A Study Of Pragmatic Functions Of The Hedges Used By A Couple In Everybody Loves Raymond From The Perspective Of Adaptation Theory

One of the basic properties of language is vagueness.In daily communication,hedges play a very important role in communication,and communicators usually use hedges to meet their communicative purposes.In recent years,the studies of hedges have been increasingly enriched,and researchers have made a lot of achievement in the fields of logic,semantics,pragmatics,rhetoric,stylistics,discourse analysis,cognitive linguistics,applied linguistics,second language acquisition,translation,intercultural communication and so on.As a famous theory in pragmatics,Jef Verschueren's Adaptation Theory(2000)understands and explains the pragmatics from a totally new view.Adaptation Theory says communication process is a continuous choice of language.In order to achieve expression needs,communicators always make language choices.Hedges are always chosen as language forms in couples' communication,and harmonious communication of couples is beneficial for the whole family's harmony.But up to now,there are few studies about hedges used by couples from the perspective of Verschueren's Adaptation Theory.So the study of hedges used by couples from the view of Adaptation Theory has a certain theoretical value and practical significance.The author attempts to use quantitative and qualitative research methods,focusing on the subjects of a young couple Ray and Debra,with reference to the fifth season of family drama Everybody Loves Raymond awarded as the perfect drama twice to study the following three questions:1.What are the differences in frequency of different kinds of hedges used by the couple?2.Why does the couple use hedges in communication?3.What are pragmatic functions of hedges used by the couple?By analyzing the higher frequency of hedges---approximators between husband and wife,it can be seen that the reason why the couple use hedges in communication is that they want to adapt to mental world,social world and physical world.Furthermore,the proper use of hedges can help couples respect and understand each other,while the improper use of hedges between couples can cause face threat andnegative emotions.The thesis enlarges the study of hedges and at the same time shows Adaptation Theory's guiding significance to hedges.More important,the study definitely helps people have a better understanding and use of hedges.