| Discourse markers are mainly minor grammatical words and phrases that are loosely attached to a larger structure in a stretch of speech we use to indicate pauses, transitions, or other aspects of communication when we are talking. Statistics show that they occur frequently, in both formal and informal English speech and writing. A good command of employing discourse markers not only helps us process our communication smoothly but also helps us achieve a cohesive force. However, even to define discourse markers is not an easy task since there appears the terminological diversity of the term discourse markers. This paper is intended to give a general concept of discourse markers, providing my own classification of discourse markers by comparison and givingsome insights into the implicatures of teaching discourse markers. This dissertation consists of five chapters. In Chapter one, with a general survey of the study of discourse markers, by comparison, I shall define what discourse markers are and what the features of them. Then in Chapter two, several classifications will be compared and analyzed. And an attempt is made to classify discourse markers on semantic level and pragmatic level. Following this, functions of discourse markers will be discussed in detail in Chapter three. The study of discourse makers also belongs to the scope of discourse analysis, so Chapter four will deal with the coherence, which discourse markers serve in verbal communication. In the last Chapter, the implicatures of teaching discourse markers will be discussed.
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