English for Specific Purposes 13 (3) 239-256
“Any utterance in which the speaker explicitly qualifies his
commitment to the truth of the proposition expressed by the sentence he
utters.. is an epistemically modal or modalised sentence” (Lyons 1977:797)
Qualifies – moderate, mitigate, make less absolute or
sweeping, subject to reservations or limitation (OED)
The epistemic system is therefore concerned with the display of
confidence, or more usually lack of confidence, in the truth of the
prepositional information.
Typically
These allow academics to take a rhetorical stance, to downplay their
statements and anticipate audience responses by adjusting the degree of
certainty they give their claims. (p241)
“Research articles are rarely simple narratives of investigations.
Instead they are complexly distanced reconstructions of research activities”
(Swales 1990:175)
Writers need to be cautious about how they define their relationship
with the research community. Because new work has to be thoughtfully placed
into an existing literature, hedging is not simply a prudent insurance against
overstating an assertion, but a rational interpersonal strategy. (p241)
Hedging allows claims to be made with due caution, modesty and humility
(p241)
Skelton (1988 in Hyland p242)
·
Possibly, phosphorylation of ACC syntase…
·
Interestingly, phosphorylation of ACC syntase…
·
There is apparently a relationship
between..
·
It is relatively enriched in…
·
Thus we propose that this insert is..
·
I believe that the overall orientation of
Hedges appear least in Methods, which is the least discursive section,
and are most highly represent in Discussions where claims are made and the
significance of results argued. (p243)
Hyland, K. (1996) Nuturing hedges in the ESP curriculum System
24 (4) 477-490
Hedging is the process whereby the author reduces the strength of a
statement (Zuck & Zuck 1986)
It is any manipulative, non-direct sentence strategy of saying less
that one means (Markkanen & Schroder 1989)
A ‘hedge’ is any linguistic means used to indicate either
a)
a lack of complete commitment to the truth of a proposition
b)
a desire not to express that commitment categorically (p478)
categorically – unconditional, absolute, , direct, plain-speaking
Hedges are an important means of stating uncertain scientific claims
with appropriate caution. (eg, X may cause Y rather than X causes Y)
(p478)
Hedges allow writers to anticipate possible negative consequences of
being proved wrong (p479)
Hedges allow writers to refer to speculative possibilities while avoiding
the direct personal responsibility for their statements and involves the use of
passives, existential (dummy) subjects or by attributing claims to the data or
research method, eg, small sample size, preliminary results, imperfect
measuring techniques (p479)
Hedges help writers to develop a relationship with the reader,
addressing expectations of the claims made.. although academic papers try to
persuade the readers of a claim. the reader can always reject it, so hedges
help the writer to show deference to any possible response (p479)
Categorical assertions allow no room for negotiation and feedback –
they force the reader into a passive role. But hedged statements appeal to
readers as intellectual colleagues capably of deciding about issues (p479)
Hedges therefore mark statements as provisional while pending
acceptance by the academic community (p479).