The Discourse Marker “So”

董欣

【Abstract】Discourse Marker have been a topic of research for decades under many different names. The present paper uses the methodology of relevance theory and presents an analysis of the functions of DM “so” with the transcript of 24 Chinese students in-class presentation in the 2018 Stylistics class in Central China Normal University with the help of Antconc.

【Key words】Discourse Marker; so; relevance theory; procedural meaning

1. Introduction

There is a type of linguistic elements in peoples spoken language which do not change the semantic function of the sentence but with high frequency. They can act as markers to exerts a unique discourse function and help the understanding of the information contained. They are lexical expressions like you know， I mean， well， and， so， etc. that are called Discourse Makers.

Although these words mentioned above seem to be generally regarded as DM in English， there is not a universally accepted definition of it. Despite that， it is widely acknowledged that DM mainly take pragmatic functions and should be viewed as a portion of the discourse information， integrally affecting the construction and interpretation of the discourse.Blakemore （2002）， held that DM signal a semantic relationship between utterances， was interested in only those which contained procedural meaning as opposed to conceptual meaning （Fraser， 1990）. Therefore， the most prominent feature of DM is its absence in altering the meaning.

Since the 1980s， there are two main theories in the research of DM： the Coherence Theory represented by Schffrin and the Relevance Theory represented by Blakemore （Yu Kun， 2018）. According to Blackmore （2003）， conceptual meaning and procedural meaning can be used to decode DM. Blakemore thinks that the purpose of studying DM is to describe how DM contribute to the understanding. Therefore， she believes that the use of relevance theory makes it easier to explain the psychological processes of both parties in the understanding of discourse. Similarly， she holds that DM do not affect semantic content but helps the listener to recognize the reasoning in the conversation by restricting the expression of the procedure meaning.

This paper concentrates the pragmatic functions of an individual DM “so”.

2. “So” as a DM in Chinese students Presentation

2.1 Research Object

Although researchers do not agree what falls under DM， it is accepted that they can be identified with two generally used criteria. First， if the DM is removed from the utterance， the semantic relationship between the elements remains the same. The second criterion is that without it， the grammaticality of the utterance must still be intact. （Fuller， 2003）

This paper use Antconc to analyse the transcript of 24 Chinese students in-class presentation in the 2018 Stylistics class in Central China Normal University with permission. There is a total of 287 “so” out of the 31593-word transcript. Based on the criteria mentioned above， some “so” are deleted from the material including examples as following：

（1） What made him so nervous is a mystery.

（2） Subject， object， predicate， and so on

（3） there are so many things in the world

（4） so much for the video

Among the “so” used as DM， there are mainly six functions.

2.2 Functions of “So”

2.2.1 Starting a new topic

According to the relevance theory， discourse should be relevant and coherent. it will violate the utterance if the speaker suddenly changes the topic or introducing a new topic. With “so”，the hearer is asked to make cognitive adjustment to his assumptions of context. Examples are as follows：

（5） So good morning everyone. We will introduce graphology.

（6） So， next， lets welcome my partner to talk about…

（7） So in terms of the meaning， it can be viewed relevantly as the smallest unit of …

In example （5）， the speaker uses “so” to begin the whole presentation. In example （6） and （7）， it is used to introduce another topic given by another or the same speaker.

2.1.2 Initiating a Conversation

Occasionally， the speaker will find it necessary to use “so” in discourse so as to naturally and smoothly signpost the hearer to join the conversation. In this way， he signs with procedural meaning and the hearer to make an adjustments to the cognitive context of discourse proceeding.Examples are as follows：

（8） So according to the first example， is there anyone whod like to revise the second and third sentence for us？

（9） So could you tell me what other umm rhetorical device is used in this sentence？

（10） A：Why？

B：It s a verb.

A：So why is a verb more active than a noun？

It can be clearly seen from example （8）-（10） that “so” is followed by a question or request with a rising intonation which is posted to the hearer， sometimes inserted by a parenthesis. Therefore， “so” is used as the sign of turn-taking， indicating the speaker is waiting for the response from the hearer.

2.2.3 Concluding

Schegloff and Sack （1973） believe that ending a topic includes three elements： closing sequence such as see you and goodbye; preclosing sequence such as alright and okay; and topic bounding sequence. From the examples below， we can see “so” can close a discourse by following conclusion sentences.

（11） I think all of you have got it. So， a subordinate clause can be the constituents of any other clauses as its clause elements like…

（12） So， according to the difference of the audience and interaction， we can find that t that the dialogue has more interaction than the monologue.

（13） So， by comparison， we can know the difference of using dynamic verbs↑ and static verbs. So， we are done with clause.

In example （11）-（13）， “so” is used when the speaker intends to conclude what he has said or infer from previous information， helping the hearer to interpret and capture the most important or at least the most conclusive information of the discourse. In addition， this happens sometimes with a parenthesis added between “so” and the concluding sentence

2.2.4 Explaining/Repeating What Has Been Said

“So” can also connect the contextual information with the information conveyed.It manifests a relationship of inference rather than result.（Blakemore，1988） The function of DM is not limited within demonstrating simple results but also reveal the interlocutors intention and the contents not clearly indicated. In other words， “so” function as a short-circuited elaboration， which occurs when one clause elaborates on the meaning of another by further specifying or describing it. （Lieven， 2012）

（14） Separation， in Chinese， it means分隔功能. So uh it is used to separate the connected or subsumed units. And then following is some examples.

（15） A： What is your name， Could please Tell me？

B： Chengyuan.

A： So you are chengyuan .

In example （14）， the speaker use “so” to lead to the English explanation of the terms mentioned before. In example （15）， speaker B use “so” and then repeat what speaker A has said in order to confirm.

2.2.5 Expressing Hesitation

In the process of communication， when an appropriate way to respond or continue the topic can not be found， the speaker has to show the hearer that there is something following with certain linguistic strategies，including the use of “so”. In this way， the speaker can avoid a long stop. Examples are as follows：

（16） Yeah， so and next is open punctuation.

（17） So um let conclude it.

2.2.6 Calling for Attention

This usage is rather rare. “so” is followed by an imperative sentence in order to call for attention as in example （22）.

（22） so cla：：ss， lets cntinue↑.

3. Conclusion

“So” is among the most popular DM in speech， making it particularly suited for an investigation of DM use. Based on the relevance theory， this paper analyzes its six pragmatic functions. From above， it can be noticed that there are a number of “so” in the output of Chinese students spoken English， contributing to the procedural meaning instead of the conceptual meaning， which can be of use to Chinese students to recognize their language ability and find ways to improve it.

However， I have not included the comparison with native speakers use of DM “so”， by which the misuse， underuse or overuse of “so” by Chinese students can be detected and possible ways to improve proposed. Therefore， further studies are expected.

References：

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