English Abstract
Abstract :
DMs have several characteristics as they are a feature of oral discourse only and occur in a high frequency orally. They are phonologically short and do not have a stable location in the syntactical structure. This study investigates how the discourse markers pair in structures in Bahraini Arabic. It examines the frequency of those DM structures and functions in a contrastive study comparing Bahraini Arabic and American English comedies. The study sample included two television works, one is Bahraini and one is American and it also includes 16 Bahraini participants responses in audio interviews to examine the DMs. The study aims to answer five questions: (1) What are the discourse markers structures in both the Bahraini Arabic and American English series?, (2) What is the frequency of the DM structures in both the Bahraini Arabic and American English comedies?, (3) What is the frequency of the functions of those structures in both the Bahraini Arabic and American English selected comedies?, (4) What are the similarities and differences between the DM functions in both Bahraini Arabic and American English series? (5) What are the discourse markers mentioned in audio interviews with a real Bahraini sample? The research method is mixed method and the research design used is content analysis research design. The approach used is the inductive approach. The principal findings reveal that the most used DM in the Bahraini television program is "بل" while "عاد" is the most prevalent in Bahraini interviews. Based on these results, recommendations for future research are presented. This study contributes novel insights into the structures, functions, and frequencies of DMs in Bahraini Arabic when compared to American English. The discovery of 56 Bahraini Arabic DMs is significant for a variety of reasons. It underscores the richness of the Arabic dialect in such detail that is underexplored in the literature. This paper will serve as a reliable source for future linguists who are interested in the Bahraini Arabic dialect. The comparison between the mentioned DMs and the American English DMs is crucial for comprehending cross-linguistic variation and communication dynamics highlighting similarities and differences. Based on the outcomes of the study, several recommendations are made for linguists. The results of the audio interviews do not match the results of the comedies, that could exaggerate the dialect for the comical effect. Therefore, the researchers could further investigate the DMs in real-life setting in Bahrain. Moreover, Longitudinal studies could investigate how DM usage evolve over time within the speaking community, providing insight into language change and sociocultural dynamics. The results also enable comparative studies to analyse the usage of the DMs across different dialects in the region, exploring cross-linguistic and cross-cultural variations in DMs patterns.
