In Palestinian coffee houses and family courtyards, storytellers have guided audiences through epic tales for centuries — pivoting between ideas, adding surprising facts, contrasting expectations, and drawing everything to a satisfying close. They did it without bullet points, without slides, without a script. They did it with discourse markers. At C1 level, these small but powerful words and phrases are what separate “correct English” from “fluent English”. Once you understand how they work, you start to hear them everywhere — and use them naturally in your own speech and writing.
What are discourse markers?
A discourse marker is a word or phrase that organises and connects stretches of speech or writing. It doesn’t change the core meaning of a sentence — it signals the relationship between ideas: that you’re adding something, contradicting something, explaining, sequencing, or wrapping up. They are the signposts that help a listener follow your thinking in real time.
However, besides, in other words, and all in all are discourse markers. but, and, because are conjunctions. Both are useful, but discourse markers are what give C1 speech its characteristic flow and authority.
The main categories at a glance
| Function | Key markers | Register | Quick example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adding information | furthermore, what's more, besides, in addition, not only that |
formal / neutral / informal | The library is free; what’s more, it’s open until midnight. |
| Contrasting | on the other hand, having said that, whereas, nevertheless, even so |
neutral / formal | He was tired. Having said that, he still finished the marathon. |
| Explaining / rephrasing | in other words, that is to say, to put it differently |
neutral / formal | The site was inaccessible — in other words, the server had crashed. |
| Surprising information | in fact, actually, as a matter of fact |
neutral | She claims to dislike poetry. In fact, she recites it from memory. |
| Changing / returning to topic | anyway, by the way, as I was saying, incidentally |
informal / neutral | Anyway, back to what we were discussing earlier… |
| Giving reasons / justifying | after all, in any case, given that |
neutral / formal | Ask her — after all, she designed the whole system. |
| Summarising | all in all, on the whole, to sum up, in short |
neutral / formal | All in all, it was a remarkably productive week. |
| Introducing a topic | as regards, regarding, as far as … is concerned |
formal | As regards funding, the committee has not yet decided. |
| Sequencing | to begin with, subsequently, in the meantime, eventually |
neutral / formal | To begin with, we collected the oral testimonies; subsequently, we transcribed them. |
| Consequence / condition | otherwise, as a result, consequently |
neutral / formal | The scripts were lost; consequently, the whole project stalled. |
🍃 The storytellers of Palestine: where discourse markers live
Long before the word “discourse marker” appeared in any grammar book, Palestinian storytellers were masters of them. Understanding how they structured their stories illuminates exactly why these linguistic tools exist.
The Hakawati and the Hikaye
Palestine has two great oral storytelling traditions. The hakawati — the public male storyteller — performed in coffee houses and on rooftops, splitting his audience into rival “teams” to heighten the drama. His female counterpart, the hakawatia, told stories at home: intimate gatherings of women and children on winter evenings. These traditions predate radio and television; they were how a community transmitted history, values, and humour across generations.
The women’s tradition is called hikaye (حكاية, meaning “story” or “tale”) and was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. Researchers have recorded that almost every Palestinian woman over 70 is, or was, a storyteller in this tradition. The tales are told in Palestinian dialect — either the rural fallahi or the urban madani — and rely heavily on language, emphasis, speech rhythm, and vocal inflection to hold a listener’s attention. In other words, they rely on exactly the tools that discourse markers provide.
Kan ya makan — the original discourse opener
Every hikaye begins with the phrase كان يا مكان (kan ya makan), which translates roughly as “there was and there was not” — a beautifully ambiguous opener that signals: we are stepping into a story, leave the everyday behind. It is a discourse marker in the deepest sense: it shifts the register, frames what follows, and sets listener expectations. English equivalents might be “To begin with, I want to tell you something…” or “Now, as for what happened next…”
Coffee as conversation architecture
Palestinian hospitality is inseparable from qahwa — Arabic coffee, served in a small cup called a finjan. Coffee is the first thing a guest receives, often poured from a traditional brass breek with the grounds settled at the bottom. Refusing the cup can feel like refusing the welcome itself. As regards the conversational role of this ritual: the small cup signals that a story, a negotiation, or a shared confidence is about to begin. The coffee ceremony is, in its own way, a discourse-opening act — the social equivalent of by the way, I have something to tell you…
The three-generation chain
In Palestinian communities today, organisations like the Seraj Libraries sustain the oral tradition through a structured three-generation model: elders (roughly 60 and older) hold the stories; young adults (18–50) collect and transcribe them; teenagers (12–16) take them back to the community, performing in streets, schools, shops, and homes — going to the audience rather than waiting for one to arrive. Furthermore, the storytellers are trained to listen actively, to verify the story as told, and to signal transitions with connective language. Every pivot in a folk tale — a surprising revelation, a shift in time, a moral conclusion — is managed through what we would now call discourse markers: now, as for the king’s daughter… or having said that, the merchant had one last trick…
The resilience of this tradition — maintained through decades of political displacement and fragmentation — is itself a powerful lesson. Language carries memory. Knowing how to connect ideas fluently, to signal contrast and consequence and addition, is not just a grammar skill: it is how a people keeps its stories alive.
