Table 4.
Category | Discourse Markers | Explanation |
---|---|---|
Response Markers | Yeah, yes, right, oh yeah, oh yeah?, oh sure enough |
Indicative of a response to previous discourse with expectation of continuation of the old topic and previous speaker |
Negative Response Markers | oh geez, oh boy, shoot, uh oh, imagine that |
Response Markers that indicate a negative response to previous discourse |
Evaluative Response Marker |
oh good, good, very good right, wow, that’s wonderful, I see, you’re right, perfect, excellent, it’s okay, very interesting, that’s alright |
Response marker that acts to evaluate the previous discourse |
Attention Markers | Then, now, let’s see, so | Indicate that attention should be turned to the speaker’s utterance |
Attention Markers of Disagreement |
well, but, I mean, course, actually, or, but |
Indicate that attention should be turned to the speaker’s utterance, which will be a disagreement move |
Topic Shifters | Kay, mkay, nkay (we coded these as English because of their phonological characteristics), alright, okey dokey, basically |
Indicate movement from an old topic to a new topic |
Floor Shifters | Right?, kay? | Indicate turning the floor over to a new speaker |