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A Study on Pragmatic Functions of Hedges Applied by College

English Teachers in the Class
JIANG Hua
School of Foreign Studies, Henan Polytechnic University, China, 454003
jianghua@hpu.edu.cn
Abstract: The concept of hedge is put forward by George Lakoff in 1972. It refers to words whose
job is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzy. Many scholars have studied this phenomenon from both
semantic and pragmatic perspectives. Hedges played an important role in communication and their
semantic features and pragmatic functions were unique and irreplaceable. From the available relevant
literature at home and abroad, however, it is found that little work has been undertaken concerning the
hedges actually used in classroom teaching despite the prevalence of hedging. From the pragmatic
perspective, this thesis carries on a study of the employment of hedges by college English teachers in the
classroom. It aims to present a general situation of hedges used in classroom discourses and explore
their pragmatic functions. This study hopes to deepen and further the research of hedges, and draw
attention to hedges used in classroom communication. It sheds light on how English teachers use hedges
to achieve their communicative goals in classroom teaching, and contributes to a better application of
hedging devices to teach effectively.
Keywords: Hedge, Pragmatic Function, Classroom Teaching

1 Introduction
Fuzziness can be found in every form of language and is considered an innate feature of languages.
Hedge is a very important part in languages. To use hedges properly can strengthen expressive force and
communicative result, which can improve interpersonal relationship and thus make communication go
more smoothly. According to the studies home and abroad, we find that few studies on the pragmatic
application of hedges in English Class have been made, though they are so commonly used during the
English class and they are so important. Based on college English teaching, the paper has analyzed the
application of hedges in English classroom from the perspective of pragmatics, which is aimed at
receiving more attention in English teaching. As a result, English learners pragmatic awareness during
communication can be strengthened.

2 Denifitions of Hedges
The concept of hedges was firstly put forward by American linguist George Lakoff(1972: 485) in his
paper Hedges: a Study in Meaning Criteria and the Logic off Fuzzy Concept , in which hedges was
defined as words whose job is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzy. However, different scholars made
different definitions. Crystal(1997) defined it as a number of words showing uncertainty or limitation in
his Modern Linguist Dictionary. While Verschueren(1999) thought that hedges modify a proposition
directly. In his English Pragmatic Structure, Weireich(1996) explained how to deal with hedges and refer
to it as mealanguage, such as true, red, so, etc. Yule(1996) defined it as cautious, annotative expression
of words.
From the definitions given by different researchers above, we can see that there is no agreement on the
definition of hedge. Because this paper aims to analyze the hedges used in English classroom from the
pragmatic perspective and the focus of our attention is on their functions as effective means to express
the teachers ideas, our working definition of hedges in this thesis resembles that of Hyland. That is, a
hedge is any linguistic means used to indicate either a lack of complete commitment to the truth of a
proposition or a desire not to express that commitment categorically(Hyland, 1998: 2-3). In classroom
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English, hedges used by teachers are expressed not only through verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc., but also
non-single-word items like if-clauses, sentence structures(such as it is said that, the possibility would be,
someone says), phrases(1ike as far as I can tell, according to ones estimates) and so on

3 Classification of Hedges
Hedges are very frequently used as a very important field in fuzzy languages. Scholars home and abroad
have ever classified them, among which came a most influential classification---- the one made by
American linguist E. F. Prince and his fellows. They divided hedges into two groups: approximators and
shields.
3.1 Approximators
Approximators refer to the expressions which call change the original meaning of a proposition or
provide alternative meaning to the proposition according to different situations. Simply speaking
approximators can affect the original truth condition of the proposition, sometimes they even change the
meaning of the proposition. They can be divided into adaptors and rounders.
3.1.1 Adaptors
Adaptors can be regarded as modifiers of terms to suit a non-prototypical situation. To put it more
specifically, adaptors are expressions which reveal the degree of truth of the original proposition.
Occasionally the proposition is correct or it is partially correct; the adaptors help to express the degree
of correctness. The examples are as follows: sort of, kind of, somewhat, really, almost, quite, entirely, a
little bit, to some extent, more or less, etc. The uncertain tone of the speaker is obvious through using
adaptors.
e.g. Judging from his daily performance he is a little bit lazy
In the above mentioned example, the original degree of certainty and absoluteness has been changed in
accordance with the real situations through the using of a little bit.
3.1.2 Rounders
Rounders indicates the inexact preciseness of terms. They are often used when it comes to measuring,
especially if the exact data is missing or precise information is unavailable. The examples of rounders
are like approximately, essential1y, about, something between...and, roughly, etc.
e.g. The number of victims dying from the tsunami in this area is approximately three million
In the above mentioned example, the expression approximately makes the original accurate data less
precise.

