Functions of discourse micro-markers in spoken academic discourse in university setting

Abstract

The present article aims to study the nature of spoken academic discourse in English in university setting and looks particularly at the role of discourse micro-markers in the organization of discourse of a lecturer. English is used as a medium of instruction by non-native academic personnel delivering soft science lectures to international students. The theory provides an overview of contemporary linguistics on discourse markers, outlining the definitions and their functional characteristics. The empirical part of the study is based on the analysis of a case study and the quantitative discourse analysis of a corpus of academic lectures available online. Discourse markers, that are most frequently used in spoken discourse of a lecturer, are studied and the use and the role of ‘so’, ‘now’, ‘OK’, ‘well’, ‘however’, ‘therefore’ and ‘all right’ is investigated. The results of the study describe the functions of discourse markers in spoken academic discourse and show how discourse micro-markers help in understanding the structure and the thematic development of the discourse. / Keywords: spoken academic discourse, university setting, English as a medium of instruction, discourse micro-markers