A Study On The Pragmatic Functions Of The Discourse Marker Anyway In Talk Show From The Perspective Of Common Ground

Discourse markers refer to language components that do not affect the truth value of a sentence but only show the speaker’s attitude or procedural meaning.Discourse markers are widely used in daily communication.Although they do not constitute the semantic content of discourse,they provide information markers for discourse comprehension,which is conducive to guiding and promoting the success of communication.Compared with the discourse marker well,I know,I mean,you know and so on,there are fewer studies on the discourse marker anyway.At present,domestic scholars have mostly conducted a study from the view of Relevance Theory or a comparative study of the discourse marker anyway,while the research on the pragmatic functions of the discourse marker anyway from the perspective of common ground is still insufficient.Based on the previous studies and Istvan Kecskes’ theory of common ground,the study combines quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the use of the discourse marker anyway in the talk show Laowai Kan Dongxi,and explores how interlocutors co-construct the emergent common ground in talk shows,so as to study the pragmatic functions of the discourse marker anyway.The study will answer the following questions:(1)What are the features of the discourse marker anyway in the talk show in terms of distribution,location and collocation?(2)What are the pragmatic functions of the discourse marker anyway in the talk show from the perspective of common ground?It is found that the discourse marker anyway is conducive to co-constructing the emergent common ground among interlocutors,protecting self-face and monitoring the understanding of hearer(s).As for distribution,the discourse marker anyway is more frequently used to skip the present topic,give more information and ask questions,and less frequently used to make an explanation.As for location,the discourse marker anyway is more frequently used at the beginning of a sentence to skip the present topic,give more information and ask questions,and less frequently used to make an explanation.Secondly,it is used in the middle of a sentence to skip the present topic and give more information.Lastly,it is less frequently used at the end of a sentence where it is used to skip the present topic.As for collocation,the discourse marker anyway is more frequently collocated with but to skip the present topic and give more information,and rarely collocated with it,so,still,well and yeah.The interlocutors employ the discourse marker anyway to achieve three pragmatic functions: from the aspect of procedure,it advances the discussion by giving more information and asking questions.From the aspect of message,it monitors the understanding of hearer(s)by making an explanation.From the aspect of relationship,it protects self-face by skipping the present topic.Among them,the function of protecting self-face is used most frequently,followed by advancing the discussion.The function of monitoring the understanding of hearer(s)is used least.By exploring the pragmatic functions of the discourse marker anyway in the talk show from the perspective of common ground,the study will help the readers to gain a deeper understanding of the pragmatic functions of the discourse marker anyway and be able to employ it properly in daily communication to promote accurate and efficient communication.At the same time,it is conducive to promoting the learning of Chinese English learners and the teaching of English teachers.