How Pragmatic Markers Influence Audience Perception in Public Speaking

Bekberganova Khilola

assistant teacher at Mamum University

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6025-9990

Ilhomov Izzatbek

Student at Mamun University

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7509-0889

Bekberganov Avazbek

assistant teacher at Mamun University

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3746-2647

Keywords: Key words: pragmatic markers, discourse, public presentation, audience interpretation, communication strategies

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Abstract

Pragmatic markers are regarded as significant linguistic items that are responsible for the interpersonal, textual, and cognitive structuring of oral discourse. In oral presentations, pragmatic markers determine the way audience members receive a speaker's confidence, naturalness, and emotional appeal. The paper discusses the role that pragmatic markers play in shaping audience perception through the presentation speeches of some selected speakers, namely, Barack Obama, Malala Yousafzai, and Steve Jobs. Based on the theory of discourse-pragmatics (Schiffrin, 1987; Fraser, 2009; Aijmer, 2013), the paper explains the way markers, for example, "well," "you know," "I mean," "so," and "actually," determine the audience's perception regarding speaker credibility, fluency, and empathy. The study findings are that pragmatic markers are not filler items but highly strategic linguistic items that promote the increase of coherence, rapport, and persuasion power in the oral presentation situation.
      

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References

1. Aijmer, K. (2013). Understanding pragmatic markers: A variational pragmatic approach. Edinburgh University Press.

2. Beeching, K. (2016). Pragmatic markers in British English: Meaning in social interaction. Cambridge University Press.

3. Brinton, L. J. (1996). Pragmatic markers in English: Grammaticalization and discourse functions. Mouton de Gruyter.

4. Fraser, B. (2009). An account of discourse markers. International Review of Pragmatics, 1(2), 293–320.

5. In N. Taguchi (Ed.), Pragmatic competence (pp. 99–120). Mouton de Gruyter.

6. Schiffrin, D. (1987). Discourse markers. Cambridge University Press.

7. Yousafzai, M. (2013, July 12). Speech at the United Nations Youth Assembly.

8. Obama, B. (2008, November 4). Yes We Can: Election victory speech.

Jobs, S. (2005, June 12). Stanford University commencement address.