Hedges in male and female language

Abstract EN

Hedging is a linguistic phenomenon used to convey interpersonal messages in spoken interaction.

It is a communicative strategy which enables speakers to soften the force of utterances or moderate the assertive force of utterances.

It is resulted from different features such as uncertainty, doubt, tentativeness, ambiguity, neutrality, mitigation, and subjectivity.

Hedging is used widely in TV debates to make utterances more acceptable to the interlocutors.

Hedges are expressions used to communicate the speaker's weak commitment to information conveyed.

The utterances in debates are often hedged because in an unhedged form might sound threatening to the addressees, and, therefore, be likely to be rejected.

Hedges play a significant pragmatic function which is affected by social variables such as gender.

Thus, the main purpose of the present study is to compare and contrast the frequency types and functions of hedges in male and female language.

The problem is that, in Iraq, there is no study which associates the use of hedges with gender as a social variable.

This study is an attempt to fill this gap.

The study aims to identify the types of hedges used and figure out which types are most dominant in TV debates.

It shows the specific functions of hedging in those four debates.

It also introduces a pragmatic analysis of the use of hedges in language especialy male‟s and female‟s social roles in order to identify their distinctive functions.

The study presents two conclusions.

First, hedges keep the TV debates smooth and avoids conflict.

The use of hedges is motivated by many language features such as indetermination, subjectivization, vagueness and politeness.

Secondly, the study also shows the significant role that context plays in the interpretation of hedging.

It also confirms that males tend to use hedges more than females do owing to their awareness of the undesirable effects of certain topics