3.2 Shields
Shields do not affect the truth condition but reflect the degree of speakers commitments to the truth
value of the whole proposition. In other words, shields indicate that speakers are not fully committed to
the validity of the proposition they are conveying. Shields can be further classified into plausibility
shields and attribution shields.
3.2.1 Plausibility Shields
Plausibility shields are used to show speakers own attitude towards a proposition. Mostly, they express
speakers doubtful attitude or uncertainty of the truth value of propositions. Consequently, they usually
include first person pronouns so as to show speakers tance that their statement is not absolutely right or
true since it is just their own opinions. Plausibility shields include I think, I guess, I believe, I am afraid,
I assume, I suppose, as far as Im concerned, seem etc.
e.g. As far as Im concerned, his proposal is the best of all that we have received
In the above mentioned example, the expression as far as Im concerned does not affect the truth
condition of the original propositions, however, they are reflections of the speakers personal stances.
Meanwhile the speakers uncertainty can be seen from the example.

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3.2.2 Attribution shields
Attribution shields are also used to express the attitude of guess or doubt, but they attribute the degree of
uncertainty toward a proposition to another party. So by attribution shields, the speakers attitude is
expressed indirectly. Attribution shields include according to, as is well known, the possibility will be,
someone suggests that, etc.
e.g. It is reported that the original habitat of this kind of deer is in Northern Africa.
In the above mentioned example, the attribution shields like it is reported that helps the speakers to
avoid taking the responsibility if the proposition is false. No matter whether the source of information is
told or not, the speaker expresses his/her opinion indirectly.

4 Application of Hedges by English Teachers in the Class

In order to find out the application of hedges by English teachers in the class, the author has recorded 4
college English classes from Henan Polytechnic University, and then write down those teachers words.
Based on the classification made by E. F. Prince and his fellows, the results are as follows.
The survey finds that teachers applied a large number of hedges during the communication with students.
Among the 4 periods, plausibility shields appeared 64 times, which accounts for 55.17%. Adaptors
appeared 38 times, which accounts for 32.76%. Rounders appeared 10 times, which accounts for 8.62%.
While attribution shields appeared 38 times, which accounts for 3.45%.
Plausibility shields and adaptors are the two groups very commonly used. Adaptors reveal the degree of
truth of the original proposition. From the data, we find the mostly frequently used adapters are usually
and very. By using adapters, teachers can express the degree of correctness well in order to be more
polite and less arbitrary. Rounders refers to those fuzzy languages which can show the variation range,
such as about, almost, etc. By using them, teachers can be more objective and students can be more free.
Plausibility shields are used to express speakers doubtful attitude or uncertainty of the truth value of
propositions. The survey shows that it is the most frequently used, which accounts for 55.17%, such as I
think, I guess, maybe, perhaps, etc. Attribution shields are used to express the attitude of guess or doubt,
but they attribute the degree of uncertainty toward a proposition to another party. So by attribution
shields, speakers attitude is expressed indirectly and it helps the speakers avoid taking the responsibility
if the proposition is false.
College English teaching is a person-to-person communication and an activity for the teacher and
students to exchange ideas, feelings and information. From the survey, we also find that the better their
relationship is, the more teachers use hedges during the class.

