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Demonstrative forms in Cebuano are highly versatile and, as often seen crosslinguistically, can serve discourse deictic, discourse marking, and placeholding functions. Some of the demonstratives have also developed into speaker stance markers. Using data from spontaneous conversations, this paper examines how Cebuano demonstratives, especially the form kanάng , have extended their use from the referential domain to the non-referential (in particular, pragmatic) domain. The demonstrative form kanάng , spoken with a tone of uncertainty, is often used as a repair marker and filler, as a topic marker and mental staging device for upcoming information, as well as a hedge when a speaker is dealing with sensitive or awkward topics. This study also compares kanάng with other stance markers, in particular negation markers and interjectory particles that are likewise recruited in clause-initial position to mark varying stance intensities, with results indicating that kanάng expresses the mildest stance, hence its frequent use as a politeness marking device. • Demonstrative forms in Cebuano are highly versatile. • Cebuano kanang is used as a hedge for dealing with sensitive or awkward topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the issue of discourse markers as illuminated by the works of Russian scholars. The relevance of the study is justified by the necessity of theoretical understanding of existing scientific approaches to the examination of these linguistic units. A review of scholarly works from the XX—XXI centuries is conducted. Key positions in the interpretation of discourse markers within linguistic approaches such as functional-pragmatic and functional-semantic are characterized. Attention is given to aspects of studying this linguistic phenomenon, such as terminological nomination and belonging to a language class or category. The functions of discourse markers in each of the identified approaches are discussed in the article. The polyfunctionality of individual discourse markers is noted. The results of a comparative analysis of current typologies and classifications are presented. As a result, the authors conclude on the necessity of classifying discourse markers based on several indicators of these linguistic units. The predominance of the functional-pragmatic approach in discourse marker research is acknowledged. The unresolved issue of terminological nomination is recognized. The potential for further research in the field of discourse markers from the perspective of other approaches is highlighted.

Traditional studies have been referring to Halliday's meta-function of language to classify the uses of "so" as a discourse marker. However, there are some overlaps in the theories that were accepted earlier. Thus, this study first seeks to explore the discourse roles of "so" in terms of where it appears (utterance-initial, -middle, and -final) in dialogues and monologues of informal English language based on the TV Corpus and AntConc tool. Second, this paper tries to explain the extended use and internal functional mapping of "so" from a logical connective to a discourse marker in spoken English by building a connection between the two uses and providing an account for its functional borrowing. The ultimate goal is to render a new perspective of presenting both the logical and the discourse functions of "so" related to the syntactical structure and pragmatic context it is in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demonstratives constitute a language universal. They are primarily spatial but can designate mental space, signaling the speaker's stances in discourse. In stance-taking, e.g., evaluating, positioning, and aligning, (inter)subjectivity plays an essential role. This paper addresses two sets of demonstrative-based discourse markers (DDMs) in Thai, i.e., those based on the proximal demonstrative nîi (▪) and the medial demonstrative nân (▪), focusing on their functions and positionality at left periphery (LP) and right periphery (RP). An examination of the functional distribution of eight DDMs in our Thai dataset reveals that the oft-cited LP/RP Functional Asymmetry Hypothesis is not supported. Further worth noting is that the Leftward Movement often said to be associated with subjectification (i.e., increasing subjectification pushes a word to move leftward) is not attested, or at least not observable, in the development of DDMs in Thai. • Thai has demonstrative-based discourse markers (DDMs). • DDMs developed from proximal and medial demonstratives. • DDMs carry diverse subjective and intersubjective functions. • The Functional Asymmetry Hypothesis is not supported by the DDM development. • The Leftward Movement Hypothesis is not supported in the DDM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigates the syntactic behavior and the discoursal roles of hala? in Jordanian Arabic, which corresponds to the English 'now' and is frequently used as a discourse marker. Specifically, the syntactic distribution of this discourse marker in everyday conversations, its function in establishing coherence between discourse units, and its communicative and discoursal meanings are scrutinized. The data necessary for the study was obtained from almost a 15-hour corpus of naturally-occurring conversations recorded by the researchers through 30 interviews with 80 (40 males and 40 females) Jordanian students from Al-Balqa Applied University. The data analysis revealed that hala? can be used as an adverb conveying temporal meaning and as a discourse marker conveying coherence-related meanings. Semantically, it is a temporal adverb that has a semantic meaning parallel to that of its English