⚠️ Common mistakes for Spanish speakers
Spanish has its own richly developed set of connectors, but the mapping to English is not always direct. Here are the most frequent errors at C1 level:
✅ “Furthermore, the problem is very complex.” / “The problem is also very complex.”
Why:
Besides in English usually means “apart from that” or “what’s more” in informal speech. Spanish además maps most naturally to furthermore or in addition in formal writing, and what's more in speech. Using besides for every instance of además sounds awkward at C1.
✅ “Currently, I’m not a fan.” / “At the moment, I don’t like it.”
Why: This is a classic false friend. Spanish actualmente = “currently / nowadays”. English
actually = “in truth / surprisingly”. Using actually to mean “at the moment” is one of the most common C1 errors for Spanish speakers and signals mother-tongue interference immediately.
✅ “However, she arrived late; she still gave a brilliant talk.” / “Although she arrived late, she still gave a brilliant talk.”
Why:
However is a discourse marker, not a conjunction. It cannot directly join two clauses in a single sentence without a semicolon or a full stop before it. Treating it like aunque (= “although” — a conjunction) is a structural error.
✅ “Actually, I think it’s a good idea.” / “To be honest, I think it’s a good idea.”
Why:
In fact signals a surprising or corrective piece of information — something that contradicts what came before. Spanish speakers sometimes use it as a simple filler or emphasis. If you’re not contradicting or surprising, use actually, to be honest, or simply nothing at all.
✅ “All in all, it was a rewarding experience.” (final summary at the very end)
Why: Summary markers like
all in all, on the whole, and to sum up are closing signals. Using them mid-talk confuses listeners — they think you’re wrapping up and then feel ambushed when you continue. Save them for the genuine conclusion.
🗣️ Example bank: discourse markers in Palestinian contexts
Eighteen examples, drawn from the world of Palestinian storytelling, culture, and daily life. The discourse marker is highlighted in each sentence.
- 1. The hikaye tradition has been passed down for centuries; furthermore, it was inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
- 2. What’s more, almost every Palestinian woman over the age of 70 carries a repertoire of folk tales in memory.
- 3. The hakawati performed publicly, whereas the hakawatia told her stories in intimate family settings.
- 4. The coffee ceremony is a gesture of welcome. Having said that, in Palestinian homes it is also the traditional signal that a serious conversation is about to begin.
- 5. In other words, refusing the offered cup of qahwa is, symbolically, refusing the relationship itself.
- 6. The storytelling marathon involves three generations: elders who hold the stories, young adults who transcribe them, and teenagers who perform them. To put it differently, memory passes in both directions — upward as well as downward.
- 7. Many people assume that oral storytelling is simply a historical curiosity. In fact, it is a living, evolving practice in Palestinian communities today.
- 8. The rababa poet travelled between villages, singing and reciting news. As a matter of fact, this role predated radio in the region by many centuries.
- 9. Anyway, let’s return to the question of how these oral traditions use language to structure ideas.
- 10. By the way, the phrase kan ya makan — “there was and there was not” — functions as a register-shifting discourse opener in Arabic, much like “once upon a time” in English.
- 11. As I was saying, the ability to pivot between ideas gracefully is what separates a confident C1 speaker from someone who simply strings sentences together.
- 12. Support the oral-arts programme now; after all, once a storyteller is gone, her tales go with her.
- 13. The kharareef folk tales have been collected across five encyclopaedic volumes — in any case, only a fraction of the living oral repertoire is represented in print.
- 14. All in all, the UNESCO inscription brought renewed attention to a tradition that the digital age was in danger of burying.
- 15. On the whole, the young performers who carry the hikaye into streets and schools are doing something profound: keeping language alive.
- 16. As regards the future of Palestinian oral literature, scholars point to bilingual performance as a promising model — as Fidaa Ataya does in her Arabic-English work.
- 17. To begin with, the storytellers collected testimonies from elders; subsequently, they trained teenagers to retell them in their own voice.
- 18. The main performance space was cancelled; nevertheless, the storytellers found audiences in doorways, school courtyards, and market stalls.
🧪 Quick quiz — five questions
Choose the best discourse marker to complete each sentence. Answers below.
- The hikaye tradition is remarkably old. ______, recordings show it is still actively practised today.
a) All in all b) What’s more c) Otherwise d) As regards - I’m not sure if the coffee ceremony is compulsory, but ______, it would feel rude to refuse.
a) having said that b) in any case c) consequently d) in other words - The hakawati performed for a predominantly male audience, ______ the hakawatia told stories in domestic, female spaces.
a) furthermore b) after all c) whereas d) to sum up - She says she doesn’t speak any Arabic. ______, she knows the entire opening formula of the hikaye by heart.
a) In fact b) By the way c) To begin with d) On the whole - ______, the Seraj Libraries project has shown that oral tradition can survive — and even thrive — in the digital age.
a) As a matter of fact b) Besides c) All in all d) Whereas
- b) What’s more — adds a second positive/surprising point to the first.
- b) in any case — signals that the conclusion holds regardless of the uncertainty just mentioned.
- c) whereas — draws a contrast between two parallel situations.
- a) In fact — introduces a surprising piece of information that contradicts the previous statement.
- c) All in all — gives a summarising conclusion after a body of evidence.