Discourse Markers used by Non-native Speakers in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Abstract

Discourse markers are essential for organizing turn-taking, signaling links between ideas, and expressing complex meanings in spoken discourse. This subject of the study examined the discourse markers utilized by non-native speakers on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. This study employed a qualitative descriptive approach to determine the use of discourse markers, revealing the types and their roles. Using the theory of Biber et al. (1999), the data were collected from non-native speakers' utterance to identify the the types and functions of discourse markers. This study's results showed six types of discourse markers: various polite speech, hesitators, response forms, stance adverbials, linking adverbials, and interjections, which serve several functions. The researchers discovered discourse markers, which serve a function as a surprise expression, helping the speaker plan what he wants to say next, signaling an answer to the speaker that the message is being comprehended or received, expressing probability, and indicating the relationship between an utterance. This study has demonstrated how discourse markers manage and organize the non-native speaker's speech in order to help him and the host comprehend the information they wish to share as well as convey as the speaker or listener.