https://www.enwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Hedges&feed=atom&action=historyHedges - Revision history2024-03-30T07:36:42ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.34.0https://www.enwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Hedges&diff=15350&oldid=prevKentlee7 at 06:52, 1 November 20192019-11-01T06:52:54Z<p></p>
<a href="https://www.enwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Hedges&diff=15350&oldid=15348">Show changes</a>Kentlee7https://www.enwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Hedges&diff=15348&oldid=prevKentlee7: Created page with "==Hedges or “softeners”== Here are a few words and phrases which are used to soften, qualify, “hedge” or mitigate statements, for the sake of politeness, or to simpl..."2019-11-01T06:38:58Z<p>Created page with "==Hedges or “softeners”== Here are a few words and phrases which are used to soften, qualify, “hedge” or mitigate statements, for the sake of politeness, or to simpl..."</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>==Hedges or “softeners”==<br />
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Here are a few words and phrases which are used to soften, qualify, “hedge” or mitigate statements, for the sake of politeness, or to simply soften a statement. The following classifies hedges into abstract pragmatic linguistic categories; this list is only a partial list.<ref>Some of these are from http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/lakoffhedgesCLS8.pdf. A hedge is a protective shrub around one’s property. Analogously, linguistic hedges serve to protect the speaker’s and listeners’ sense of “face” (體面, ''tǐmiàn'', 체면) by softening the forcefulness of a statement.</ref> <br />
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===Epistemic hedges=== <br />
These soften statements by toning down the forcefulness of the truth value of statements.<br />
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{|<br />
|-<br />
| <br />
<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3;"><br />
basically<br />
according to<br />
actually<br />
apparent(ly)<br />
approximate(ly)<br />
broad(ly)<br />
clear(ly)<br />
comparative(ly)<br />
essential(ly), in essence <br />
hypothetically<br />
indeed<br />
likely<br />
most (+adjective) <br />
normal(ly)<br />
potential(ly)<br />
presumably<br />
probable, probably<br />
rare(ly)<br />
really <br />
relative(ly)<br />
roughly<br />
somehow<br />
somewhat <br />
theoretically<br />
the very +-most (adj.) <br />
virtually <br />
</div><br />
|}<br />
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===Phrasal hedges===<br />
These are longer expressions that act like epistemic hedges. <br />
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<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3; border-left: 10px; background: #eff;"><br />
as it were<br />
so to say<br />
so to speak<br />
(at) about<br />
if you know what I mean<br />
in a way<br />
kind of<br />
might as well be <br />
more of a ___ <br />
more or less<br />
most<br />
something like <br />
sort of<br />
more of a...<br />
sort of<br />
kind of <br />
can be looked at<br />
can be viewed as<br />
strictly speaking<br />
in one sense<br />
in some sense<br />
in a real sense<br />
would like to <br />
details aside<br />
I wouldn’t <br />
if not...<br />
</div><br />
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===Possibility hedges ===<br />
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<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3; border=1px; margin-left: 10px; background: #fef;"><br />
by (some/any) chance <br />
hopefully<br />
maybe <br />
perhaps<br />
possible, possibly <br />
in case (of)<br />
could<br />
can<br />
may <br />
might<br />
if you catch / get / understand my meaning / drift <br />
if you know what I mean (to say)<br />
if you/we know/understand (what it/that means)<br />
</div><br />
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===Quality hedges ===<br />
These expressions hedge the speaker’s commitment to the truth value of statements (truth quality), one’s certainty of statements, or the directness of such statements. <br />
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<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3; border-left: 10px; background: #eff;"><br />
(as) we all know <br />
as far as we/I know<br />
as is (well) known<br />
as you/everyone/the reader know(s) <br />
as the saying goes <br />
(as) everyone/people/people/they say(s)<br />
from what I hear/know/see/understand<br />
in a sense <br />
one/you they say(s)/tell(s) it<br />
for all intents and purposes <br />
for all practical purposes <br />
one might say that <br />
let us say that <br />
in a manner of speaking<br />
don’t you think <br />
wouldn’t you say<br />
as far as I/we know <br />
as you know<br />
I / we understand that<br />
so-called <br />
-like, -esque, -ish<br />
quasi-<br />
practically<br />
in name only <br />
like <br />
</div><br />
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For example: <br />
* That’s rather Clinton-like. <br />
* That's rather Obama-esque. <br />
* That’s more of a quasi-theory, if not a bad theory altogether. <br />
* The color is kind of navy-ish.<br />
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===Performative verb hedges===<br />
Certain verbs themselves perform the action they refer to. For example, consider the verb ‘declare’ in “I declare that X is true.” In such statements, the verb itself performs the action of declaring, and linguists refer to such verbs as performatives. In a lecture, one can begin a discussion by saying, “I’d like to discuss X,” and one can indicate that X is only one’s opinion by stating, “I think / believe that...” <br />
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<div style="border-left: 10px; background: #eff;"><br />
(would) like to/want to/can/may + verb (e.g., ask, comment, discuss, explain, mention, note, point out, remark, say, state, tell)<br />
I/we/one/people/the reader/they + (perhaps/like/mostly/sometimes + verb<br />
don’t think / believe (so)<br />
I believe / think / thought <br />
I’m just saying...<br />
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A relatively new expression in colloquial English is “I’m just saying,” which is added as an afterthought to distance oneself from the preceding statement; it is like saying, “that’s just an observation” or “I’m just stating that as a possibility.” <br />
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* I think the teacher looks cute. …. Hey, I’m just saying.<br />
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===Other expressions===<br />
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<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3; border-left: 10px; background: #eff;"><br />
at least <br />
that is<br />
i.e., <br />
should have <br />
ought to<br />
</div><br />
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Other hedges include the colloquial phrases ‘like’ and ‘it’s like,’ which are discussed in the section on [[discourse particles]]. <br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Discourse markers]]<br />
* [[Discourse particles]]<br />
* [[Connectors]]<br />
* [[Like (discourse particle)]] <br />
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===References===<br />
<references/><br />
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[[Category:Pragmatics]] [[Category:Vocabulary]]</div>Kentlee7