On The Incorporation Of Pragmatic Information Concerning Discourse Markers In ECLDs

Discourse markers (henceforth call "DMs") serve important purposes in spoken discourse. The employment of DMs makes communication more lively, personal and genuine. However, DMs are difficult to learn in second language acquisition because learners may not know the procedural meaning of DMs in discourse or they may transfer their first language rules and conventions to the second language, assuming that such rules are universal.In view of the importance of DMs in spoken discourse, the present study focuses on: 1) whether ECLDs incorporate adequate PI concerning DMs and how ECLDs present PI concerning DMs; and 2) whether Chinese learners of English often consult ECLDs and whether PF rates at using DMs are high among Chinese learners of English. In order to achieve the research purposes, the present study adopts the methodologies of contrastive analysis and experimental study. The contrastive analysis is carried out between five authoritative ELDs and five newly-published ECLDs with the purpose of investigating the status quo of inclusion of PI concerning DMs. The experimental study, mainly in the form of test paper and questionnaire, is designed to find whether Chinese learners of English often consult ECLDs and whether they commit Pragmatic Failure at using DMs.In the light of the results of the contrastive study and the experimental study, some suggestions are proposed, and tentative samples are also given at the end of the present study.