The Interpersonal Function of Hedges in English News Reports

【Abstract】Fuzziness of language is one intrinsic feature of natural language. This paper， taking hedges in English news reports as the subject， based on E.F. Princes classification criteria， aims to discuss interpersonal functions of hedges. Furthermore， it will give some implications on English language teaching and learning.

【Key words】English news reports； hedges； interpersonal function

I. Definitions and classifications of hedges

Based on Zadehs Fuzzy Set Theory， Lakoff introduced the notion of hedges in the early 1960s. In his article A Study of Meaning Criteria and the Logic of Fuzzy Concepts （1972）， he said.“for me， some of the most interesting questions raised by the study of words whose meaning implicitly involves fuzziness-words whose job is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzy. I will refer to such words as ‘hedges”.

E.F. Prince， J. Frader and C. Bosk classified the hedges into approximators and shields in terms of pragmatic function through in 1982. For further classification， approximators are divided into adaptors and rounders. Shields are sub-classified into plausibility shields and attribution shields.

II. Theoretical framework

According to Hallidays An Introduction on Functional Grammar， words and phrases that can be used to express modality are listed as follows：

1）Adjuncts of polarity and modality：

a. Polarity ： no， yes.

b. Probability： possibly， perhaps， maybe， certainly.

c. Usuality： usually， sometimes， always， never， ever， seldom， rarely.

d. Willingness： willingly， readily， gladly， certainly， easily

e. Obligation： definitely， absolutely， possibly， at all costs， by all means

2）Adjuncts of temporality：

a. Time： yet， still， already， once， soon， just

b. Typicality：occasionally， generally， regularly， mainly， for the most part

3）Adjuncts of mood：

a. Obviousness： of course， surely， obviously， clearly

b. Intensity： just， simply， merely， only， even， actually， really， in fact

c. Degree： quite， almost， nearly， scarcely， hardly， absolutely， totally， utterly， entirely， completely

III. Interpersonal functions of hedges in English news reports

According to Halliday's view， interpersonal function is mainly reflected on language system， modality system and tone. Modality system is mainly discussed in this paper. The principal items functioning as mood adjunct include adjunct of polarity and modality， adjuncts of temporarily， and adjunct of mood.

Generally speaking， the modality system is primarily realized through the use of model verbs. The interpersonal functions of hedges in English news reports are mainly presented in three aspects：

1）To keep politeness

The proper use of hedges in communication process can make utterances more polite and tactful. Sometimes， some sensitive topics or embarrassments can be avoided. As one kind of interpersonal communication， news reports equals to a written form of talk between writers and readers. In such communication， the communicative goal is to draw readers attention to a maximum extent， so the writers try their best to consider their language in order to respect readers. Example like：

Today， most people might find such a sight surprising. But Rohit Talwar thinks that， within a century， this kind of work could be done just as easily by a nonagenarian as a twenty something. Which jobs could a 100-year-old do？

2）To increase the preciseness of news

On the surface， hedges seem to make the meaning or utterance inaccuracy and imprecise， In fact， it displays the preciseness of language. Things in the external world possess a feature of indeterminacy， and sometimes it is more appropriate to use hedges rather than accurate expressions. In some cases， it is unnecessary or not convenient to express ideas in an accurate way， so hedges can be used and make the utterance flexible for the purpose of avoiding nonsense and wild guess. Example like

“But more and more of the physical tasks of work will be done by robots. They can carry and fetch and work 24 hours a day，” he says.

3）To enhance the persuasions

Taking use of hedges can make news writers stand as the third party to describe actual personnel and real events， thus the news will be more objective and neutral. In addition， it can not only enhance the persuasion of news， but also provide the readers with information source. Examples like：

According to the World Health Organization， only 25% of Chinese adults can list the specific health hazards of smoking， from lung cancer to heart disease.

References：

[1]Channel，J.Vague Language[M].Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language，2000.

[2]M.A.K.Halliday.An Introduction to Functional Grammar[M].Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2000.

作者简介：阎燕（1985.2-），女，硕士研究生，助教，主要研究方向：外国语言学及应用语言学。