Discourse MarkersDiscourse markers - the particles oh, well, now, then, you know and I mean, and the connectives so, because, and, but and or - perform important functions in conversation. Dr Schiffrin's approach is firmly interdisciplinary, within linguistics and sociology, and her rigourous analysis clearly demonstrates that neither the markers, nor the discourse within which they function, can be understood from one point of view alone, but only as an integration of structural, semantic, pragmatic, and social factors. The core of the book is a comparative analysis of markers within conversational discourse collected by Dr Schiffrin during sociolinguistic fieldwork. The study concludes that markers provide contextual coordinates which aid in the production and interpretation of coherent conversation at both local and global levels of organization. It raises a wide range of theoretical and methodological issues important to discourse analysis - including the relationship between meaning and use, the role of qualitative and quantitative analyses - and the insights it offers will be of particular value to readers confronting the very substantial problems presented by the search for a model of discourse which is based on what people actually say, mean, and do with words in everyday social interaction. |
Contents
Background What is discourse? | 1 |
Prelude to analysis Definitions and data | 31 |
Questions Why analyze discourse markers? | 49 |
Oh Marker of information management | 73 |
Well Marker of response | 102 |
Discourse connectives and but or | 128 |
So and because Markers of cause and result | 191 |
Temporal adverbs now and then | 228 |
Information and participation yknow and I mean | 267 |
Discourse markers Contextual coordinates of talk | 312 |
Notes | 331 |
| 342 | |
| 357 | |
| 361 | |
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Common terms and phrases
action acts allows analysis answer arguing argument attention background begins cause Chapter clarification clauses coherence communicative completion conjunctions connection Consider context continues contrast conversational coordinates create Debby defined depends describing discourse discourse markers discussion display evaluation example exchange expectations explanation expression fact final focus focuses Freda function hearer Henry Henry's idea illustrates inference initial interactional interpretation Irene Irene's Jack knowledge language linguistic markers marks meaning meta-knowledge narrative Note occur options orientation pair participation particular position pragmatic prefaces presented Press prior properties proposition question reason relation relationship repairs request response role semantic sentence sequences shared shift shows situation social speaker specific speech story structure subordinate suggests talk temporal topic transition turn understanding units University utterance warranted y'know Zelda