A Study On Pragmatic Markers In English Public Speeches Based On The Relevance-Adaptation Model

The present study gives a descriptive and explanatory account of pragmatic markers in English public speeches under the framework of the relevance-adaptation model. Considering that none of the four existing theories of communication—the code model, Grice's theory of implicature, the relevance theory and the linguistic adaptation theory—offers a comprehensive and powerful description of pragmatic markers from both utterance production and interpretation, an improved and new relevance-adaptation model is put forward based on the previous researches. With the data from an examination of 30 public speeches, the study carries out an investigation of pragmatic markers on the basis of their different categories, aiming at exploring the functions and the features of using pragmatic markers in public speeches and strategies employed in the process of public speaking.Seen in light of the relevance-adaptation model, pragmatic markers are linguistic choices made by the speaker, functioning as a means of adapting to different contexts for achieving various communicative purposes or needs. When a pragmatic marker is employed by the speaker, it also means a communicative strategy is chosen. Besides, the use of pragmatic markers in speeches offers signposts and signals by means of which the speaker displays the understanding of the preceding speech. Meanwhile, for the hearers, it gives clues to the interpretation of the speech discourses at both the local and global level. From the cognitive point of view, pragmatic markers play a role of minimizing the hearers'processing effort in the pursuit of optimal relevance. On the whole, the employment of pragmatic markers contributes to the success of communication between the speaker and the hearers in a public speech.The data used in the present study indicates that as in conversations, pragmatic markers are also commonly used in public speeches in general, with different frequencies of occurrence for each category of pragmatic markers. Based on the investigation and categorization of this thesis, the highest frequency is found with the elaborative markers, while the lowest is found with the conversational management markers and emphasis markers. Generally speaking, pragmatic markers are indispensable to the structural organization and interpretation of the speaker's statements. Among the various functions found in the present study, pragmatic markers in public speeches are employed by the speaker to mostly illustrate a statement or to explain or reason a message in discourse, to indicate a contrastive relationship between two different messages, to show the sequence of a series of events, and to make an inference or draw a conclusion, etc. For the hearers, they signal what is going on, where the discourse is, where the discourse is moving, whether it is beginning or ending, whether utterances follow smoothly from what has been uttered before, or whether some kind of disjunction is occurring, and so on.To conclude, the present study leads the research of pragmatic markers into a new realm, that is, monologues like public speeches. And in addition to the contribution to the teaching and learning of pragmatic markers, it is expected to shed light on further studies in this field.