Studying Interpersonal Meanings Of Hedges In TED Speeches From The Perspective Of Appraisal Theory

As one of the most representative forms of human language,hedges refer to words that change the degree of fuzziness.Lakoff（1972）first puts forward the concept of hedges and defines them as “words whose job is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzy”.Since the 1970 s,scholars at home and abroad have conducted a series of studies on hedges in different types of discourse,such as political discourse and academic discourse.Besides,there are also research concerned with different perspectives,such as semantics and pragmatics.However,few studies have dealt with the interpersonal meanings of hedges in TED speech discourse from the perspective of Appraisal Theory.This thesis attempts to examine the interpersonal meanings of hedges in TED speech discourse in terms of Appraisal Theory.With 30 TED speeches from 2018 to 2020 selected as the data source,this thesis adopts the definition of hedges proposed by Lakoff（1972）and the classification of hedges inaugurated by Prince（1982）.On the basis of the analysis of engagement resources and graduation resources in Appraisal Theory,with the aid of the self-built corpus by Antconc3.4.4,this thesis aims to explore the interpersonal meanings achieved by hedges in TED speeches and answer the following questions using a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis: 1.What are the main types of hedges used by speakers in TED speeches?2.What are the distribution and frequency of hedges as engagement resources and graduation resources in TED speeches? 3.What interpersonal meanings do hedges realize as engagement resources and graduation resources in TED speeches?The study arrives at the following findings.First of all,the main types of hedges used by speakers in TED speeches are approximators and shields.Besides,TED speeches are characterized by a marked divergence between the proportions of speakers using engagement resources and graduation resources.There are 1093 engagement resources and 436 graduation resources,with the former being 71.48% and the latter being a mere 28.52%.Among engagement resources,hedges as dialogic expansion resources are more frequently employed than those as dialogic contraction resources,accounting for 76.49% and 23.51%respectively whereas in graduation resources,the frequency of hedges as force resources is much higher than those of focus resources,comprising 62.16% and 37.84% respectively.At last,the following interpersonal meanings are realized by TED speakers by virtue of a variety of hedges.Firstly,as far as engagement resources are concerned,hedges as entertain resources in dialogic expansion demonstrate that the TED speaker’s point of view is only one of the possibilities,leaving space for the voice of others and mobilizing the enthusiasm of the audience to participate in the dialogue while using attribute resources indicates the TED speaker transfers the responsibility to external sources by quoting external voices,signifying the authority and credibility of his utterance.By dint of hedges as dialogic contraction resources,the speaker dismisses the views of others,signifying confidence in his own stance.Secondly,when it comes to graduation resources,hedges as force resources and sharpen resources are utilized to adjust the intensity or focus of utterances and give prominence to the crucial information,playing a guiding role in the cognition of the audience whereas obscuring the focus of things enables hedges as soften resources to divert the audience’s attention and alleviate the burden of making mistakes,which allows free rein to the speaker’s expression of his position.This study is a meaningful exploration of hedges in TED speeches from the perspective of Appraisal Theory,affording deeper insights into the comprehension of the interpersonal meanings of hedges.Besides,it is instrumental in grasping the usage of hedges and understanding the intention of the speaker for English learners,who can apply it to reading or writing.Nevertheless,the study is still subject to constraints such as the inadequacies of the corpus.Therefore,it is incumbent on researchers and linguists to expand the scope of corpus texts in the future to ensure greater objectivity in the study of interpersonal meanings of hedges from the perspective of Appraisal Theory.