A pragmatic function study of the discourse marker "I mean" in Friends

This paper examines the discourse marker "I mean" in the first season of Friends, exploring its pragmatic functions within dialogues. Analysis reveals that "I mean" facilitates politeness, moderates tone, and enhances identification, while also serving functions such as clarification, correction, emphasis, and supplementation. These functions support coherence and interaction, underscoring the marker's role in promoting dialogue fluency. The findings highlight how "I mean" contributes to character interactions and provide insights for learners on the pragmatic use of discourse markers in communication.