The Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse Markers

This chapter deals with the semantic-pragmatic characterization of discourse markers. This long-debated question is first addressed by an overview of their classification within linguistic theories, focusing on the delimitation of the class and on the nature of their contribution, especially the articulation between their semantic and pragmatic meaning. We then present our own account proposing an analysis of a subclass of DMs – connectors – in French and Italian. To this aim, we adopt a textometric approach, combining qualitative observation with statistical calculations determining the preferred environment of connectors, i.e. the forms associated with them in a statistically significant way. This method reveals for instance similarities between connectors expressing different links, which can be interpreted as resulting from a common semantic trait, the involvement of the speaker in her utterance. These would remain undetectable within a qualitative approach.