Coherence and Cohesion in English Discourse

2 Previous research on the marker 
I mean
 
This section undertakes to show how the marker 
I mean
is viewed in some 
recognized grammars and by scholars whose work is considered most relevant 
for the investigation.
Although the clausal form 
I mean
can be labelled by different terms, it is often 
discussed together with comment clauses (CCs) (cf. Leech and Svartvik 1994, 
Crystal 1995, Stenström 1995, Biber et al. 1999). Quirk et al. (1985: 1112-1118), 
who, in my opinion, provide the most comprehensive classification of CCs of 
all, do not list 
I mean
together with other CCs. They refer to it only when dealing 
with reformulation, as a means of ‘mistake editing’ used “in order to correct 
a phonological or semantic mistake (which is common enough in impromptu 

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speech)” (ibid.: 1313), for which they provide two examples. One of them – 
Then 
you add the peaches – I mean, the apricots – 
clearly shows 
I mean
in the function 
of ‘mistake editing’, since it follows an obvious mistake. However, such clear 
examples have been very difficult to find in my data. The other example Quirk et 
al. (1985: 1112-1118) offer – 
The first thing, 
I mean
 the first thing to remember is 
that – 
introduces something that can be considered clarification or reformulation 
rather than ‘editing a mistake’ and represents a much more common use of 
I 
mean.
(For the possible pragmatic functions of 
I mean
recognized in this chapter, 
cf. Sections 4 and 5 below.)
I mean
can be also listed among 
fillers such as 
you know, you see, kind of
and 
sort of
, which are typical of informal discourse and used when we speak “to 
allow us to think of what next to say, or just to indicate that we intended to go on 
talking” (Leech and Svartvik 1994: 10-19). Fillers, also called discourse items 
by the authors, are put under three headings, indicating a scale from ‘purely 
interactive’ (characteristic of conversation) to ‘also interactive’ functions (more 
grammatical and used in public speaking and writing). 
I mean
, together with 
some CCs, is placed somewhere in the middle of the scale and regarded as a 
‘mainly interactive’ discourse item.
According to Biber et al. (1999) 
I mean
can also be viewed as