Markers of argumentation in intercultural professional discourse
Stanca Măda | Transilvania University of Brasov (Romania)
In this paper I explore the potential of studying the linguistic surface of professional dialogic comments for the purposes of identifying markers of argumentative moves. Argumentative markers can be any single or complex lexical expression as well as a discursive configuration whose presence in a given utterance marks that utterance or the one preceding/following it, or a larger piece of discourse as having a certain argumentative function. Examples taken from an English corpus highlight the variety of discourse markers used for creating convincing arguments, seeking for and expressing agreement, and expressing disagreement and contrast in professional encounters. Some of the findings shed light on the differences in the use of argumentative discourse markers by native and non-native speakers of English.
References (17)
References
Beamer, Linda, and Iris Varner. 2008. Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace. (4th ed.). Boston, New York, London: McGraw Hill.
Boxtel, Carla van. 2000. Collaborative Concept Learning: Collaborative Learning Tasks, Student Interaction, and the Learning of Physics Concepts. Unpublished PhD thesis, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Carter, Ronald, and Michael McCarthy. 2006. Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coposescu, Liliana, and Gabriela Chefneux. 2008. Institutional Talk and Intercultural Communication in Multinational Companies: Corpus of Spoken Interactions in English. Braşov: Editura Universităţii Transilvania din Braşov.
Coșeriu, Eugen. 2000. Lecții de lingvistică. Bucureşti: Arc.
Eemeren, Frans H. van. 1996. Fundamentals of Argumentation Theory: A Handbook of Historical Backgrounds and Contemporary Developments. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Eemeren, Frans H. van, Peter Houtlosser, and Arnolda Francisca Snoeck Henkemans. 2007. Argumentative Indicators in Discourse. A Pragma-Dialectical Study. Argumentation Library Series. Vol. 12. Dordt: Springer. 

Eemeren, Frans H. van, Rob Grootendorst, and Tjark Kruiger. 1987. Handbook of Argumentation Theory: A Critical Survey of Classical Backgrounds and Modern Studies. Providence: Foris.
Fraser, Bruce. 1999. “What Are Discourse Markers?” Journal of Pragmatics 31 (7): 931–952 

Johnstone, Barbara. 1989. “Linguistic Strategies and Cultural Styles for Persuasive Discourse.” In Language, Communication, and Culture: Current Directions, ed. by Stella Ting-Toomey, and Felipe Korzenny, 139–156. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Law, Nancy, Jingyan Lu, J. Leng, J. Yuen, and M. Lai. 2008. “Understanding Knowledge Building from Multiple Perspectives.” Paper presented at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Necula, Gina. 2006. “Linguistic Patterns as Means of Persuasion.” Internet-Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften 16. Available at [URL].
Saab, Nadira, Wouter R. van Joolingen, and Bernadette H.A.M. van Hout-Wolters. 2005. “Communication in Collaborative Discovery Learning.” British Journal of Educational Psychology 75 (4): 603–621. 

Scardamalia, Marlene, and Carl Bereiter. 2006. “Knowledge Building: Theory, Pedagogy, and Technology.” In Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences, ed. by Keith Sawyer, 97–118. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Schiffrin, Deborah. 1994. Approaches to Discourse. Oxford: Blackwell.
Tseronis, Assimakis. 2011. “From Connectives to Argumentative Markers: A Quest for Markers of Argumentative Moves and of Related Aspects of Argumentative Discourse.” Argumentation 25 (4): 427–447. 
