Use of general extenders by German non-native speakers of English

Abstract

Based on a corpus of ca. 18 ½ hours of dyadic interactions between near-strangers, this paper investigates the use of general extenders (GEs) by native speakers of New Zealand English (NSNZE) and German (NSG) in terms of their forms and frequencies. The results are compared with the use of GEs produced by German non-native speakers of English (GNNSE). GEs are a group of pragmatic devices such as and things like that, or something, which have been associated with expressing epistemic modality and interpersonal politeness. The results of the study suggest that, while NSG use GEs more frequently than NSNZE, GE construction in English is more flexible than in German. Furthermore, GNNSE seem to transfer some NSG forms to English, creating non-native-like structures. An increased awareness of the native norms in terms of construction and use of GEs might help non-native speakers facilitate communication in cross-cultural interactions and establish interpersonal rapport.