Discourse Marker Construction
Pattern
Frozen phrase→discourse function — grammaticalized transition signal
Definition
A phrase that has grammaticalized into a discourse management function — signaling transitions, attitudes, or relationships between utterances rather than contributing propositional content.
Examples
Example 1
At the end of the day, what matters is results. 'At the end of the day' functions as a discourse marker meaning 'ultimately' — its literal temporal meaning is absent.
AI Detection Note
AI heavily relies on discourse marker constructions: 'in other words', 'that said', 'it's worth noting', 'importantly'. The density and formulaic nature of these markers is a strong AI signal — human writers use fewer and more varied transitions.
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