A Study Of The Discourse Markers In Chinese College Students’ English Impromptu Speech From The Perspective Of The Adaptation Theory

The present research tentatively applies the Adaptation Theory proposed by Verschueren(1999) to the analysis of the use of discourse markers in impromptu speeches, aiming at some findings which can shed light on future studies pursuing a comprehensive account of discourse markers.Discourse markers have been researched by many scholars from different perspectives such as the semantic-pragmatic perspective, the grammatical–pragmatic perspective and the cognitive–pragmatic perspective. The cognitive–pragmatic perspective proposed by Verschueren based on the adaptation theory centers on revealing the cognitive-psychological motivation for using discourse markers in communication. The adaptation-theoretical approach provides a forceful explanation for the use of discourse markers in utterance production. According to this theory,discourse markers play a crucial role in the process of utterance construction. So on the basis of the Adaptation Theory, this study attempts to make a pragmatic analysis of discourse markers by employing the quantitative and qualitative methods in impromptu speech. The data used in the present study is from a corpus of 50 impromptu speeches which is selected the fifteenth(2010), the sixteenth(2011), the seventieth(2012), the eighteenth(2013) and the nineteenth(2014) session of “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition.The main findings include the following: firstly, discourse markers are heavily employed by speakers in impromptu speeches and the distribution of discourse markers are different. Especially, indicators of coherence such as and, but and or are used most frequently in impromptu speech, then indicators of result and cause such as so and because, information and participation such as I think and you know, temporal adverbs as now and then, discourse of response like well and information management such as of course, oh and yes. Secondly, the speaker selects to use extensively discourse markers deriving from the result of the continuous making ofchoice. In the framework of the Adaptation Theory, it is the three properties(variability, negotiability and adaptability) of discourse markers that the speakers can make a proper choice in many discourses such as well, oh, um,and, but, however, I believe, I think and you know.Thirdly, according to the adaptation theory, discourse marker is regarded as an indicator of metapragmatic awareness, so discourse markers reflect the speaker’s mental state. Namely the speaker chooses to use the type of discourse markers which depend on her/his awareness to some degree. For example, but, and as indicators of coherence, the speaker uses the discourse marker but to express his/her opinion on the issue contrast to the previous sentence. By employing the discourse marker, the speaker manifest attitude to the propositional content and the audience can understand the speaker’s intention much better. Besides, but is considered as gap-filler(when the words are not well organized, the speaker uses the discourse marker but to avoid a long pause and mitigate embarrassment, therefore, the speaker choose to use the discourse marker but. The speaker realizes his/her communicative intentions by employing and to coordinate and continue his/her view smoothly. Namely, and is regarded as metapragmatic function of continuing a topic. So as indicator of result and effect, the main words expressing the result and effect knowledge of an event in the real world and the speaker’s conclusion. You know, as indicator of information and participation may function as a device of reducing threat to the interpreter’s positive face. Namely, you know can be regarded as the signal of expressing awareness. Then as indicator of temporal adverbs, it may be considered as metapragmatic function of emphasizing on the order. Well, as indicator of response, means mitigatng positive face and opening a topic. Indicator of information management such as of course, it may function as strengthens the proposition. It is believed that discourse markers don’t bear propositional meaning, but they are essential to realize different communicative purposes as a communication device.The present study is expected to give some enlightenment that the speaker in impromptu speech should realize the importance of discourse markers, improve their awareness of using discourse markers and understand the cognitive pragmatic functions of discourse markers better. This study will give some insights for the audience who can easily interpret these impromptu speeches. Meanwhile, it is greatly significant in showing how to be a successful communicator in English. In addition,the theoretical and practical value of adaptation theory in analyzing the discourse markers are necessary to further test in impromptu speech. The study is also expected to be a supplement to the current research and to apply the Adaptation Theory to analyze various texts.