< Back to previous page

Project

Pragmatic markers in native and non-native Englishes: A study into the use of and attitudes to pragmatic markers

The project is set to contribute to our understanding of the use of pragmatic markers (such as so, well, you know, like) by three different types of language users: native speakers of English, learners of English as a foreign language whose mother tongue is Dutch, and speakers who use English as a means of communication on a day-to-day basis. Its main research objective is to compare these three types of speakers of English in terms of their: (i) use of pragmatic markers, (ii) conceptions of pragmatic markers, and (iii) attitudes to pragmatic markers and their self-perception of how they use them themselves. To this end, a mixed-methods approach will be used. For each of the speaker profiles corpus data will be gathered in the form of peer group interactions, and subsequently the incidence of pragmatic markers in the corpus will be analysed quantitatively as well as qualitatively. These findings will be enriched with data gathered through a survey, in which the attitudes to pragmatic markers, and the self-perception of use will be solicited from the speakers who participated in the interactions.

Date:1 Oct 2017 →  22 Sep 2021
Keywords:linguistics, pragmatic markers, pragmatics
Disciplines:Theory and methodology of literary studies, Linguistics, Theory and methodology of linguistics, Other languages and literary studies
Project type:PhD project