Functioning of discourse markers with indefinite meaning

The article presents the research of most frequently used discourse markers which possess semantic indefiniteness. Discourse markers are interpreted as auxiliary language means which help communicators during the processes of discourse generation, actualization and perception. The research is based on Russian and English academic and mass-media speech, the materials of the National Russian Corpus and the personal card-catalogue of the author. Discourse markers belong to different parts of speech, although they may be combined into one word class on the basis of their mutual functions connected with communication management and organization. We regard discourse markers as the units of a pragmatic level which may have different meaning and structure and are characterized by the deficient denotative meaning. The semantic structure of discourse markers is, on the one hand, vague and indistinct, but, on the other hand, combined and synthetic. Indefiniteness of discourse markers is studied in linguo-theoretical and orthological aspects and is defined as indiscreteness of their meanings; therefore these words acquire rather broad usage. Inexact and vague meanings are a result of their full or partial desemantization. The article analyses the indefinite character of the following discourse markers: dostatochno; na samom dele; sobstvenno govorya; delo v tom, chto; khorosho, okay, like, right, well, so, you know, sort of, like, I mean. One group of discourse markers with indefinite meanings (khorosho; na samom dele; delo v tom, chto; okay; like; I mean and others) demonstrate a broad variety of functions. Indefiniteness of meaning of other discourse markers results in their too frequent and inappropriate use and, therefore, they turn into junk words. However, the opposite tendency is also possible: abundant use leads to desemantization and indefiniteness of meaning, because what is used too often loses both its importance and its meaning. Many discourse markers (for example, na samom dele) acquired indefinite meanings because they became fashionable in usage: their abundant use brought about the loss of their original meaning. Indefiniteness is a characteristic feature of many discourse markers both in English and Russian. Using words with indefinite meaning, a speaker saves time and mental efforts to find the exact word. In some cases usage of such words does not do any harm to communication and even is the only possible means of nomination in each case of their occurrence. However, in most cases linguists regard indefiniteness as an expression of carelessness towards the language and the conversation partner (reader), that is the low level of speech competence. Such indefiniteness results in the risk of the deterioration of the language system.

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