adverbial counterpart 'now'. However, it was found that hala? can also serve six pragmatic functions: Changing a topic, introducing a contrast or comparison, marking disagreement, initiating reasons, explanations or clarifications, listing, and marking shifts in participation framework (Marking a change in the speaker's orientation and marking a change of footing). The study concludes with a suggested grammaticalization path for the development of this discourse marker from a lexical source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the pragmatic functions of the Jordanian Spoken Arabic discourse marker ʕandʒad "really". A quantitative study used the questionnaire to collect data from 207 native Jordanian Arabic speakers from Amman Arab University. The pragmatic functions analysis is based on Searle's categories (1975) by adopting John Austin's Speech Acts Theory (1962). The study finds that gender is a significant social factor as males tend to use this variant more than females. The participants' responses were analyzed with SPSS. The study concludes that that DM ʕandʒad "really" communicate sixteen functions namely; anger, surprise, apologies, sympathy, commands, requests, challenges, advice, assertions, suggestions, complaints, claims, promises, oaths, threats, and offers. The study recommends that future research focuses on the pragmatic functions of this discourse marker (DM) ʕandʒad "really" in larger social contexts than those investigated in this study. In addition, teachers should emphasize the pragmatic functions of Jordanian discourse markers, like DM ʕandʒad "really". They should provide multiple oral examples of Arabic discourse markers in different contexts for AFL learners to grasp and apply them in everyday intercultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims at investigating and describing the pragmatic functions of the discourse marker i:h in the Algerian Spoken Arabic, specifically in the eastern south, in the city of Ouargla. This piece of work is unique of its type in the Algerian context because it is the first to be conducted from a pragmatic perspective. Twelve different situations were included in the questionnaire which consists of one hundred items to collect data. The study adapted the pragmatic approach by Fraser (1990), which accounts upon a differentiation between content and pragmatic meaning. The findings revealed that, based on context, the discourse marker i:h is multifunctional in Algerian Spoken Arabic, and it conveys at least 12 meanings. Other functions were suggested by the participants. The distinction between the two groups at the level of both variables age and gender was not significantly marked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper posits the hypothesis that if a form or construction entering a process of grammaticalization has a diachronic structural pattern, the grammaticalization may become entrenched and strengthened; it can recategorize and move easily into other grammatical areas, can make more complex diachronic paths, and will progress better than a change without a pattern. The paper poses two types of structural pattern: an intraparadigmatic one and an interparadigmatic one. The empirical evidence is the grammaticalization of the predication dice que into the evidential discourse marker dizque and later into the adjective dizque. The paper examines two patterns supporting this grammaticalization: first, the various grammaticalizations undergone by the verb decir into different discourse particles, an intraparadigmatic pattern, and second, three predications that undergone the same diachronic path: que es que > quesque; puede que > pueque; vaya > ¡vaya!, an interparadigmatic pattern.

This paper analyzes the construction bien mirado as a discursive marker. In the first part, based on the data provided by the CDH and CORPES corpora, we will examine the discursive functioning of bien mirado and the delimitation problems associated with the constructions of absolute clause or free adjunct, taking especially into account the notions of subject of predication, coreferentiality, the semantic relationship between the main clause introduced by bien mirado and the previous discursive element, the position (initial, medial, or final), the parenthetical character, as well as the argumentative and informative values, along with the reformulating one. In the second part, we will instead focus on the origins of the construction, on the contrastive historical delimitation with absolute clauses and on the frequency distribution, additionally developing a hypothesis about the subjectification process involved in discourse functioning – linked to the discursive character of absolute constructions, the parenthetical nature, and the meaning of mirar as a verb of thought or judgment.

Across languages, demonstratives grammaticalize into various grammatical and discourse-pragmatic markers. Using corpora of natural conversation and scripted drama conversation, and employing the theoretical frameworks of grammaticalization and (inter)subjectification, this study demonstrates that the Korean demonstrative construct i-ke ya '(it) is this' has developed into an affective stance marker, a development not yet discussed elsewhere in the literature. As a stance marker, the form can encode (a) an emphasizing stance and (b) a boasting stance. The study shows that the development of i-ke ya is an instance of subjectification and of intersubjectification, as the functions of i-ke ya changed from exophoric (pointing to a physical object), to discourse deictic (pointing to a referent in a discourse), and then to expressive (encoding the speaker's stance). The analysis of its shifting functions indicates