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A Pragmatic Analysis Of Hedges In Courtroom Arguments

Posted on:2006-12-18Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:W WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2166360155972761Subject:English Language and Literature
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
This thesis elaborates on the phenomenon of hedges and hedging in courtroom arguments, especially the arguments made by authorized lawyers. Both English and Chinese data are used in the analysis. A qualitative analysis and descriptive analysis are conducted in the study, hoping to reveal the major linguistic realizations, the aims and frequency of using hedges and hedging and their pragmatic functions. By analyzing the courtroom arguments, and following the modal proposed by Hyland, we identify 3 categories in hedges and hedging both in English and Chinese data. It is demonstrated that hearer-oriented hedges are used as the most high frequency both in English and Chinese data. It discovers the hedging of Chinese courts share lots of similarities in hedging with those of American courts despite the different legal systems The thesis also shows that accuracy-oriented hedges indicate the lawyer's concern of precision; speaker-oriented hedges serve as the lawyer's self-protection; and hearer-oriented hedges reveal the lawyer's attitude towards the hearer's active role in the courtroom arguments. The present study may contribute to the hedges and hedging study, and shed light on the hedges and hedging research of the courtroom arguments in Chinese and may help to understand the strategies adopted by lawyers in courtroom arguments.
Keywords/Search Tags:courtroom arguments, hedges, hedging, linguistic realizations, pragmatic functions
PDF Full Text Request
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