A Corpus-based Study On Hedges In Diplomatic Interpreting

Hedges can enhance the acceptability of speeches and make speeches' expression more euphemistic and prudent.The spokesperson's remarks during the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a representative of the country's stance and policy.The proper use of hedges in the routine press conference makes the language polite and expresses the country's strong position.This paper collects the corpus of the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from April 2018 to April 2019 to build an interpreting corpus,summarizes the frequency and distribution characteristics of the four types of hedges in diplomatic interpretation and analyses the reasons for using hedges in diplomatic interpreting from the perspective of Politeness Principle and Face Theory.This study aims to answer two major questions:(1)What is the frequency and distribution of the four types of hedges?(2)How are hedges chosen in diplomatic interpreting based on the Politeness Principle and Face Theory?Based on corpus data,this study finds that hedges are used very frequently in diplomatic interpreting,with adaptors being applied most frequently.This article uses Leech 's Politeness Principle,including tact maxim,generosity maxim,approbation maxim,modest maxim,agreement maxim,and sympathy maxim and Face Theory.Two theories are observed in diplomatic interpreting to show responsibility and politeness.In the face of non-negotiable issues such as national interests,interpreters violate Politeness Principle by adopting a tough attitude to express China's position.The innovation of this research is that compared with the previous research on hedges,this thesis uses corpus linguistics as a research method.It can conduct a more systematic and comprehensive study of hedges in qualitative and quantitative methods.At the same time,unlike the previous method of analyzing hedge translation methods,this article analyzes the reasons for using hedges in diplomatic interpreting based on Politeness Principle and Face Theory.However,due to the complexity of the classification of hedges and the limited size of the corpus,future research can be carried out in other fields.