that i-ke ya obtained its affective meanings due to its frequent use in negative and disaffiliated contexts. Frequency information and a prosodic analysis further testify to the emergence of the new affective meanings of i-ke ya. The study contributes to recent research that investigates various emotive functions of demonstratives beyond accounts based on physical proximity. • Korean proximal demonstrative expresses higher focus than other demonstratives. • Korean proximal i-ke ya became affective stance marker, via (inter)subjectification. • Korean proximal demonstrative construct 'this is' denotes an emphasizing stance. • Korean proximal demonstrative construct denotes a boasting and reassuring stance. • Korean demonstrative underwent grammaticalization and (inter)subjectification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Forest Enets conditional constructions, the protasis clause is typically headed by a conditional converb. The conditional converb of the verb man- ‘say’ also serves as a conditional marker in the form mab or mabut, which is typically used along with the lexical predicate in a finite form. This corpus-based study aims to explore the properties of the marker mab(ut). I analyse the differences in its use by Forest Enets speakers of two generations and propose a scenario for the development of this marker. I examine its distribution with respect to phonological form, possessive marking, and position in the clause, as well as the aspectual properties of the constructions in which it features. The proposed source of the marker is a construction with the meaning ‘you might say’, which originally introduced an event in the following clause as a potential example and later developed into a clause-connecting particle. Kokkuvõte. Maria Ovsjannikova: Konditsionaalne konverbivorm tegusõnast ‘ütlema’ kui tingimuslik marker metsaeenetsi keeles. Metsaeenetsi keeles on tingimuslikes konstruktsioonides esineva tingimuslause peasõnaks harilikult konditsionaalne konverb. Tegusõna man- ‘ütlema’ konditsionaalne konverb võib konditsionaalse markerina esineda ka kujudel mab või mabut, mida kasutatakse tüüpiliselt koos leksikaalse öeldisverbi finiitse vormiga. Siinne korpuspõhine uuring keskendub markeri mab(ut) omadustele. Analüüsin selle markeri kasutuserinevusi kahe põlvkonna metsaeenetsi keele rääkijate vahel ja pakun välja selle markeri võimaliku arengutee. Uurin markeri distributsiooni selle järgi, mis on tema fonoloogiline vorm, possessiivne markeering, ning positsioon osalauses, ka uurin nende konstruktsioonide aspektilisi omadusi. Mainitud markeri arvatav allikas on konstruktsioon tähendusega ‘võib öelda’, mis on algselt sisse juhatanud järgnevas osalauses esinevat olukorda kui potentsiaalset näidet, ja mis on hiljem arenenud osalauseid ühendavaks partikliks.

The article presents the research into hedges and hedging strategy realization in evaluative academic genres viewed from a transdisciplinary perspective. To this end, 64 dissertation reviews written by Russian male and female scholars in humanities (linguistics, literature studies, history) and sciences (physics, chemistry, medicine) were analyzed. Hedging is understood as a system of linguistic means, which perform a mitigating function associated with expressing vagueness, uncertainty, skepticism and doubt. Perlocutionary effects of hedging are connected with reducing the illocutionary strength of the writer’s claims or risks of opposition, face saving, positive and negative politeness. The following classification of hedges is proposed: self-mentions, mitigation hedges, hedged performatives, evaluations of propositions and vagueness hedges. The results of the comparative quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal that hedging strategy is determined by a number of discursive and personal factors such as sphere of communication, speech genre, gender and professional experience of the writer. In dissertation reviews hedges show high frequency of occurrence, which can be explained by the public nature of reviews, their potential traumatic effect on the reader, the existing requirements for scientific data presentation in a tentative and indeterminate way, as well as high academic competence of reviewers. The research proves that in humanities hedges demonstrate a higher frequency rate than in sciences. At the same time, male reviewers reveal higher hedging frequency than female reviewers.

The article analyses the polyfunctionality of comme ça in spoken French, on the basis of an interview between the producer Agnès Varda and the journalist Antoine Guillot (for the realisation of a masterclass on France Culture). The interview lasts more than an hour and the frequency of the appearance of comme ça goes hand in hand with the diversity of its uses. Therefore, in accordance with existing analyses (Cappeau & Savelli 2001, Corminboeuf 2017), we proceeded to a description of the two units – comme and ça – that make up the expression and then to a sorting of the occurrences of comme ça, intra- or extra-predicative. In this way, we can identify a first dichotomy between the marker of syntactic scope, governed by a verb or a noun, and the discourse marker. We will examine some problematic cases that will help us to rule on the non-verbal or suprasegmental material (mimicry, intonation) that accompanies the production of comme ça. The article concludes with a discussion of the phenomena of discourse phraseology as they are reflected in the use of comme ça. We will then be able to re-examine the semantic approximation basis of comme ça (Corminboeuf 2017), which could justify the frequency of the expression in dialogical and narrative contexts (in the manner of a competing marker, voilà).

