In applied linguistics and pragmatics, a hedge is a word or phrase used in a sentence to express ambiguity, probability, caution, or indecisiveness about the remainder of the sentence, rather than full accuracy, certainty, confidence, or decisiveness.[1] Hedges can also allow speakers and writers to introduce (or occasionally even eliminate) ambiguity in meaning and typicality as a category member.[2] Hedging in category membership is used in reference to the prototype theory, to signify the extent to which items are typical or atypical members of different categories. Hedges might be used in writing, to downplay a harsh critique or a generalization, or in speaking, to lessen the impact of an utterance due to politeness constraints between a speaker and addressee.[3][4]
Typically, hedges are adjectives or adverbs, but can also consist of clauses such as one use of tag questions. In some cases, a hedge could be regarded as a form of euphemism. Linguists consider hedges to be tools of epistemic modality; allowing speakers and writers to signal a level of caution in making an assertion.[5] Hedges are also used to distinguish items into multiple categories, where items can be in a certain category to an extent.[6]
^Salager-Meyer, Francoise (1997). "I think that perhaps you should: A study of hedges in written scientific discourse". In Miller, Thomas (ed.). Functional to written text: Classroom applications. Washington, D. C.: United States Information Agency. pp. 105–118. OCLC40657067.
^Lewin, Beverly A. (2005). "Hedging: An exploratory study of authors' and readers' identification of 'toning down' in scientific texts". Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 4 (2): 163–178. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2004.08.001.
^Kranich, Svenja (January 2011). "To hedge or not to hedge: the use of epistemic modal expressions in popular science in English texts, English–German translations, and German original texts". Text & Talk. 31: 77–99. doi:10.1515/text.2011.004. S2CID154907527.