Hedging

Ardita Dylgjeri, University of Elbasan "Aleksandër Xhuvani", Albania
ardita.dylgjeri@uniel.edu.al

Hedging is a common linguistic strategy used in both spoken and written communication to express uncertainty, reduce directness, or soften the impact of a statement. Rather than stating something in an absolute or assertive way, speakers use hedges to present ideas more tentatively, making statements sound less blunt, confrontational, or imposing. For example, expressions such as sort of, I think, or maybe reduce the force or certainty of what is being said.

The term hedge was introduced by George Lakoff, who described hedges as linguistic devices that make meanings ‘fuzzier’ or less definitive. He noted that some hedges attenuate meaning (e.g., a little bit), while others intensify it (e.g., very, really). However, later scholars, such as Wright and Hosman, distinguished clearly between hedges and intensifiers, emphasising their opposing functions—hedges soften meaning, while intensifiers strengthen it.

Brown and Levinson examined hedging within the framework of politeness theory. They linked hedging to strategies for managing ‘face-threatening acts,’ where speakers aim to maintain social harmony by showing respect, solidarity, or deference.

Other distinctions have also emerged in the literature. Hübler contrasted hedging with understatement, arguing that while understatement alters the truth value of a proposition, hedging reflects the speaker’s stance. Caffi extended this view through her theory of mitigation, proposing a typology that includes bushes, hedges, and shields, each addressing different aspects of communicative softening.

The use of hedging is highly genre-dependent and plays a significant role in academic writing, political discourse, legal argumentation, and everyday conversation.

Keywords: meaning, mitigation, politeness

Related Entries: Modality, Face-saving Act, Impoliteness, Epistemic/Truth, Evidentiality

References:
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press.
Caffi, C. (2007). Mitigation. Elsevier.
Hübler, A. (1983). Understatements and hedges in English. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Lakoff, G. (1972). Hedges: A study in meaning criteria and the logic of fuzzy concepts. In Papers from the Eighth Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society (pp. 183–228). Chicago Linguistic Society. (Reprinted in Journal of Philosophical Logic, 2(4), 1973, 458–508. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00262952
Wright, J. W., II, & Hosman, L. A. (1983). Language style and sex bias in the courtroom: The effects of male and female use of hedges and intensifiers on impression formation. Southern Speech Communication Journal, 48(2), 137–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/10417948309372526