The Relevance of Discourse Connectors in Some Political Newspaper Articles

The present study seeks to examine the relevance of discourse connectors in some political newspaper articles in the English and French print media. It identifies the types of discourse connectors used in both media, and analyses their semantico-pragmatic effects in a text. In a bid to achieve the said aim, the Relevance Theory propounded by Wilson and Sperber (1986/1995), was used as analytical framework. To this effect, the corpus consisted approximately of four hundred thousand (400,000) words, drawn from four hundred (400) political articles. Using the descriptive statistics method, involving a digital humanities tool (AntConc) the data were classified into tables, bars and pie charts. The study revealed discourse connectors play crucial role in political newspaper articles. They guide readers through the narrative, clarifying relationships between different pieces of information. They can signal shifts in argumentation, contrasting viewpoints or conclusions, which helps to frame writer’s position and can influence the reader’s perception of the argument’s strength. They equally help to establish temporal and causal links, allowing readers to understand the sequence of events and the rationale behind political decisions. Effective use of discourse connectors can enhance reader engagement by creating a more dynamic and interactive reading experience.