Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics
discourse marker (also discourse particle)
Linguistic devices that help structure discourse. Among such markers are expressions that are equivalent to sentences such as uh (
interjection), syntactic constructions such as left dislocation ( left vs right dislocation) and syntactically integrated expressions such as adjuncts or conjunctions. Discourse markers have many functions, some of which overlap. In (a) turn-taking, they help structure the turn (e.g. well in first position and you know in final position), indicate the end of a turn (e.g. uh) ( back channel), or order the next speaker’s turn (e.g. when the current speaker uses a tag question like right?). In (b) topic management, discourse markers foreground a topic (e.g. with syntagms like concerning X or left dislocation) or indicate that the current speaker is digressing from the current topic (e.g. with displacement markers like by the way). Discourse markers also (c) indicate the speaker’s attitude (e.g. with attitudinal disjuncts ( disjunction), or (d) help organize the overall discourse structure, e.g. by indicating the beginning or end of paragraphs or sequences (e.g. with first, then, finally, and then). ( also discourse analysis)
References
Abraham, W. (ed.) 1990. Discourse particles. Amsterdam.
——(ed.) 1991a. Discourse particles: descriptive and theoretical investigations on the logical, syntactic and pragmatic properties of discourse particles in German and English. Amsterdam.
——(ed.) 1991b. Discourse particles across languages. Berlin and New York.
Ameka, F. (ed.) 1992. Interjections (special issue of Journal of Pragmatics) 18. 101–301.
Fraser, B. 1990. An approach to discourse marker. JPrag 14.
383–95.
Labov, W. and D.Fanshel. 1977. Therapeutic discourse. New York.
Maynard, S.K. 1986. On back-channel behavior in Japanese and English casual conversation. Linguistics 24. 1079–108.
Redeker, G. 1990. Ideational and pragmatic markers of discourse structure. JPrag 14. 367–81.
Sacks, H. and E.Schegloff. 1973. Opening up closings. Semiotica 8. 289–327.
Sacks, H., E.Schegloff, and G.Jefferson. 1974. A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking in conversations. Lg 50. 696–735.
Schiffrin, D. 1987. Discourse markers. Cambridge.
Wierzbicka, A. (ed.) 1992. Journal of Pragmatics, special issue on particles. 10. 519–645.
back channel, conversation analysis, discourse analysis, particle
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