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Article published In: The Speech Act(ion) of Commenting in Social Media and Beyond
Edited by Robert Külpmann and Rita Finkbeiner
[Pragmatics & Cognition 31:2] 2024
► pp. 391–420

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The functions of “I think” in TED Talks and their Turkish translations

A corpus-based study

ORCiD logo with link | Kırıkkale University
Published online: 17 January 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.24006.cel
Abstract
This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the pragmatic marker “I think” and its translation into Turkish, specifically focusing on its use in TED Talks. Using a corpus-based approach, the research investigates the various functions and Turkish equivalents of “I think”, revealing significant insights into its role as a commenting speech action. Grounded in speech act theory, particularly expositive illocutionary acts, the study emphasizes the illocutionary pluralism of “I think” in managing discourse, expressing speaker attitudes, and engaging interlocutors. The findings highlight the high frequency and critical role of “I think” in spoken English, its function as a commenting speech action in maintaining discourse coherence, and the notable translation choices in Turkish, such as bence ‘in my opinion’ and sanırım ‘I suppose/I assume’. This study contributes to pragmatics by enhancing our understanding of the illocutionary pluralism of “I think” vis-à-vis its translation strategies.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1The functions and classifications of “I think” as a pragmatic marker
    • 2.2The translation of pragmatic markers, with a focus on “I think”
    • 2.3The translation of “I think” in Turkish
  • 3.Understanding “I think” as a commenting speech action
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Corpus description
    • 4.2Annotation method
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1Functions of “I think” in English TED Talks
    • 5.2Translation equivalents of “I think” in Turkish
    • 5.3The functions of “I think” and their equivalents in Turkish
      • 5.3.1Booster function
      • 5.3.2Shield function
      • 5.3.3Structural function
      • 5.3.4Approximator function
      • 5.3.5Untranslated instances of “I think”
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1Reconsidering “I think” as a commenting speech action
    • 6.2Turkish translations and commenting speech action
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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