This paper explores the ongoing semantic change of a discourse marker in Japanese social media. An analysis of 140 instances of the sentence-final tteyuu on Twitter, renamed X in July 2023, suggests that this discourse marker is shifting from a textual function of elaboration to a stance marker of lighthearted mockery. I argue this transition is attributed to its recurrent use in specific contexts, leading to invited inferences about the writer's intentions in expanding upon an idea, which extend beyond purely informational to interpersonal and social concerns. The functional ambiguity of these examples suggests an intermediate stage in tteyuu's evolution. The findings of this study underscore the centrality of pragmatic inferencing in semantic changes as well as the context-dependent nature of meaning creation. • Sentence-final tteyuu on Twitter (or X) is shifting from a textual to a stance marker. • Recurrent use in specific contexts drives pragmatic inference and semantic change. • Anonymous writers' self-mockery stance reflects their social meta-self-awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As codified in professional guidelines, professional interpreters should faithfully interpret everything that has been said exactly as the original speakers. In other words, court interpreters are expected to adequately interpret both the content and the manner of original utterances into their pragmatic equivalence to the best of their knowledge. However, little has been known about the court interpreters' accuracy in rendering the manner of speech in remote settings in non-European languages. The present paper reports initial findings from a larger experiment research study that assesses Australia-based professional interpreters' accuracy in interpreting discourse markers and speech style in court-related remote settings. This paper focuses on the way in which discourse markers were used by the Mandarin Chinese-speaking defendant in courtroom examination answers and interpreted by practitioners. Mandarin Chinese markers '呗(bēi)', '啦(à)', '啊(a)', '吧(bā)' and '嘛(mà)' were analysed using a collection of models of markers in Mandarin Chinese. A general disregard for discourse markers was found in remote settings, as reflected by omissions, mistranslation and moderations of illocutionary forces, particularly the use of the monotone in practitioners' renditions of some attitudinal markers in Mandarin Chinese. Such disregard may have further implications for the accuracy of court interpreting in remote settings. The findings of the present study intend to inform future interpreter education and contribute to interprofessional collaboration between interpreting service users and providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Forest Enets conditional constructions, the protasis clause is typically headed by a conditional converb. The conditional converb of the verb man-'say' also serves as a conditional marker in the form mab or mabut, which is typically used along with the lexical predicate in a finite form. This corpus-based study aims to explore the properties of the marker mab(ut). I analyse the differences in its use by Forest Enets speakers of two generations and propose a scenario for the development of this marker. I examine its distribution with respect to phonological form, possessive marking, and position in the clause, as well as the aspectual properties of the constructions in which it features. The proposed source of the marker is a construction with the meaning 'you might say', which originally introduced an event in the following clause as a potential example and later developed into a clause-connecting particle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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"好家伙" (haojiahuo) as the network buzzword in 2020 has been widely used both online and offline. The study attempts to make an analysis of how and why people use the discourse marker "好家伙" from the adaptation-pragmatic perspective. Through analyzing the blogs collected from Weibo, it is found that people use "好家伙" on Weibo as a means of adaptation to contexts consisting of communicative and linguistic contexts. To be more specific, language user employs "好家伙" as a dynamic process to adapt to the mental, social and physical world as well as specific linguistic contexts. As a result, the functions of "好家伙" in the adaptation process can be summarized as follows: managing topics, constructing discourse, expressing emotions, filing speech blanks and mitigating face threats. The first two are discourse functions, and the last three belong to interpersonal functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigates the pragmatic functions of the terms ħalāl and ħarām in Spoken Jordanian Arabic. The researchers compiled a number of contexts which include the words ħalāl and ħarām in different pragmatic functions. The scenarios were first judged by a panel of jury. Then the last version of the scenarios was given to 50 native speakers of Jordanian Arabic. The results show that ħalāl conveys several different pragmatic functions for example, expressing something religiously permissible, as a synonym of Cattle, possessions and money among others. On the other hand, ħarām is also used to convey several pragmatic functions such as something religiously forbidden, religious terms as the secret months, and oath and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper reports on a study investigating the prosodic features of the Chinese discourse marker haole. The data were collected from 14 native Chinese speakers who participated in two recording sessions designed by the authors. The results indicate that haole as a discourse marker occurring at different syntactic positions is prosodically distinct. Specifically, in some cases, haole at the left periphery (LP) is prosodically independent of its following utterance, while haole at the right periphery (RP) is always prosodically attached to its preceding utterance. In addition, haole at LP is higher, larger, and longer than haole at RP, respectively, concerning pitch, intensity, and duration. The study suggests that these differences are closely related to the pragmatic functions of haole as a discourse marker in oral interaction. The findings above may shed light on the incorporation of prosody into the pragmatic analysis of discourse markers and conversation management in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of this paper is to study the discourse marker in "dire" dis voir and its Spanish correspondent oye tú. We will look at the distributional and semantic-pragmatic values of dis voir in contemporary French, in order to verify its function in discourse. We will also provide a diachronic analysis that explains the traces of the old verbal locution. Contrary to what we might think, the Spanish equivalent does not start with a verb of saying but with the verb oír 