A Pragmatic Analysis Of Hedges In Teacher Talk In English Classes

Hedge, which is a member of the family of vague language, was first put forward by George Lakoff in1972. According to Lakoff, hedges are words whose job is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzy. Hedges are necessary and irreplaceable in human communications. Based on the studies of hedges, the author notices that the studies on hedges in different discourses have ever been discussed; the studies on hedges in teacher talk in class are few. Few studies focus on the application of hedges in classroom teaching. In this thesis, the author carries on the study of hedges used in teacher talk in class from pragmatic perspective. The object of study is mainly English teachers whose native languages are Chinese. The purpose of the study is to carry on a comprehensive study of hedges in classroom teaching, present the reasons of the use and analyze the pragmatic functions. The author also looks forward to carrying out further research of hedges used in teacher talk in class, which makes it possible for teachers and students to utterly understand the pragmatic functions of hedges and acquire communicative strategies in classroom teaching; meanwhile the author also analyzes the roles hedges play in teacher talk in class.This study is an empirical study. The author collects the data from recording in20classes. The author chooses twenty English teachers with four different professional posts including five professors, five associate professors, five lecturers and five assistants. On the theoretical basis of Conversation Implicature, Cooperation Principle, Politeness Principle and FTA theory, the study is carried on from both qualitative and quantitative point of view. The collected data is analyzed according to Prince et al.’s pragmatic classification of hedges in details. In this way, the pragmatic functions of hedges used in teacher talk in class are analyzed comprehensively, which clearly illustrates how hedges are used to realize communicative purposes in teacher talk in class.With comprehensive and systematic analysis of collected data, the author comes to the conclusions. Firstly, hedges are commonly used in teacher talk in class and it is of necessary and irreplaceable functions in teacher talk. Secondly, in classroom teaching, the choices of different types of hedges for the teachers are of great importance in classroom teaching. Different types of hedges adopted by teachers play different roles in teacher talk. Therefore, different types of hedges can affect classroom teaching and communication. Thirdly, in classroom communication, certain teaching effect can be realized by means of different types of hedges. Teaching strategies of using hedges are also available in the study, which can be references for teachers and students. This empirical study on hedges in teacher talk in class provides a practical application of the theories mentioned. It also supplies teachers and students with suggestions of using hedges tactfully to communicate better with each other in class. In this way, teaching purposes can be realized and harmonious relationship can be built, which is very important to develop the students mentally and physically strong.