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<p>While considerable research has investigated distinctive discourse particles (e.g., <i>leh</i> and <i>lah</i>) in Colloquial Singapore English, less attention has been paid to more conventional discourse markers (DMs) in Standard Singapore English. Against this background, this study examines the usage of <i>actually</i> in contemporary spoken Singapore English, relying on the data from the Singapore component of the New Englishes Student Interviews (NESSI-SIN) corpus. We provide a comprehensive analysis of 344 instances of <i>actually</i> including their frequency, distribution, functions, positional preferences, and collocations with other DMs. The results reveal that <i>actually</i> exhibits a non-normal distribution, with seven functions identified. The three most prominent functions in spoken Singapore English are emphasis, comment, and counterexpectation. Those functions are significantly associated with the positional preferences and collocational patterns of <i>actually</i> in discourse. This study contributes to our understanding of the distribution and pragmatic functions of <i>actually</i> in contemporary spoken Singapore English.</p>

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Actually in Spoken Singapore English

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月8日

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  • Yating Tao,
  • Qizhong Chang

摘要

While considerable research has investigated distinctive discourse particles (e.g., leh and lah) in Colloquial Singapore English, less attention has been paid to more conventional discourse markers (DMs) in Standard Singapore English. Against this background, this study examines the usage of actually in contemporary spoken Singapore English, relying on the data from the Singapore component of the New Englishes Student Interviews (NESSI-SIN) corpus. We provide a comprehensive analysis of 344 instances of actually including their frequency, distribution, functions, positional preferences, and collocations with other DMs. The results reveal that actually exhibits a non-normal distribution, with seven functions identified. The three most prominent functions in spoken Singapore English are emphasis, comment, and counterexpectation. Those functions are significantly associated with the positional preferences and collocational patterns of actually in discourse. This study contributes to our understanding of the distribution and pragmatic functions of actually in contemporary spoken Singapore English.