| Author: | Zhang, Yi |
| Title: | “So” as a discursive weapon : a comparative study of its functional distribution in political debates by Charlie Kirk and student debaters |
| Degree: | M.A. |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Department: | Department of English and Communication |
| Pages: | 1 volume (unpaged) |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the functional distribution of the discourse marker "so" between conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and student debaters in political debates via Lam's (2022) six-functional categorization—namely, Framing, Linking, Consequential, Responsive, Processing and Turn Managing Functions. Quantitative findings based on transcripts of 25+K words from debated videos are backed up and clarified by qualitative interpretation corroborated with pertinent discourse theories to portray how this utterance particle is deployed as a discursive weapon. Quantitative results show significant differences in the distribution of four functionalities. While Charlie Kirk favours Framing and Consequential uses, the student debaters tend to have higher frequency in Linking and Responsive functions. By doing so, Charlie Kirk dominates topic control and frame debate terms, and student tend to focus on mutual communication. Thus, the findings of this research show that instead of a simple filler, the discourse marker "so" can be a discursive weapon that structures interaction and reinforces discourse power in political debates. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8857.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 1 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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