A Variational Pragmatic Approach To Listener Response Tokens In English Academic Spoken Discourse

As a common phenomenon,listener response tokens or markers exist widely in daily communication,and they have attracted much attention from scholars.However,there are relatively few studies on listener response tokens in academic spoken discourse,especially from the perspective of variational pragmatics.This study,therefore,aims at investigating and comparing the frequency distribution and functions of different types of listener response tokens in the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English(MICASE)and the British Academic Spoken English(BASE).The study is conducted by using the data collected from the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English(MICASE)and the British Academic Spoken English(BASE),including 14 related transcripts of Humanities,Social Sciences and Education.Based on the taxonomy and functions of listener response tokens proposed by O’Keeffe & Adolphs(2008),the frequency distribution and functions of different types of listener response tokens in the selected data are carefully analyzed.To be specific,this study attempts to address the following questions:(1)What is the frequency distribution of different types of listener response tokens in MICASE and BASE? Is there a significant difference between different types of listener response tokens in MICASE and BASE?(2)What is the frequency distribution of the functions of listener response tokens in MICASE and BASE? Is there a significant difference between the functions of listener response tokens in MICASE and BASE?On the basis of the quantitative and the qualitative analysis,this study has yielded the following results:(1)By comparing the different types of listener response tokens in MICASE and BASE,it is found that the total number of response tokens in the selected data of MICASE is larger than that in BASE,and there is a significant difference between the selected data of MICASE and BASE in the total number of response tokens.In addition,in two corpora,the frequency distribution of six types of listener response tokens share some similarities.That is,single-word response tokens rank the highest,and it is followed by two-word,three-word,four-word,five-word and the six-word response tokens account for the lowest proportion.This may be due to the simplicity and understandability of response tokens which consist of one word.(2)Two-word,three-word,four-word,five-word and six-word response tokens are usually formed by permutation on the basis of various one-word tokens.(3)With regard to the functions of listener response tokens,the highest proportion in MICASE is the convergence tokens,and it is followed by continuer tokens and engagement tokens,and the information receipt tokens account for the lowest proportion.By contrast,in the selected data of BASE,the continuer tokens account for the highest proportion,and it is followed by the convergence tokens,engagement tokens and information receipt tokens.Theoretically,this study not only contributes to the understanding of response tokens produced by the interlocutors in academic spoken discourse,but can shed light on the future research of the response tokens in academic spoken discourse within the conceptual framework of variational pragmatics.Pedagogically,this study offers suggestions for the EFL/ESL teachers on how to train English learners oral English and to improve learners’ communicative and conversational skills,for instance,training them to actively grasp the important information and make timely response to speakers by using appropriate listener response tokens or markers.It can be helpful for Chinese students and scholars using English appropriately in international academic exchange.