A Corpus-based Study Of The Pragmatic Marker "I Think"

Pragmatic markers are the words or phrases which can provide information for the interpretation of the utterance in communication(Ran,2000).In English,“I think” is one of the most frequently used pragmatic markers,which plays a variety of pragmatic functions in communication.With the development of pragmatics,more and more linguists focus on the pragmatic value of language.The present study explores the relationship between pragmatic markers and the contexts and investigates different meanings and functions of pragmatic markers in different contexts.The British National Corpus(BNC)has more than 100 million words based on a wide range of written and spoken language of native speakers.The written corpora account for 90%and the spoken corpora account for 10%.The present study uses the British National Corpus and selects the text types of “public debate” and “broadcast news” as selected corpora and analyzes the frequencies,positions,and collocations of the pragmatic marker “I think” in different text types.It also explores the meanings and functions of the pragmatic marker “I think” in the selected text types,public debate and broadcast news.The study uses both quantitative and qualitative analysis to make it reliable.It intends to explore the following questions: 1)Are the frequencies of the pragmatic marker “I think” in public debate and in broadcast news similar or different? 2)Are the collocations of the pragmatic marker “I think”in public debate and in broadcast news similar or different? 3)Are the positions of the pragmatic marker “I think” in public debate and in broadcast news similar or different? 4)Are the functions of the pragmatic marker “I think” in public debate and in broadcast news similar or different?Through research and analysis,the main findings are as follows:1)It is found out that the frequencies of the pragmatic marker “I think” are significantly different in different text types.Among those,the pragmatic marker “I think” uses mostfrequently in public debate.The frequency of the pragmatic marker “I think” in broadcast news is less than that in public debate.2)It is found out that the collocations of the pragmatic marker “I think” in public debate and in broadcast news are quite similar.3)It is found out that the positions of the pragmatic marker “I think” in public debate and in broadcast news are similar.Both in public debate and in broadcast news,“I think” is frequently used in the initial part but is seldom used in the final part.4)It is also found out that the pragmatic functions of“I think” as a pragmatic marker have both similarities and differences in public debate and in broadcast news.The similarity is that “I think” has pragmatic functions of “expressing certainty” in these two text types.However,in public debate,“I think” has functions of“expressing subjectivity,evaluation,certainty and uncertainty”,“turn taking” and “making online planning”.In broadcast news,the pragmatic marker “I think” has functions of“showing certainty,authority or knowledgeability”,“highlighting and supportive”,and “to deliver a planned and predictable opinion”.The present study reveals the influence of contextual factors,such as the occasion of conversation,the identity and social relations of the speakers,and the purpose of the conversation,on the use and pragmatic functions of the pragmatic marker “I think” and leads to the conclusion that the pragmatic marker indeed has a meaning potential,rather than a fixed meaning.The use of pragmatic markers is an important reflection of the pragmatic competence of English foreign language learners.The study on the use and pragmatic function of the pragmatic marker “I think” also provides a reference for English foreign language learners to make use of the pragmatic marker “I think” and it will also contribute to the functional tagging of pragmatic markers on the corpus.