulation,elaboration,lexical search and interpersonal management.The wide use of discourse markers in TV talk shows serves to promote the logic and organization of interviewing language as well as the overall discourse setting whereby the talk shows proceed smoothly with the interlocutors’dynamic devotion into conversation.

Discourse Marker Na(那)as an Interpersonal-Level Compensatory Strategy in Clinical Interviews

Discourse markers(DMs) are characterized by multifunctionality in different contexts.This study addressed the use of the Chinese DM,na(那),as a solution to topical divergence,during clinical interactions with right-hemisphere-damaged(RHD) patients.Drawing on data collected from clinical interviews between psychotherapists and RHD patients,this study examined the functions of na in response to RHD topical divergence,focusing on the topic and attitudinal aspects.It was found that na was mainly employed by psychotherapists to mark a reproffer of interview topics(i.e.,an attempt to return to earlier topics),and a display of disalignment and disaffiliation with RHD topical divergence.These functions of na reflect the psychotherapists’ attempts to overcome communicative problems arising from RHD topical divergence,so as to ensure the achievement of the communicative goal.Thus,na can be interpreted as a compensatory strategy for dealing with RHD topical divergence on an interpersonal level.These findings not only expand our knowledge about the function spectrum of na,but also offer insights for RHD patients’ interlocutors to enhance conversational communication with RHD patients via the compensatory strategy.

A Corpus-Based Study of the Discourse Marker“Well”and Its Pragmatic Functions in L2 Learners’Dialogues

This paper focuses on the pragmatic function of the discourse marker“well”in conversational interaction of second language learners.Based on the corpus,we divide the pragmatic functions of“well”into four levels:content level,structural level,interpersonal level,and without level(interlanguage marker).This will help us understand the use of markers,such as“well”in interlanguage and provide references for improving the pragmatic competence of second language learners.

A Pragmatic Account of the Discourse Marker Look in the Big Bang Theory

This study focuses on analyzing the pragmatic functions of the discourse marker look in casual conversations.Through the anal-ysis of the collected data from the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory(season eight),it is found that look can act respectively as(1) astart marker of a new topic or a topic shift marker,(2) a coherence marker,(3) a repair marker in different contexts,(4) an emotionalmarker,and(5) a mitigator of face-threatening acts.These functions show that although look as a discourse marker is just a single word,it can improve the way of communicating in the conversation and help speakers express more than what they say.

CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF PRAGMATIC MARKERS IN THE ENGLISH COMPOSITIONS OF CHINESE AND AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS

本文对中美大学生英语作文中语用标记语的使用情况作了对比分析,试图发现以英语为外语的中国学生在语用标记语的使用方面在多大程度上偏离以英语为母语的美国大学生的使用语用标记语的范式。统计结果表明中国学生使用较多的评述性和语篇标记语,但他们可能会不恰当地使用语用标记语,从而使这些标记语的使用呈现出不自然和单调的特点。

Functions of So in English as a Lingua Franca and Native Speech: A Corpus-Based Study

Based on the Asian Corpus of English （ACE） and the British National English （BNC）, I investigated the features of discourse marker （DM） so in English as lingua franca （ELF） by comparing it with its use in native speech. I first calculated the frequency of so in ACE and BNC. Then, taking Buysse＇s （2012） meta-functional theory of DM so as framework, I comprehensively analyzed the functions of so in ELF and native speech. The results show that Asian ELF speakers utter more tokens of so than native speakers, especially in the scopes of ＂marking results,＂ ＂marking conclusion,＂ ＂holding the floor,＂ ＂marking summary,＂ ＂opening new section of discourse,＂ and ＂shift-back and elaboration.＂ The study implies that in English teaching and learning, ELF should not be treated as an undeveloped language and that the teaching of discourse markers should focus more on the pragmatic functions than on semantic meaning in the narrow sense.

The Use of I think by Chinese EFL Learners:A Study Revisited

本文以LLC口语语料库和COLSEC(中国学习者英语口语语料库)为基础,通过频数、位置、搭配、尤其是语用功能分析,研究中国英语学习者和英语本族语者在使用I think方面的差异。数据表明中国英语学习者存在超用Ithink的情况。中国英语学习者和英语本族语者一样用I think来缓和语气、表示协商和肯定、实现话轮转换、保持话轮以及达到延缓时间的目的。但是,他们在使用I think时还表现出一些其他特有的功能,如与so或firstly共选表示总结或列举等。另外根据后续调查发现超用的潜在原因可能包括习惯用法、延缓、英语水平有限等。

Functions of you know and I mean in Academic Seminar Discussions by ELF Speakers

This study described the functions of you know and I mean in contexts of academic seminar discussions by ELF speakers. The data used in the study consisted of the multicultural discussions in the corpus of English as a lingua franca in academic settings （ELFA）. The approach of conversation analysis （CA） was used together with corpus techniques with the aim to provide quantitative support to function categorizations which were drawn from qualitative analysis. Results of the study not only demonstrated the multi-functionality of you know and I mean but also suggested that these two discourse markers played specific functions in academic seminar discussions under ELF contexts. In the context of cross-cultural and academic communication where problematic terms may occur, we found that you know was mainly used to achieve clarity, while I mean was primarily used to correct previous statements and dysfluencies. The findings of this study will help ELF speakers communicate more effectively in academic interactions by recognizing the functions of discourse markers and using them properly.