Hedging in Academic Writing

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Theoretical Framework
  • Approaches to a Definition of Hedging
  • Anglophonization vs. Multilingualism in Academic Discourse
  • The Importance of Hedging in Academic Writing
  • Cross-cultural Research on Hedging
  • Hedging Strategies in Academic Writing
    • Modal Verbs (1st Category)
    • Lexical Verbs (2nd Category)
    • Reference to Author and Addressee (3rd category)
• Contrastive Analysis
  • Corpus Description
  • Methodology
  • Results
    • Modal Verbs
    • Lexical Verbs
    • Reference to Author and Addressee
  • Some General Observations and Problems
• Conclusion

Objectives and Key Themes

This paper aims to investigate the use of hedging in academic writing, particularly comparing the practices of native English and Spanish speakers. It focuses on the influence of Anglophonization on academic discourse, exploring how the rise of English as a global language impacts the linguistic conventions of other languages used in scholarly publication. The study also examines the interpersonal function of hedging in conveying authorial presence and managing reader-writer relationships.

• The role of hedging in academic writing
• The influence of Anglophonization on academic discourse
• The interpersonal function of hedging
• Cross-cultural differences in hedging practices
• The relationship between hedging and authorial presence

Chapter Summaries

The first chapter provides an introduction to the concept of hedging, situating it within the broader context of vagueness in language. It examines the historical development of hedging research, highlighting its shift from spoken to written language, particularly in academic writing. The chapter also discusses the significance of cross-cultural perspectives in understanding hedging practices. The second chapter presents a theoretical framework for the study, focusing on the concept of hedging and its various definitions. The chapter explores the significance of hedging in conveying authorial presence, managing reader-writer relationships, and navigating the complexities of academic discourse. It also delves into the historical development of English as a global language and the impact of Anglophonization on academic writing. The third chapter outlines the methodology and results of a contrastive analysis comparing hedging practices in English and Spanish academic writing. It describes the corpus used for the analysis, the methods employed, and the key findings related to the use of modal verbs, lexical verbs, and referential markers in both languages.

Keywords

The main focus of this research paper is on hedging in academic writing. The text explores cross-cultural differences in hedging practices, particularly between English and Spanish. Other key concepts include Anglophonization, authorial presence, reader-writer relationships, and the influence of cultural background on linguistic conventions. The study also draws upon concepts from pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and corpus linguistics.