'hear' – which also involves the interlocutor through the imperative and the second person singular – oye tú. We will see how, through a process of pragmaticalisation, the markers dis voir and oye tú cannot be considered strictly speaking as markers of speech or perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at first at giving an operational definition of the notion of discourse marker, on the basis of the presence of five parameters: the function of connection, the function of attitude, the possibility of parentheticals, the prosodic line, and last, the degree of idiomaticity. Secondly, we will relate the French discourse marker je me suis laissé dire to these five parameters, on the basis of a representation in terms of deep structure. The last part of the article will be devoted to a thorough examination of the marker in terms of causativity and reactivity, in order to account for its impossible equivalence by Spanish me dejé decir on the basis of linguistic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argument mining is an emerging science that deals with the automatic identification and extraction of arguments along with their relation from large, unstructured data that are useful for reasoning engines and computational models. Identification and extraction of argument relation from Amharic argumentative texts is a current challenge in Amharic language text processing. There have been many efforts tried on argument relation prediction for English and other European languages. This work is aimed at the design and implementation of an argument relation prediction for Amharic language using MLP, Naïve Bayes, and SVM algorithms. The study used 815 argumentative sentences collected from politically focused sources such as Amharic newspapers, weblogs, Facebook, and other social media, to evaluate argument relation prediction. The evaluation of this experiment was conducted using discourse markers, propositional semantic similarity, and a combination of these approaches, and resulted in the highest weighted average F-scores of 68%, 84%, and 88%, respectively, using Naïve Bayes, ANN and SVM. This shows that a combination approach with a SVM classifier is preferable for an Amharic argument relation prediction task. The authors tackled the problem of argument relation prediction (a subtask of argument mining) for the Amharic language, and annotated Amharic argumentative sentences (120 argument maps), making them publicly available for future research work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. The article deals with pragmatic syncretism and syncretic aspects of hedges – words and phrases used to mitigate claims, that is make them vaguer, more tentative and more uncertain. Hedges are looked upon as a type of discourse markers which are focused on the writer-reader interaction and the writer’s self-presentation.Methodology and sources. The research is based on the speech genre of the official thesis review known for its especially mitigated language, which may be determined by publicity of thesis defences at a viva voce in Russia, positive evaluation of thesis made at a predefence stage and potential personal relations of the degree seeker, their supervisor and the reviewer. The corpus of 64 reviews (about 90 000 words) written by Russian scholars was analyzed including reviews in linguistics, literature studies, history, physics, chemistry and medicine.Results and discussion. The author introduces the notion of pragmatic syncretism which involves the merging or assimilation of several pragmatic functions performed by one linguistic unit while realizing several illocutionary tasks. The research allowed to single out two varieties of hedges: 1) single purpose hedges aimed only at mitigation of claims and 2) general purpose hedges aimed at mitigation of claims together with some other interactive task. Among these additional tasks are the following: authorization (self-mentions), performative, evaluative in relation both to the proposition or to the words used by the author. According to the quantitative analysis, syncretic hedges make up 52 % of all hedges used in the reviews. The author provides the pragmatically oriented analysis of syncretic hedges realizing strategies of indetermination, subjectivisation and depersonalization. Strategies of subjectivisation and depersonalization are registered as most frequent.Conclusion. It is emphasized that hedges are predisposed to syncretic usage due to their inherent modal meanings which are realized integrally and which are, therefore, difficult to specify. The ontological ground of this tendency is associated with the symbiotic nature of human thinking where rational and sensuous baselines are naturally and productively reconciled.

This article makes the first empirical corpus-based study of the actual performance of the discourse marker (DM) nǐ zhīdào (NZ) in Chinese media interview conversations from the perspective of synchronic Construction Grammar (CxG). 1 The main objective is to pair the prosody of NZ at varying utterance positions ('form' properties at prosodic and discourse structural levels) with its pragmatic functions ('meaning' properties at the discourse communicative level), to enhance our understanding within the existing literature, specifically in relation to pragmatics in spontaneous speech, and provide implications for the broader study of discourse markers. The analysis of the 'form' properties of NZ reveals distinct, context-specific attributes of such prosodic metrics as duration, tempo, pause, F 0 , and intensity at varying utterance positions; the analysis of its 'meaning' properties discovers pragmatic functions with characteristic utterance distributions; and the form-meaning pairing between prosody and pragmatics highlights the roles of prosody in deciphering and materializing pragmatics and of pragmatics in underlying and motivating prosody. This study has shown that insights gained from CxG can enhance our understanding of the fields of pragmatics, discourse, and interaction, and specific linguistic phenomena whose importance has been entrenched in these domains can be sufficiently explained using CxG. It follows that the notion of construction can be extended to the discourse (e.g., dialogue and conversation) level to approach the complexities of spoken language and address diverse elusive pragmatic issues like DMs effectively. • This article makes the first empirical study of nǐ zhīdào (NZ) from the perspective of Construction Grammar (CxG). • The main objective is to pair the prosody of NZ with its pragmatic functions. • The analysis of the 'form' properties of NZ reveals distinct, context-specific attributes. • The analysis of its 'meaning' properties discovers pragmatic functions with characteristic utterance distributions. • The form-meaning pairing highlights the roles of prosody in materializing pragmatics and of pragmatics in motivating prosody. • Insights from