A Study of the Pragmatic Function of the Discourse Marker“Well” in American Sitcom

Li xiaofei

Abstract： As an indispensable part of daily communication， discourse markers have rich pragmatic functions. So， the position in the study of discourse markers has become increasingly prominent. This paper selects the dialogue in the sixth season of the famous sitcom Friends as a corpus， and analyzes the mainly pragmatic functions of the high frequency discourse marker “well”.

Key words： discourse marker; relevance theory; pragmatic function;

1 Introduction

Discourse markers are used very frequently in daily communication， with various pragmatic functions. Zhou Shujiang and Wang Hongqiang （2012） discussed the functional changes of discourse markers from referential to non-referential in the process of communication， and their senses from proportions to texts to interpersonal relationships. Cui Fengjuan （2015） analyzes the information， communication and textual functions of the court review text. Scholars have analyzed the function of “well” from different perspectives. However， author found that sitcoms have rich research resources to study pragmatic functions. This paper selects my favorite American drama friends as corpus， and analyzes pragmatic functions of discourse marker-”well”， which appeared frequently in the line.

2 Discourse Marker and Relevance Theory

Sperber and Wilson （1995） believe that communication is an ostensive-inferential process involving information intentions and communicative intentions. Ostensiveness and inference are two parts of the communicative process. For the speaker， communication is an ostensive process. The speaker always expresses his intention as clearly as possible， and makes his own words related to the situation at the time. For the hearer， he always sets the speakers discourse to be related to the communicative intention at the time. The information intention can combine and derive through the means， context， and cognitive context used by the discourse.

3 The pragmatic Functions of Discourse Marker

3.1 Interpersonal Function of Discourse Markers

3.1.1 Marker of face easing

When we encounter embarrassing situations in the process of communication， we will use some language means to save our face， and try to be polite. Discourse marker “well” is one of the language means. For example：

Rachel： I thought this might happen today. Rose. I know the holiday can be rough...and you know， and its probably hard for you to be alone right now.

Ross： Youre alone.

Rachel： No， I live with Phoebe. I mean， youre alone-alone， and its just not the time for us. Im sorry.

Ross： Oh， well. Cant blame a guy for a try.

Ross wanted to get back with Rachel， but he was rejected by Rachel. Ross used the discourse marker “well” to save his face， and said that he just tried it.

3.1.2 Markers of speech act delay

In actual conversations， the dialogue between the two parties will always pause for a variety of reasons. In this case， using the discourse marker “well” can give the speaker a short time to ease the atmosphere and then organize the language.

Chandler： Why havent you told them？！ Wouldnt they be happy？！

Monica： So， dinner in the kitchen around4. Ill see you then.

Chandler： Why wouldnt they be happy？

Monica： Well， because...mainly...they dont like you.

Monicas parents were going to Monicas house for a Thanksgiving party， but Monica didnt tell her parents about the relationship between them， Chandler asked why angrily， Monica used the discourse marker “well” to slow down the speed here， and then reorganizing the language.

3.1.3. Marker of emotional function

The understanding of well should be closely related to the context， especially to pay attention to the attitude or potential attitude of the speaker.

Ross：What was the one right before bananas？

Rachel： the beef. Yeah， that was weird to me too. but then ，you know， I thought “well， there is mincemeat pie”. I mean thats an English dessert.

Rachel is introducing her great dessert to joey and Ross， but the material was incorrect， so Rachel used the discourse marker “well” to express her helplessness.

3.2 Information Function of Discourse Marker

During the conversation， the speaker will inevitably have a misunderstanding of the meaning of others. At this time， it is necessary to manage such information barriers and let the listener make the least effort to understand the meaning.

Rachel： We are looking for our presents from Monica.

Chandler： What？ Thats terrible！

Phoebe： No， we do it every year.

Chandler： Oh. Well， that makes it not terrible.

Rachel and Phoebe are looking for a Christmas presents that Monica has prepared for them. Chandler feels bored about that behavior， but when he hears Phoebe say that they do it every year， this is their years habit， so Chandler can only modify the words to save the face of both sides.

By analyzing the pragmatic functions of “well”， a deeper understanding of this discourse marker can be realized. Not only is it beneficial to the audience to understand the line in Friends， but also meaningful for readers to read English articles.

Reference

[1]Zhou， Shujiang & Wang， Hongqiang. 2012. On the Grammaticalization Mechanism of Discourse Markers[J]. Foreign Language Teaching， 5， 41-44.

[2]Cui， Fengjuan & Yu， Cuihong. 2015. Pragmatic function of the discourse marker well in the trial discourse[J]. PLA Foreign Languages Institute， （2）：24-29.

[3]Sperber D. & Wilson D. 1995. Relevance： Communication & Cognition[M]. Oxford： Blackwell.