Free-Standing Interjections as Turn-Initial Pragmatic Markers—Examples from American Sitcom The Big Bang Theory

Abstract

Interjections in everyday conversations routinely function as pragmatic markers, especially when they are used to initiate utterances. In turn-initial position, the overall incidence of interjections is higher than non-interjectional pragmatic markers, as shown in the data from an American sitcom The Big Bang Theory. In the light of Fraser’s “grammatical-pragmatic” approach to pragmatic markers, free-standing interjections are specifically discussed in the paper. Some instances of such “independent” interjections accord with what Fraser has defined as “basic markers”, while others not. Also, it is found in the data that some interjections of this kind can serve as “parallel markers”, or rather “vocative markers” and “speaker displeasure markers”. Moreover, considering the large percentage that utterance-followed interjections account for in the frequency calculation of turn-initial interjections, it is believed that this type of “dependent” (i.e. not free-standing) interjections is also worthy of research, though has not been covered in detail in this paper.