A Corpus-Based Comparative Study of Hedges in English and Chinese Research Articles

Abstract

As an essential linguistic device, hedges are widely adopted in academic writing to express standpoints and boost the persuasiveness of academic arguments. Based on two self-built corpora, this study conducts a comparative analysis on the frequency distribution and linguistic realizations of hedges in English and Chinese research articles. The results indicate that the overall frequency of the hedges in English research articles is significantly higher than that in Chinese research articles, and that different hedge subcategories exhibit distinct preferences in usage between the two corpora. In terms of adaptors, intensifying adverbs are predominantly utilized in English texts to adjust the certainty or strength of claims, whereas mitigating adverbs are favored in Chinese texts to soften the tone of arguments. In terms of rounders, non-numerical types are significantly more frequent in English texts than in their Chinese counterparts. In terms of plausible shields, certain adjectives are incorporated in English texts while being notably absent in Chinese texts, indicating a difference in how tentative judgments are constructed in the two languages. In terms of attribute shields, discourse verbs are relied on more heavily in English texts to achieve mitigation, whereas research verbs are employed more frequently in Chinese texts to achieve the same hedging effect. This study not only enriches existing research on hedges in academic discourse but also offers a direct reference for the teaching of academic writing.