A Corpus-based Re-categorization for English and Chinese Hedges

Abstract

Hedge is an interesting linguistic phenomenon that plays a crucial role in cross-cultural communication. Exploring the differences in hedge use between Chinese and English discourse, as well as the reasons behind them, can further reveal the ideological significance reflected in the use of hedges and their role in the construction of discursive power. Based on two self-built corpora, comprising 122 speeches and statements from the Chinese and Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs between the years 2023 and 2024, the study aims to establish a detailed and unified re-categorization for both English and Chinese hedges to enhance the operationalization of corpus linguistics for retrieving the usage characteristics of different types of hedges in Chinese and English discourse, thereby facilitating a cross-linguistic contrastive analysis. Based on Prince et al.’s (1982) and He’s (1985) categorization, as well as Varttala’s (2001) categorization of hedges from a cognitive lexical perspective, this study divides the existing four types of hedges – adaptors, rounders, plausibility shields, and attribution shields – into 10 specific sub-types based on their pragmatic functions. The finding indicates that, among the ten subcategories of hedges, the usage differences in eight subcategories between the Chinese and Malaysian corpora show significant differences. Therefore, the new subcategories of hedges presented in this article provide valuable insights for future scholars to conduct statistical analysis using corpus linguistics in contrast analysis between English and Chinese discourse.