CxG can enhance our understanding of the fields of pragmatics, discourse, and interaction. • Specific linguistic phenomena whose importance has been entrenched in these domains can be sufficiently explained using CxG. • The notion of construction can be extended to the discourse level to address diverse elusive pragmatic issues like DMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Korean demonstratives developed into a number of DMs, including ilen 'this kind of' and celen 'that kind of' via ellipsis. From the perspective of stance-taking, these contrasting DMs exhibit intriguing differences amid seemingly similar functions. The two DMs carry the subjective function of marking surprise (mirativity), a function closely related to ellipsis, i.e., the speaker's inability to complete the utterance due to surprise. This further developed into the intersubjective function of marking feigned surprise, a strategy of dramatizing the narrative or inviting the interlocutor into the evaluative common ground. The two DMs further mark the speaker's stance of engagement, commitment, discontent, reproach, or sarcasm, etc. all in emotional contexts. A notable difference is that the proximal vs. distal distinction spills over to their DM functions, i.e., the distal-based celen is used in contexts where the speaker is distancing them self from what is being referred to, typically in condemning others, whereas the proximal based ilen is used in contexts where the referred object/proposition is mentally close to the speaker, thus signaling engagement or commitment. These contrastive DMs show how the physical distance encoded in demonstratives is iconically reflected in stance marking functions of the DMs derived from them. • Korean has demonstrative-based discourse markers (DDMs). • DDMs developed from proximal and distal demonstratives. • DDMs developed through ellipsis and (inter)subjectification. • The proximal-based DDM signals the engagement stance. • The distal-based DDM signals the detachment stance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most theoretical and empirical studies of discourse marker multifunctionality do not approach it using a formal, systematic annotation model. Drawing on a domain-function taxonomy, this study examines 270 tokens of the discourse marker ni zhidao in Chinese media interviews. All values of the two-dimensional model designed for the whole category of discourse markers apply to ni zhidao, demonstrating its equally potent affordance on a particular discourse marker case cross-linguistically. By putting this model to the test, we found that "emphasis" needs to be added to the original 15 functions in the model, and that domains and functions need to be treated as dependent layers of pragmatic meaning. Functions determine domains, and domains need to be regarded as macro-functions to which specific functions are attributed. As such, we tentatively put forth an updated version that provides finer granularity and greater affordance, shedding new light on the pragmatic meaning of ni zhidao and the speaker's underlying communicative intent. We propose that the sample be divided into uni-functional and multi-functional categories before being analyzed within the updated model to capture the multifunctional discourse markers in the same context-specific utterances. This study has implications for the need of more exhaustive, speech-friendly annotation models of DM multifunctionality and the cross-linguistic adaptation or refinement of established DM annotation models to cater to the unique traits of spoken DMs in different languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the constructionalization of by the same token. Originally, the word same in this phrase did not encode similarity but functioned as an identification emphasizer and a marker of syntactic dependency between the evidential noun token and the clause that followed it. By the same token then acted as a complex subordinator introducing a justification. The data suggest that two non-compositional uses developed from the evidential subordinator during the seventeenth century: a digressive discourse marker and a subordinator combining high degree and consequence. Faced with polysemy and lack of transparency, speakers/hearers then reintroduced some compositionality to the phrase by assigning to same the meaning of similarity that it had elsewhere. From this partial recompositionalization stems today's elaborative discourse marker. Originally used to connect two consequences of the same premise, it then extended its connective value. It is now polyfunctional and is even often used to connect two contrasting statements. There are signs that it is now often treated by speakers as a member of a constructional network of adversative discourse markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pensares em Revista is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents the results of the cross-disciplinary research which focuses on the two types of discourse markers – hedges and boosters and their use in Russian official dissertation reviews. The study is based on reviews of official opponents and external reviewers of PhD theses on linguistics, literary criticism, history, physics, chemistry and medicine. The reviews were borrowed from the online pages of dissertation councils of Russian universities. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data proved the gradual nature of hedging and boosting and showed that hedges and boosters frequency depends on the discipline and the author of the review’s gender. It is shown that in the reviews of humanities scholars hedges prevail over boosters, whereas in natural sciences hedges are more frequent. In all disciplines excepting physics men use hedges and boosters more often than women. Moreover, boosters demonstrate a greater dependence in their frequency on both the discipline and gender whereas the hedges appear more universal in their use in all the reviews under study.

In Korean, the word geurae is positioned as an exclamation in a sentence. Its use in oral communication has diverse meanings and functions. Previous research shows that, apart from conveying its basic meaning, the word geurae is also often used as a discourse marker (DM), especially in a conversation. DMs are words used by speakers to express their feelings and view about the contents of a conversation to a speech partner. The purpose of this study was to analyze the form, meaning, and function of the word geurae as a DM in Korean conversations. This literature study is linguistics description of gurae, discourse marker. Results show that the word geurae has seven discourse functions that can be categorized into two categories, namely reactive words and progressive words. As a reactive word, it is used to indicate affirmation, surprise, confirmation, and response, whereas as a progressive word, it is used to draw attention and give emphasis.

