Discourse Markers (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics) [Paperback]

Deborah Schiffrin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521357187 | ISBN-13: 978-0521357180 | Publication Date: February 26, 1988 | Edition: 1st Paperback Edition, 1988

Discourse markers--the particles oh, well, now, then, you know, and I mean, and the connectives so, because, and, but, and or --perform important functions in conversation and call for the rigorous analysis this study provides. Schiffrin's approach is interdisciplinary, within linguistics and sociology, and demonstrates that markers and the conversations in which they function can only be properly understood as an integration of structural, semantic, pragmatic, and social factors. The core of this book is a comparative analysis of markers within conversational discourse collected by Dr. Schiffrin during sociolinguistic fieldwork. The study raises a wide range of theoretical and methodological issues, and the insights it offers will be of great value to readers confronting the very substantial problem presented by the search for an adequate model of discourse.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1st Paperback Edition, 1988 edition (February 26, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521357187
• ISBN-13: 978-0521357180
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,574,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars WARNING, July 27, 2003

By 

Ryan Witte (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Discourse Markers (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics) (Paperback)

I had to warn everyone interested in purchasing this, because I NEVER return books I've purchased to the book store, and this one I did. I conducted extensive research on this exact linguistic phenomena, myself, and I can assure you that Schiffrin has no idea what she's doing. I actually read through some of the book in the store before taking it to the register, but it wasn't until I got about a quarter of the way in that I began to notice all the problems. Firstly, her test subjects are all from one (mostly Jewish) neighborhood, but her claim that she's interested in how members of the same community use discourse similarly to one another is IN NO WAY justified by her line of inquiry. On the contrary, it would seem more illustrative to me for her to have examined the phenomena in as WIDE a variety of subjects as possible. The book, as is, comes off as no more than an excuse for Schiffrin to sit around and gossip with a bunch of old ladies from her block. The real kicker, however, is that she uses HER OWN conversational dialogue as basis for her analysis! Even if she didn't know what aspects of discourse she'd be looking at most closely in her subsequent analysis, this is an unforgivable offense to legitimate research. Any halfway decent undergrad professor, if s/he'd seen this, would have told her to start over or write a different book.