5 Pragmatic Functions of Hedges in College English Class

Through the survey we have found profound pragmatic functions existing in classroom teaching. If they
are used properly, hedges are a kind of effective tool for the teachers to communicate with the students.
To be concrete, four pragmatic functions can be found in classroom teaching

5.1 Protect Face and Strengthen Cooperation

Teachers proper use of hedges may encourage students to participate more and thus make the class
more active. By using hedges for person, the teacher may encourage students to coordinate by
answering questions voluntarily.
e.g. Any volunteer? Do not afraid of making mistakes
In this way, the teacher can help students save his/her face if he/she cannot give a correct answer. Then
classroom activities can go smoothly. The teacher may also express it by using plausibility shields: I
wonder if someone will answer this question.
I wonder sounds so polite and so proper. The purpose for using this kind of hedges lies in the fact that

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that it provide free choices and create relaxing classroom atmosphere. As a result, the efficiency of
teaching will be improved.
5.2 Soften Attitude and Shorten Distance
Hedges can make teachers words more objective and euphemistic, and proper use of it may keep
teachers good image.
e.g. Im afraid I cant agree with you on this point
The example is an evaluation to students answer. Though the students answer is completely wrong, the
teachers words sound very euphemistic.
e.g. You made a small mistake.
Here a small greatly weakens criticism to the student, for whom its easier to be accepted without
hurting is/her feeling.
When assigning tasks, the teacher may use one or two minutes, not too many to reduce the students
resentment and mental pressure. Then students will be more likely to finish the given task. In a word,
hedges help the teacher and students come closer and in this way a new mode, that is, a student-centered
and teacher-assisted mode can be formed easily.

5.3 Fill Lexical Gaps and Avoid Embarrassment

In classroom communication, it is natural that sometimes the teacher can not say the right word or
he/she forgets it. The example is as follows:
e.g. She is erkind of doctor who takes care of peoples teeth.
In this example, the teacher wants to express the word dentist. But she cannot remember the word or
does not know the word at all, so she replaces it with kind of doctor.
Topic continuity is also one of the situations where the teachers and students might use hedges. When
there is something difficult to explain or some pauses because of thinking or hesitation, they can use
hedges to continue their speech.
Filling Lexical Gaps is an important function of hedges in classroom communication. The use of hedges
can help the speakers express what they want to express when they do not know the word or do not need
to offer the exact information or want to continue their topic and then the use of hedges can avoid
embarrassment as well.
5.4 Improve Understanding of Culture Differences
The teachers use of hedges in the classroom can provide students much knowledge about culture
differences. It can improve students ability to use language to some extent. As we all know, pragmatic
failure is mainly due to culture differences. According to British linguist Jenny Thomas(1983),
cross-cultural pragmatic failure mainly includes pragmalinguistic failure and sociopragmatic failure.
e.g. T: Youve done a good job today!
S: Thank you! It seems not bad!
In the example, the student has made a pragmalinguistic failure by using seems. The correct answer
should be: Thank you! Obviously, this failure results from culture differences. We Chinese people tend
to be too modest, while westners are more frank. This example also tells us that its not always proper
when using hedges, and sometimes it can be passive.
For English teaching in our country, the teacher is very cautious about grammatical mistakes. As for
pragmatic failure, they tend to ignore them. Therefore, the teacher should understand the significance of
hedges in classroom communication and the teacher should get a comprehensive knowledge of hedges.
At the same time, the teacher should help students understand the use of hedges besides the language
points and grammatical rules.

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6 Conclusion
The study of hedges has drawn much attention from researchers and hedges have showed great
communication value in many fields. However, the analysis of hedges in classroom discourses is
relatively few and it is of great significance in both the linguistic theory side and the practical side.
Based on the theory of hedges and its pragmatic function, this paper analyzed four functions of hedges
used by English teachers in the class. It can enrich the theory of teachers classroom diction. Besides, if
we can choose proper terms during the class, our class efficiency and teaching effect will be excellent.
Meanwhile, students pragmatic ability can be improved step by step. What is worth noticing is that the
teachers attitude must be very clear though the words can be vague when using hedges. Lastly, more
studies on pragmatic function of hedges can be made from the perspective of improving students
listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation.

References

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[3]. Lakoff, G. Hedges: A study in meaning criteria and the logic of fuzzy concepts [A]. In P. Peranteau,
J. Levi& G. Phares (eds.). Papers from the Eighth Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic
Society[Z].1972.
[4]. Prince, E. F. , J. Frader & C. Bosk. On hedging in physician-physician discourse [A]. In R. J. Pietro
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[5]. Weinreich, U. On the semantic structure of English [A]. In J. H. Greenberg (ed.). Universals of
Language. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1966.
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