A Study of Hedges in Daily Conversations from thePerspective of Politeness Principle

Chen Xi

Abstract：The vagueness of hedges is of great importance in being polite. Therefore，by analyzing the use of hedges in daily conversation under the framework of politeness principle of Leech，this paper finds that hedges play the role of politeness mainly by the means of fuzzifying the extent and range，indirect expression and softening the tone.

Key words：hedges;Politeness Principle

Ⅰ.Introduction

Hedges as a member of fuzziness contribute to polite communication，which is correspondent with Leechs Politeness Principle in making the language more polite，direct and tactful.

Therefore，taking daily conversations as objects，this paper intends to discuss how hedges function in Leechs Politeness Principle including Six Maxims of Politeness Principle of Tact Maxim，Generosity Maxim，Approbation Maxim，Modesty Maxim，Agreement Maxim as well as Sympathy Maxim.

Ⅱ. Theoretical Basis

2.1 Hedges

The term "hedges" first appeared in the seminal paper of G. Lakoff（1972），"Hedges：a study in meaning criteria and the logic of fuzzy concepts". The definition of G. Lakoff（1972）is that the hedges are words whose ability is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzy.

2.2 Politeness Principle

Leech put forward the famous politeness principle in pragmatic principles（1983）. In his opinion，the conversational implicature is due to politeness（1983：81）. Leech further formulates his politeness principle into six main principles，which are tact Maxim，generosity maxim，approbation maxim，modesty maxim，agreement maxim as well as sympathy maxim

Ⅲ. Analysis of hedges in terms of Politeness Principle

3.1 Hedges and Tact Maxim

This maxim means to minimize cost to other and maximize benefit to other.

A：What is she like？ Is she beautiful？

B：Uh...well，John said she is beautiful.

We can infer from what B answers A，apparently，B doesnt think the girl they are talking about is beautiful，but it is rude to judge others appearance directly，especially to judge a girl. Therefore，B answers A by using attribution shield “John said” to express his or her opinions indirectly with the third persons idea in order to minimize cost to other and maximize benefit to other，being polite to John and Johns girlfriend.

3.2 Hedges and Generosity Maxim

This maxim means to minimize the benefit to self and to maximize the cost to self.

A：I was wondering if you would please lend me your computer for a while？ Within one hour！

B：Im sorry，Im afraid I cant because I have to write a very important essay with my computer.

A uses plausibility shield “I was wandering” and rounders “a while” “within” showing that A wants to minimize the benefit and maximize the cost for A doesnt want to put much pressure on B. B also uses hedges “Im afraid” “very” to soften the tone of his or her utterance and explain to A that he or her is busy politely.

3.3 Hedges and Approbation Maxim

It means to minimize dispraise of other and to maximize praise of other.

It is well-known that the actress Li Xiaolu has gotten into the scandal of betrayal of her husband. Ma Su，as the most intimated friend of Li，when being asked her opinion of the rumor in a talk show，she responded as follows：“ 其實就像刚才小明（超模奚梦瑶）说的，其实可能真的是普通朋友吃个饭看个电影，可能真的就是一个普通聚会，它能联系的东西就比较复杂……” We can see that in her response to her opinion，she used “像小明说的” and“可能”for several times. By using attribution shield and adaptors，Ma Su indirectly put forward her opinion in order to minimize dispraise to her friend，to reduce the passive effect that her response may cause，to be polite to other s privates.

3.4 Hedges and Modesty Maxim

This maxim means to minimize praise of self and maximize dispraise of self.

Boss：You did a wonderful job！

Employee：Thank you！ Just not too bad.

Here the employee uses rounder “just” and adaptor “too” in “not too bad” to show his modesty，obeying the modesty maxim which is to minimize praise of self and to maximize dispraise of self.

3.5 Hedges and Agreement Maxim

It means to minimize disagreement between self and other and to maximize agreement between self and other.

（1）A：It was an interesting movie，wasnt it？

B：well，sort of.

（2）A：English is a difficult language to learn.

B：True，but the grammar is quite easy.

In（1）apparently，B disagrees with A，B thinks the movie isnt interesting，but if B answers “No，it isnt”，it will violate the maxim of agreement，being impolite to A. Here B uses adaptor “sort of” to show his or her attitude and at the same time be polite to A. In（2），B uses “quite” to express that grammar is easy in English，minimizing disagreement with A.

3.6 Hedges and Sympathy Maxim

It means to minimize antipathy between self and other and to maximize sympathy between self and other.

Student：Im sorry，I could not work it out.

Teacher 1：Thats OK. This question is difficult.

Teacher 2：Thats OK. This question is very difficult. And almost all students in our class cannot work it out.

Comparing differences of teacher1 and teacher2，obviously response of teacher2 is more considerate and polite by adding adaptors “very” and “almost”. In this way，the antipathy is further minimized，the sympathy is further maximized and the politeness scale is reinforced compared with the first teacher.

IV. Conclusion

Through analysis of the use of hedges in daily conversation under the framework of politeness principle，this paper finds that hedges play the role of politeness mainly by the means of fuzzifying the extent and range，indirect expression and softening the tone.

References

[1]  Lakoff G. Hedges：A Study in Meaning Criteria and the Logic of Fuzzy Concepts[J]. Journal of Philosophical in Logic，1973

[2]  Leech，G N. Principle of Pragmatics[M]. London：Longman. 1983

作者簡介：陈曦（1995-），女，汉族，河北邯郸人，在读研究生，研究方向：英语语言与应用。

（Changchun University of Science and Technology）