Analysis of Discourse Markers and Their Combinations in Nonnative Academic Writing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1506.26Keywords:
discourse markers, elaborative discourse markers, contrastive discourse markers, inferential discourse markers, temporal discourse markersAbstract
This study aimed to give a full account of discourse marker use in nonnative academic discourse. This study is a qualitative and quantitative investigation of discourse markers used in a corpus of 14 dissertations in applied linguistics from a Saudi university that uncovers the use patterns and DM combinations in abstracts, discussions, and conclusions. The model employed in the analysis was that of Fraser (2006), who classified discourse markers into four categories. The findings reveal a specific hierarchy of discourse use where elaborative discourse markers are the most frequent, followed by temporal discourse markers, contrastive discourse markers, and finally, inferential discourse markers. A notable tendency towards discourse marker clustering is also observed in the corpus.
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