A pragmatic analysis of hedges in the Big Bang Theory as adaptation to the communication context

Li Shasha

Abstract：As one kind of important discourse marker in daily life， hedge is often used by communicators and it is also one of pragmatic strategies and means. However， in terms of studies on hedges at home and abroad so far， they have been mainly done in the practical discourses of the fields of business negotiations， diplomatic language， etc.， and the studies on hedges in the film are few. As a typical life sitcom， The Big Bang Theory has been made lots of studies by researchers， which are mainly about humorous discourses or language translation in it. Therefore， this paper selects some episodes from The Big Bang Theory to discuss the usage of hedges as adaptation to the communication context， including the physical world， the social world， and the mental world so as to help people use hedges more accurately in daily life.

Key words：hedges; communication context; Big Bang Theory

Since vagueness is one important feature of language and hedges are often used by speakers in daily activities when they tend to use inaccurate words， the paper takes the representative sitcom The Big Bang Theory as an example to analyze the usage of hedges as adaptation to the communication context， which is mainly composed of physical world， social world， and mental world. For example， such elements as speakers’ attitude， emotion， intention belong to the mental world. Such elements as social norms， social status belong to the social world. And the physical world consists of the two elements， time and space （Li， He， Huo， 2011：137）. By the adaptation to above three levels of components of context， speakers can accurately convey their intentions， emotions， etc.

1    Hedges as Adaptation to the Communication Context

1.1 Adaptation to the Physical World

Example 1：

Bernadette： What the hell is wrong with you？

Raj： Well…you were always so nice to me. I thought may be you liked me.

The above conversation occurs when there are misunderstandings between Raj and Howard’s girlfriend， Bernadette. Raj explains to Bernadette sincerely， so he uses the hedge “always” to emphasize that Raj is thankful to her. Raj doesn’t say exactly the moments when Bernadette is nice to him but expresses the meaning vaguely， by which the misunderstandings can be solved more easily. And therefore， the hedge “always” is also adapted to the physical world.

1.2  Adaptation to the Social World

In order to create regular and successful communications among people， speakers must be adapted to various social conventions， and politeness principle is just one important social convention.

Example 2：

Leonard： Excuse me. A couple of circulars， nothing important.

Penny： What’s with him？

Leonard： Hang on. You might be from Texas， but I’m from New Jersey.

Sheldon wants to get even with Leonard， so he plays tricks with mail， but Leonard sees through the tricks， so Leonard says although Leonard is from Texas， the largest state in the American South， Leonard himself is from New Jersey， a state famous for academic education. Because Sheldon always shows off his state， Leonard takes this opportunity to make fun of Sheldon. By using the hedge “might”， Leonard not only weakens the importance of Texas， but also indicates his meaning politely and protects Sheldon’s face. So the use of hedge “might” is adapted to the social world.

1.3 Adaptation to the Mental World

The mental world is mainly composed of various psychological activities， which can reflect people’s emotion， cognition， attitude， etc. In the communicating process， speakers exchange inner thoughts and psychological world with each other. Hedges are also often used by communicators in many communicating processes.

Example 3：

Howard： Come on， admit it. We got you， Sheldon.

Sheldon： Please， fright depends on an element of surprise. The simple fact is， because I am much smarter than you， and able to anticipate your actions， it is highly unlikely that you two rubes could ever surprise me.

At Halloween， Howard， Raj， and Leonard plan a terrorist event to play tricks on Sheldon， but Sheldon is very confident and he thinks they won’t surprise him. By using a hedge “please”， Sheldon expresses his attitude of disdain. And because Sheldon thinks he is smarter than others， he uses a hedge “much” to emphasize the fact， showing his extremely confident and even conceited mentality. In addition， he also uses a hedge “highly” to indicate the degree of unlikeliness， which is also consistent with Sheldon’s conceited mentality again. So the uses of the above three hedges “please”， “much”， and “highly” are adapted to the mental world.

Example 4：

Mrs. Cooper： I don’t know， Shelly. I thought we could do a little sightseeing.

Sheldon： What sight is better than your little boy embarrassing a Nobel laureate？

Mrs. Cooper sees Sheldon， and his friends Leonard and others advise going out for a visit， but Mrs. Cooper agrees with his friends， so Sheldon feels his mother is drawn away by his friends. When Mrs. Cooper expresses her true thought， she uses hedges “I thought”， by which her expression seems euphemistic so that she doesn’t break her son’s heart but protects his face. Besides， Sheldon tries to win love of his mother， and uses hedges “little boy” so that he performs like a child in the presence of his mother， which shows Sheldon’s childish character and his psychological state. So the uses of such hedges as “I thought” and “little boy” are adapted to the mental world.

2    Conclusion

By analyzing hedges selected from The Big Bang Theory， the paper finds hedges in the film work are well adapted to various communication contexts and accurately play the role in communicative activities as adaptation to social world， mental world and physical world.

[References]

[1]李   捷，何自然，霍永壽.语用学十二讲[M].上海：华东师范大学出版社，2011.

[2]文   英.每天说一点地道口语-看美剧[M].北京：机械工业出版社，2013.