An Analysis of Discourse Markers on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"

This research aimed to determine the type and function of discourse markers occur in spoken language, especially in public informal conversation, using Fraser's (2009) theory. The data were taken from a popular talk show entitled The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Falon. This research uses a descriptive qualitative method with five chosen episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Falon from February to April 2023. Based on the findings, four types of discourse markers and six functions of discourse markers were found in the data. The four types are contrastive marker, elaborative marker, inferential marker, and temporal marker. Meanwhile, the six functions are to signal contradictions, contrasts, or comparisons; to denote additive information or idea; to limit or introduce examples of ideas; to show cause-effect relationships; to conclude information or idea; to indicate the sequence of events, time orders, or logical divisions. The most used discourse markers were elaborative, and the most used function was to denote additive information or ideas. In contrast, contrastive markers were the most infrequently used discourse marker in the data. Moreover, the most infrequent function of discourse markers found in the data was to show cause-effect relationship since this shows belongs to light entertainment.