Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

PRAGMATIC MARKERS

105

Pragmatic markers are a class of items which operate outside the structural limits

of the clause and which encode speakers’ intentions and interpersonal meanings.

Pragmatic markers include discourse markers, which indicate the speaker’s

intentions with regard to organising, structuring and monitoring the discourse 

(

Û

106

), stance markers, which indicate the speaker’s stance or attitude vis-à-vis

the message (

Û

111

), hedges, which enable speakers to be less assertive in

formulating their message (

Û

112

), and interjections, items which indicate

affective responses and reactions to the discourse (