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to describe the peculiarities of functioning discourse markers in the institutional format of mediation discourse. Methodology. General scientific methods and specific linguistic methods (contextual analysis, continuous sampling method, pragmatic analysis of discourse) were used in this research. Results. This study deals with discourse markers as a tool of mediation discourse structuring. Particular attention is paid to the specificity of using certain groups of discourse markers at different stages of the interaction of the conflicting parties. Destructive and constructive fragments are distinguished in mediation discourse. The functional potential of discourse markers at the conflict stage of mediation is represented by evaluation markers with negative connotations and markers of interrupting dialogue. The constructive stage is characterized by the use of positive evaluation markers, markers of desemantised evaluation and etiquette indicators of the end of the dialogue. The research shows that the variety of discourse markers in the speech of parties in conflict serves as a trigger for a gradual, as a rule, positive transformation of the disputing participants in the mediation continuum. Practical Implications. The results presented in the article can be used in theoretical courses on discourse analysis, pragmatics, as well as in the training of mediators.

This study explores the ways that L2 learners develop their knowledge in understanding the pragmatic functions of a Chinese discourse marker (DM), zenme shuo ne (‘how to say’), and examines three interrelated aspects in pragmatic knowledge of this DM. Using metapragmatic interviews, emic data are collected from sixteen L2 Chinese learners and nineteen L1 Chinese speakers. The data are analysed using both qualitative methods and computational models. The findings reveal that L2 learners identify a different range of DM functions from L1 speakers. They attribute their function identification to concerns about self-face and speaker-centred interpersonal relationships, in contrast to L1 speakers, who refer to moral norms and indirect interpersonal relationships between the hearer and a third party. The different interpretations that L1 and L2 participants develop for the DM have given rise to different expectations of conversational directions. L2 learners are consistently more optimistic about upcoming conversations than L1 speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In everyday conversation, we often use indirect replies to save face of our interlocutor (e.g., "Your paper does have room for improvement"). Six experiments were conducted to examine the role of verbal and nonverbal behaviors in the production and comprehension of indirect replies. In Experiments 1a and 1b, participants engaged in question-answer exchanges designed to elicit four types of replies (i.e., direct, indirect, lie, and neutral). Results showed that uncertainty terms, discourse markers and head tilt were most uniquely associated with the production of indirect replies. In Experiments 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b, participants categorized the types of replies in video clips of real participants in Experiments 1a and 1b. Results showed that nonverbal behaviors enhanced the performance and boosted the confidence in the identification of indirect replies. Furthermore, uncertainty terms, discourse markers and head tilt were also the most reliable cues for identifying indirect replies. Finally, the extent to which people relied on verbal and nonverbal cues to identify an indirect reply was context dependent. The more informative the verbal/nonverbal information was, the fewer nonverbal/verbal cues that contributed to the identification of indirect replies. Our results demonstrated that people integrate verbal and nonverbal information to enhance their understanding of the intended meaning in indirect replies. Findings from the current research provide an initial step toward developing a comprehensive and unified model of the production and comprehension of indirect replies, which takes both verbal and nonverbal behaviors into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Dil Araştırmaları is the property of Journal of Dil Arastirmalari and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article is aimed at considering the potential of such a mechanism of text coherence as discourse markers, which can be used in teaching reading in English. The authors raise the problem of the necessity in finding effective methods for teaching reading in a foreign language to improve students reading literacy. The article is aimed at identifying and describing the linguodidactic technique promoting the development of reading skills in English with the help of discourse units. By applying typologization method supported by the contextual analysis the authors consider discourse markers in English academic articles and make an attempt to develop the extended functional classification of these units. Academic articles written in English were chosen as the material for the first part of the study due to the high-level structure of this genre, in which the mechanisms of cohesion and coherence are widely applied. Then, the authors are trying to involve B. Grabes visual schemes to illustrate discourse markers functional potential. These schemes are supplemented by the a modelling method to create various types of exercises that contribute to the development of reading skills in English with the help of discourse units. The results are characterized by novelty, since up till now discourse markers in teaching a foreign language have been applied for learning activities while the in the present paper the authors offer to consider them as a learning tool, namely a tool for speech skills development. The results obtained can be applied in teaching reading in English in secondary and high school.

