A Functional Study Of Discourse Markers In Dialogue

With the development of mass media,the interview program,as a kind of information exchange program,has attracted more and more scholars' attention.Large number of discourse markers in interview programs contribute to promoting the interaction.Studies on discourse marker are maiuly from the perspective of coherence,S5yntax and relevance,and the research on discourse marker in interview program mainly focus on the conversational analysis.The functional study of discourse marker is needed,Therefore,this thesis attempts to make a systematic study of the function of discourse markers in interview program.The data are from Dialogue,which is the only one English interview program in CCTV.Adopting the deductive method and applying the theories of Context,Halliday's Systematic-Functional Grammar Theory,Martin's Appraisal Theory,Holmes' Model on interaction and the style of Dialogue,this thesis proposes a model for analyzing the funetions of discourse markers.The thesis is of both the descriptive nature and explanatory nature.This study aims to explore the functions of discourse markers in marking information progression and marking attitudinal stance,and it further classifies the discourse markers in Dialogue as:topic shifting marker,clause adjusting marker,affect displaying marker,judgement conveying marker,relation regulating marker and face mitigating marker.First of all,discourse markers can mark the information progression both at the macro and micro level.The content of interview program is about the conversation between interlocutors,which requires interlocutors to pay attention to not only the relevance between topics but also the logic between clauses under each topic.The function of discourse markers at the macro-level of interview is to mark the transitions between topics,like opening a topic,eontinuing the topic,digressing from the current topic,returning back to the prior topic,closing a topic and so cm.At the micro level,the function of discourse markers is to adjust clausal information,like elaborating the clause,extending the clause,enhancing the clause and so on.Secondly,discourse markers can mark attitudinal stance.Interviewing is a process of interaction and negotiation between diverse social positions and ideas.Therefore,the interlocutors frequently use discourse markers to project affect,convey judgement,regulate interpersonal relationship and mitigate the face threatening acts.The viewpoint of the thesis lies in that the interlocutors consciously choose different forms of language to convey both information and attitude to realize their communicative purpose.Based on some theoretical contributions,this thesis discusses the types and functions of discourse markers and try to put forward an analytical model for the study of discourse markers from the functional perspective.It enriches the theoretical study of discourse markers,and provides guidance for language teaching and acquisition as well as communication.