A Study On The Use Of Pragmatic Markers In English Speeches Of Chinese And American College Students

Researches on pragmatic markers have been done from different perspectives during the past three decades. The present study gives a descriptive and explanatory account of the features and functions of pragmatic markers in English public speeches under the framework of Adaptation Theory. According to Verschueren’s Adaptation Theory, the process of communication possesses three properties of language:variability, negotiability and adaptability. On the whole, language use consists of a continuous making of linguistic choices and reflects users’metapragmatic awareness to different contextual constituents as well. By analyzing pragmatic markers from the perspective of linguistic choice-making, the present study offers a comprehensive description of pragmatic markers from both utterance production and utterance interpretation.To explore the use of pragmatic markers in English speeches by Chinese and American college students, the present study selected forty public speeches made by Chinese and American college students. Through a contrastive analysis of the functions of pragmatic markers in specific examples and a comparison of statistic data between the two groups of speakers, several features are revealed concerning EFL users’ability in PM use:1) Chinese speakers have a tendency to employ monotonous vocabulary for each type of PM while American speakers tend to employ a diversified vocabulary;2) Chinese speakers frequently use several certain PM types instead of using diversified types of PMs as American speakers do;3) Influenced by culture and education, markers such as self-assessment markers are intentionally avoided by American speakers yet are frequently employed by Chinese speakers.It is hoped that these findings could help to enhance EFL learners’competence in using pragmatic markers in public speeches.