In the realm of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), the strategic utilization of discourse markers (DMs) holds immense significance for facilitating clear communication across various stakeholders, including clients and colleagues. This research primarily aimed to uncover the functions played by DMs in BPO communication, while also exploring the perspectives of BPO employees regarding their usage. By employing AntConc as a tool to analyze concordance and frequency, the study identified 22 frequently used discourse markers. Additionally, it found that these markers served distinct pragmatic functions, categorized into interpersonal, referential, structural, and cognitive based on a multi-categorical framework for discourse markers. Furthermore, the research utilized both in-depth interviews and focus group discussions involving 10 participants each. The findings revealed four essential themes pertaining to the utilization of DMs by BPO employees: clarity and understanding, seamless transitions, coherence, speech organization and management, and conversation flow and control. This study holds particular significance due to the scarcity of similar research in the Philippine context and contributes valuable insights to the existing body of related research.

pragmatic analysis

discourse markers

applied linguistics

Philippines

BPO communication