Words and meaning

The following list describes some of the more common conversation management discourse markers and some of their more common uses. It is intended to help you to notice and analyse how these are used when you listen to people speaking; it is not a direct teaching tool as examples need to be studied in real contexts.

well

· to express reservation about what we or someone else has

· to show that we are considering what someone else has said.

· to indicate that we are thinking and don't want to be interrupted.

· to indicate that we are taking up the topic that is already under discussion.

OK

· to invite someone else to come into a conversation.

· to show that we are taking up an invitation to come into a conversation.

· to mark the end of a stage of discussion.

· to mark the beginning of a stage of discussion.

Right

· to show that we accept an objection or reservation.

· to make a tentative gesture towards finishing a topic or conversation.

· • to show that we understand or agree.

· to check that people understand or agree.

· to show that someone's assumptions are correct.

· invite someone else to come into a conversation.

· to show that we are taking up an invitation to come into a conversation or are claiming our turn.

· to mark the end of a stage of discussion.

· to mark the beginning of a stage of discussion.

· to show that we accept an objection or reservation.

· to make a tentative gesture towards finishing a topic or conversation.

you know

· to create an atmosphere of intimacy or solidarity.

· to suggest that the listener is already familiar with the topic or opinion.

· to invite people to confirm that they understand or are in agreement.

· to initiate conversation after a period of silence.

I mean

· to indicate a high degree of personal involvement in what we are talking about - to show that we are expressing personal opinions or feelings.

· to express indignation and invite a sympathetic response.

· to prevent someone from interrupting.

So

· to show that we are getting back to the main topic after a digression.

· to claim a pause before beginning a new topic.

· to indicate that what we are going to say is related to what we (or someone else has just said).

Actually

· to show that we about to refute or disagree with something that has been said.

· to show that we are refuting or disagreeing with something that has just been said.

· to show that we are initiating a topic that is related to what we have been talking about.

Anyway

· to show that we are getting back to the main topic after a digression.

· to introduce an opinion which is held despite reservations we have expressed or objections that have been made.

· to show that we want to end a conversation.

Preparatory discourse markers

Preparing for something unwelcome

We use discourse markers to alert people that we’re about to tell them something they may not like, e.g. I’m afraid; (I’m) sorry.

We often use I’m afraid to soften what we are going to say, for example, when we tell people things that we think will be unwelcome, that we think will make them feel disappointed or angry.

I’m afraid I can’t come round tonight after all.

I’m afraid you’ll have to take the examination all over again.

We generally don’t use sorry to express this ‘softening’ function.

We use sorry or I’m sorry when we are disagreeing with what someone has said or when we are criticising them:

Sorry, but I think your attitude is unacceptable.

Learners sometimes misunderstand this, thinking that sorry always functions as a way of apologising.

We often use but after sorry (as in the example above), but never after I’m afraid.

Introducing strong points of view

As well as softening the effect of what we want to say, we also sometimes want to reinforce it. We can use honestly and frankly for this purpose. ‘Gone with the Wind’ illustrates this with one of the most famous lines in any film:

Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16