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Article published In:
Pragmatics
Vol. 31:4 (2021) ► pp.617–646

The development of interlanguage pragmatic markers in alignment with role relationships

ORCID logo | South China Agricultural University
| South China Agricultural University
| South China Agricultural University

Studies on the development of interlanguage pragmatic markers (PMs) have attracted increasing interest recently. However, little research is available on the PM dynamic development in alignment with English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classroom contexts. Given the lacuna, this article, based on the Complexity and the Alignment theories, investigates how PMs develop and how aligning with film-situated un/equal role relationships influences development. The study with eight data collection points tracks 28 EFL learners’ PM production over around 1.5 year. Results revealed: (1) the employed PM functions fluctuated but developed from singular to multiple, with the interpersonal function use being regressive and the structural and the cognitive, progressive; (2) the PM development manifested a significant gain in aligning with the equal role relationships; and (3) different proficiency learners had dissimilar PM development. These findings corroborate the view of context-dependent dynamic development and provide strong evidence for aligning EFL learning with various role relationships.

Keywords: dynamic development, interlanguage pragmatic markers, context-dependence, un/equal role relationships, alignment, complexity theory, learning process
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Functions of PMs and their dynamic development in EFL studies
    • 2.1Functions of PMs and their empirical studies
    • 2.2Complexity theory and dynamic development in interlanguage PM studies
  • 3.Situational alignment
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Design
    • 4.2Participants
    • 4.3Materials and tools
    • 4.4Procedure
    • 4.5Data collection and analysis
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1The overall picture of interlanguage PM development
    • 5.2Dynamic changes and development of interlanguage PM functions
      • 5.2.1The frequencies and functions of ‘yeah’
      • 5.2.2The frequencies and functions of ‘well’
      • 5.2.3The frequencies and functions of ‘you know’
    • 5.3The influence of types of role relationships on the learning of interlanguage PMs
    • 5.4Differences between the subgroups in the use of interlanguage PMs
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1The dynamic development in the frequencies and functions of interlanguage PMs
    • 6.2Influence of types of role relationships on the use of interlanguage PMs
    • 6.3Subgroups’ differences in the frequencies and functions of interlanguage PMs
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
Published online: 23 July 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.20013.xia
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