Discourse markers in writing

Abstract

Words like well, oh, and you know have long been observed and studied in spontaneous speech. With the proliferation of on-line dialogues, such as instant messaging between friends or back-and-forth postings at websites, there are increasing opportunities to observe them in spontaneous writing. In Experiment 1, the interpretation of discourse markers in on-line debates was compared to proposed functions of those markers identified in other settings. In Experiment 2, the use of discourse markers in spontaneous speech was compared to their uses in spontaneous writing. Results support the conclusion that although they vary in frequency in spoken versus written domains, discourse markers are used similarly across domains, but with particular communicative functions that make them non-interchangeable.

Wait Signals Predict Sarcasm in Online Debates

“…When coupled with said sarcastically, and grouped with other interjections, written wells found in books were predictive of sarcasm (Caucci & Kreuz, 2012). However, when 605 turn-initial wells in spontaneously-written debates were compared to unmarked turns, those marked by well were not more sarcastic (Fox Tree, 2015).…”

The Impact of Implicit Instruction upon the Use of English Discourse Markers in Written Tasks at the Advanced Beginners’ Level of EFL Proficiency

“…There is a wealth of previous research literature dealing with DMs from the perspectives of linguistics, applied linguistics, and EFL studies (Schiffrin, 1987;Kyratzis and Ervin-Tripp, 1999;Fox Tree andSchrock, 1999, 2002;Andersen, 2001;Iglesias Moreno, 2001;Morell, 2004;Hellermann and Vergun, 2007;Buysse, 2010Buysse, , 2012Polat, 2011;Liu, 2013;Babanoğlu, 2014;Fox Tree, 2015). Judging from the literature it is possible to distinguish two broad approaches towards the definition of DMs depending on whether or not DMs are viewed as a phenomenon associated with oral discourse or both oral and written discourse.…”

“…Another approach towards the classification and definition of DMs involves the consideration that DMs constitute a feature of oral as well as written discourse (Fraser, 1990;Morell, 2004;Hellermann and Vergun, 2007;AlbaJuez, 2009;Fox Tree, 2015). For instance, Morell (2004: 324) considers DMs to be textual units that facilitate comprehension of an oral and/or written text.…”

Untitled

“…Another approach towards the classification and definition of DMs involves the consideration that DMs constitute a feature of oral as well as written discourse (Fraser, 1990;Morell, 2004;Hellermann and Vergun, 2007;AlbaJuez, 2009;Fox Tree, 2015). For instance, Morell (2004: 324) considers DMs to be textual units that facilitate comprehension of an oral and/or written text.…”

“…There is a wealth of previous research literature dealing with DMs from the perspectives of linguistics, applied linguistics, and EFL studies (Schiffrin, 1987;Kyratzis and Ervin-Tripp, 1999;Fox Tree andSchrock, 1999, 2002;Andersen, 2001;Iglesias Moreno, 2001;Morell, 2004;Hellermann and Vergun, 2007;Buysse, 2010Buysse, , 2012Polat, 2011;Liu, 2013;Babanoğlu, 2014;Fox Tree, 2015). Judging from the literature it is possible to distinguish two broad approaches towards the definition of DMs depending on whether or not DMs are viewed as a phenomenon associated with oral discourse or both oral and written discourse.…”