Maryann Overstreet - University of Hawai`i, USA

This  paper  focuses  on  some  pragmatic  expressions  that  are  characteristic  of  informal  spoken English, their possible equivalents in some other languages, and their use by EFL learners from different  backgrounds.  These  expressions,  called  general  extenders  (e.g.  and  stuff,  or something), are shown to be different from discourse markers and to exhibit variation in form, function  and  distribution  across  varieties  of  English,  as  well  as  in  other  languages.  In  EFL contexts,  students  are  reported  to  use  fewer  pragmatic  expressions  and  a  smaller  range  of possible  forms.  They  also  tend  to  favor  expressions  more  often  associated  with  writing  and formal  speaking  (e.g.  and  so  on),  include  literal  translation  equivalents  from  their  first language  that  are  not  used  in  English  (e.g.  and, and,  and), or  used  only  in  restricted  contexts (e.g.  or  so),  and  often  seem  not  to  realize  that  some  forms  may  carry  negative  connotations (e.g. and blah, blah, blah). The possibility of fostering better pragmatic awareness among EFL students is discussed in terms of an explicit cross-linguistic focus on the forms and functions of pragmatic expressions.

general extender (GE), vague language, pragmatic expression, EFL, pragmatic awareness