Preliminary Research on Discourse Markers and Politeness in the Spanish of the United States
Abstract
This preliminary study determines the dynamics of the discourse markers and politeness in sociolinguistic interviews among Spanish speakers living in the Chicago area. The analysis is based on theories of social relations and politeness strategies (Brown and Levinson, 1987 and Bravo, 1999). By analyzing the markers within the turn organization (i.e. beginning of the turn and during the turn development), this study revealed that speakers make use of three main types of markers: connectors, modals, and appellatives. The findings suggest that the selection of a marker maintains a close relationship with the speaker’s main goal in the conversation. Either, the speaker detaches himself/herself from the interlocutor or he/she gets close to him/her. Thus, the speaker employs mitigation or intensification strategies through various linguistic forms or pauses that appear with the marker or within the turn. This study with Spanish speakers living in the area of Chicago confirms, as other studies in Spanish, that the interaction between markers and politeness is conditioned to the context and the role of the speakers.
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