Discourse Marker “but” in Political Interviews: A Socio-Pragmatic Comparative study

Utilising a self-compiled corpus of political interviews broadcast in English on CGTN's The Point with Lin Xin, the present study investigates the frequency and function of the discourse marker (DM) “but” employed by interviewees (IEs) from a socio-pragmatic perspective. Quantitative findings reveal statistically significant disparities in both the frequency and specific functions of the DM “but” utilised by IEs in divergent socio-pragmatic categories (e.g., cultural and linguistic features), and the qualitative analysis illustrates the multifunctionality of the DM “but”. Specifically, the study identifies functions such as contrast, topic, addition, concession, specification, monitoring, reformulation, conclusion, and approximation. IEs from the western culture and native English-speaking IEs use this marker, the “contrast” function, and the “ideational” domain statistically more than their counterparts, suggesting that cultural and linguistic backgrounds are potential factors influencing IEs’ deployment of the DM “but” in political interviews, advancing our understanding of how sociocultural factors shape the use of DMs. The findings have significant implications for the field of pragmatics and political communication, highlighting the importance of considering cultural and linguistic contexts in the analysis of political discourse.