Hedging Use In English News From The Perspective Of Writer’s Intentions

The concept of a hedge had been introduced by G. Lakoff in1975, and has beendeveloped and extended by various researchers from different perspectives. Inspiredby and based on previous studies of hedging in different genres of English writing,the present study is intended to add something new to the existing research.Specifically, it looks at the use of hedging devices in online English news discoursefrom the perspective of writer’s intention. Hedges, in the context of news discourse,are defined as devices that convey the writer’s intention of making the propositioncloser or less close to the truth, or subtler or less subtle with regard to theinterpersonal/interactional aspect. News discourse is generally required to be concise,accurate and objective, but these requirements do not make it exempt from the use ofhedges. This research attempts to explore whether frequency of hedging variesamong writers of different cultural backgrounds talking about the same topics in thesame language. It is found that variation and difference do exist and English newsarticles of Chinese source are more heavily hedged than those of foreign source.Moreover, the present research reveals that by hedging writers intend to realizeeither propositional or interpersonal goals, or sometimes both. The research thereforeserves as a spur for further studies in this field.