Filler, also known as Firaa in Japanese, is a discourse marker which frequently used by Japanese people in daily communication. However, Japanese learners are less likely to employ this discourse marker. This study aims to identify the types of Firaa and their functions in the textbook “Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture” for Beginner (A1) and Elementary (A2) levels. The data observed were collected from 217 audios of chokai (listening) and videos of kaiwa (conversation) as supplements in the Marugoto for Beginner (A1) and Elementary (A2) levels textbooks. The type of Firaa and their functions were then categorized using Yamane’s (2002) theory, and a total of 271 Firaa appear in conversations has been collected. The findings of this study showed that only six types of vowel sound Firaa type from the eight types of Yamane’s theory, namely the ‘Eeto’ Firaa type, the ‘Ko-So-A’ Firaa type, the ‘Hai’ Firaa type, the ‘N’ Firaa type, the ‘Maa’ Firaa type, and the ‘Saa’ type were found and introduced in the Marugoto textbooks at the beginner and elementary levels (A1 & A2). Moreover, it is found that the Firaa introduced to Japanese learners were based on their level of proficiency, so as the level increases, the Firaa types introduced in the textbooks also increase. Further, in the beginner level (A1), we found 74 times Firaa and five Firaa types, while at the elementary level (A2), the Firaa are used in much higher frequency. Hence, we can conclude that Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture for Beginner (A1) and Elementary (A2) levels has its’ own the criteria as textbooks which use communicative approach by introducing Firaa as one of the Japanese characteristic discourse markers from the beginner level.

Fluent L2 English speakers frequently use discourse markers (DMs) as a speech management strategy, but research has largely ignored how this develops across different proficiency levels and how it is related to immersive experiences. This study examines the developmental patterns of three DMs – well, you know and like – in the speech of learners at A2-C1 in CEFR with and without immersive experiences in target language environments. The fluency-rated LINDSEI corpus (173 learners) and a parallel native corpus (50 speakers) provided approximately 350,000 tokens and 3,395 instances of the analyzed DMs. Overall, DM frequency (especially with well and you know) among C1 speakers increases with rising fluency levels up to almost native-like levels. Immersive experience correlates positively with overall and individual DM frequency (except for like). As the skillful use of DMs results in more fluent speech production, the didactic implications for L2 instructors should be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/Purpose The most crucial aspects of teaching a foreign language to more advanced learners are building an awareness of discourse modes, how to regulate discourse, and the pragmatic properties of discourse components. However, in different languages, the connections and structure of discourse are ensured by different linguistic means which makes matters complicated for the learner. Background By uncovering regularities in a foreign language and comparing them with patterns in one's own tongue, the corpus research method offers the student unique opportunities to acquire linguistic knowledge about discourse markers. This paper reports on an investigation of the functions of multi-word discourse markers. Methodology In our research, we combine the alignment model of the phrase-based statistical machine translation and manual treatment of the data in order to examine English multi-word discourse markers and their equivalents in Lithuanian and Hebrew translations by researching their changes in translation. After establishing the full list of multi-word discourse markers in our generated parallel corpus, we research how the multi-word discourse markers are treated in translation. Contribution Creating a parallel research corpus to identify multi-word expressions used as discourse markers, analyzing how they are translated into Lithuanian and Hebrew, and attempting to determine why the translators made the choices add value to corpus-driven research and how to manage discourse. Findings Our research proves that there is a possible context-based influence guiding the translation to choose a particle or other lexical item integration in Lithuanian or Hebrew translated discourse markers to express the rhetorical domain which could be related to the so-called phenomenon of "over-specification". Recommendations for Practitioners The comparative examination of discourse markers provides language instructors and translators with more specific information about the roles of discourse markers. Recommendations for Researchers Understanding the multifunctionality of discourse markers provides new avenues for discourse marker application in translation research. Impact on Society The current study may be a useful method to strengthen students' language awareness and analytic skills and is particularly important for students specializing in English philology or translation. Beyond the empirical research, an extensive parallel data resource has been created to be openly used. Future Research It should be noted that the observed phenomenon of "over-specification" could be analyzed further in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to demonstrate that the pragmalinguistic analysis must be used as yet another tool by translators. In fact, it can become essential when determining the best equivalent for phraseological discourse markers such as il n'y a pas à dire, whose translation from French into Spanish entails a great deal of complexity for different reasons: impossibility of making a literal translation of the sequence, coexistence of the sequence either functioning as a free combination of words or fixed as an epistemic marker, and limitations in the consulted lexicographic and translational resources. In order to tackle these difficulties, we suggest taking the conclusions of the pragmalinguistic analysis in the source language as a base, which will clarify the distinctive features of its functioning in discourse and help to establish a number of valid equivalents for its translation into Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Eurasian Journal of Philology: Science & Education is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on data drawn from two corpora collected in Orléans, France, in two waves (ESLO 1, 1968–1971; ESLO 2, 2008–) over a 40-year period, this paper investigated the use of quoi as a discourse marker (DM) in the speech of 234 French native speakers. Our results indicate that the DM quoi has increased in frequency in the more recent corpus. The distribution of its discursive functions has changed between the two corpora. Meanwhile, we also demonstrate that the DM quoi is mainly used in final position and this tendency continues to increase in ESLO 2. Regarding the relation between function and particle position, the planning function is the only function favored by medial position in ESLO 1, while in ESLO 2, the quantification function also becomes one of the favored functions in this position. We suggest that this might indicate potential competition for the same position. Meanwhile, we also point out that the benchmarking function is quasi-categorically used in final position in ESLO 2. The relation between functions and positions changes between the two corpora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]