A Comparative Study Of Hedges In English Academic Research Articles By Chinese And Native English Scholars From The Perspective Of Appraisal Theory

Hedging is a common phenomenon of language.It is not only used in our daily communication,but also in academic writings to present writers’ findings cautiously.Stimulated by the pedagogical need to improve the academic writing competence of English as a second language learners in China,this study aims to conduct a comparative analysis between Chinese and native English scholars in the use of hedges.The study is conducted based on two corpora containing the conclusion sections of 20 English research articles written by Chinese scholars and 20 by native English scholars.Martin and White’s(2005)appraisal theory,especially engagement and graduation systems can be employed to interpret interpersonal meanings of hedges.The study intends to explore answers of two research questions:(1)What are the similarities and differences in the distribution and frequency of hedges as appraisal resources in English academic writings by Chinese and native English scholars?(2)What are the similarities and differences in the use of hedges as appraisal resources to convey interpersonal meanings in English academic writings by Chinese and native English scholars?Research findings are as follows.Native English scholars use more hedges than Chinese scholars,and both Chinese and native English scholars employ more approximators than shields.In addition,they both prefer to use more adaptors than rounders within approximators,and more plausibility shields than attribution shields within shields.Both Chinese and native English scholars employ hedges as graduation resources slightly more than engagement resources.More hedges are employed as expansion than contraction,and there exists significant difference in the use of hedges as expansion resources and contraction resources between Chinese and native English scholars.Hedges are mainly used as force within graduation resources.Compared with Chinese counterparts,native English scholars employ more hedges as intensification resources.Chinese and native English scholars reach an agreement on the use of hedges as denying and countering resources to make the illustration more clear,as acknowledging and distancing resources to make the proposition objective and persuasive,and as quantification resources to present sincere attitude towards academic research.Differently,native English scholars put more emphasis on the use of hedges as pronouncing resources to show the author’s confidence in the research findings,as concurring and endorsing resources to make the findings seem objective and authoritative,as modality and evidentiality to express a sense of uncertainty or modesty,and as intensification resources to make the research findings precise and convincing.This comparative study presents clearly similarities and differences in the use of hedges by Chinese and native English scholars.