模糊限制语在英语新闻中的语用.docx

1、模糊限制语在英语新闻中的语用 Abstract As an important part of fuzzy language, hedges were first put forward by George Lakoff in 1972. Along with the development of fuzzy linguists, there has been an increasing interest in hedges; a growing interest among hedges has emerged to explore the field of lexicology, prag

2、matics, discourses analysis translation and second acquisition, and other fields. The Pragmatic Function of Hedges in News has also been one of the research interests in the studies of hedges. However, the study on this aspect of hedges is very limited. News language is different from general texts,

3、 it needs to express briefly and accurately. However, on some special occasions, the application of hedges can play a vital role in news language. This dissertation aims to conduct a study on the application of hedges in English news and its pragmatic functions, in the hope to help readers know bett

4、er about English news and the necessity of hedges in news language. The first part of this paper is an introduction, giving a brief introduction to the writing background and purpose. Then, the author introduces about the definition and classification of hedges as well as the theoretical basis of th

5、is paper: cooperative principle; politeness principle as well as face theory. Then, the author discusses on the language features of English news. Next, the author focuses on the application of hedges in English news as well as its pragmatic functions. The last part is a conclusion, in which the who

6、le paper will be summarized. Key words：English news; Hedges; Pragmatic function摘 要模糊限制语作为模糊语言重要的一部分，由George Lakoff 于1972年首次提出。随着模糊语言学的发展，模糊限制语得到越来越多的关注，对模糊限制的探索延伸到词汇学、语用学、语篇翻译分析、二语习得等领域。模糊限制语在新闻中的语用功能已成为研究对象之一，然而，有关模糊限制语在这方面的研究非常有限。新闻语言不同于一般的文体，它要求精确简洁地表达。但在一些特殊情况下，模糊语言的运用反而可以起到很好的作用。本文旨在探讨模糊语在新闻英语中

7、的运用及其语用功能，力求帮助读者更好地理解英语新闻和揭示模糊限制语在新闻语言中存在的必要性。本文首先是一个引言，简单介绍了论文写作背景及意义。进而介绍了模糊语概念分类以及本文写作的相关理论知识：合作原则、礼貌原则以及面子理论。并在分析新闻英语的语言特点的基础上，着重阐述了模糊语言在新闻英语中的英语及其语用功能。第五章是论文的结论部分，总结了全文。关键词: 英语新闻；模糊限制语；语用功能ContentsAbstract.i摘 要 ii1. Introduction.11.1 Rationale 11.2 Aim and objectives 11.3 Research method and da

8、ta collection 11.4 Organization of the dissertation 22. Literature Review.32.1 Introduction 32.2 Definitions of hedges 32.2.1 Classification of hedges 32.2.2 Previous studies on hedges 42.3Theoretical framework 42.3.1 Grices Cooperative Principle 52.3.2 Leechs Politeness Principle 62.3.3 Brown & Lev

9、insons Face Theory 73. Reasons for Hedges in English News.93.1 Introduction 93.2 Characteristics of English news 93.2.1 Timely 93.2.2 Objective 93.2.3 Informative 103.2 Demand of English news characteristics 104. Pragmatic Function of Hedges in News.124.1 Introduction 124.2 Being cooperative 124.2.1

10、 Violation of maxim of quality 124.2.2 Violation of maxim of quantity 124.3 Being polite 134.4 Saving face 134.4.1 Saving reporters face 134.4.2 Saving readers face 145. Conclusion.165.1 Major findings 165.2 Limitation and suggestion 16References.17Appendix.18Acknowledgments.191. Introduction1.1 Rat

11、ionale Fuzziness is one of the essential features of natural language, and its importance is not less than other language features found early. As an important part of fuzzy language, hedges were first put forward by George Lakoff in 1972. Hedges are widely used in trade negotiations and political,

12、diplomatic and legal terms and news. With strong language application, the Pragmatic Function of Hedges in News has also been one of the research interests in the studies of hedges. However, the study on this aspect of hedges hasnt been totally developed. Quite a few people usually held the view tha

13、t accuracy is the most important characteristic of news writing. But ambiguity is the essence of natural language attributes. Hedges refers to that people sometimes could not say with precision, and even deliberately put “fuzzy” in order to achieve a pragmatic purpose language. Ambiguity refers to t

14、he language of uncertainty. In news report, the journalist adheres to Leechs politeness principle, Grices cooperative principle and face theory. The application of hedges in English News follow two general principles of communication related to language use, namely the Cooperative Principle, Politen

15、ess Principle, and Face Theory. Yule (as cited in An Introduction to Linguistics 2011:118), pointed out, “Someone who use hedges are not only aware of the maximums, but that they are willing to show they are trying to observe those principles”. This dissertation aims to conduct a study on the applic

16、ation of hedges in English news and its pragmatic functions, in the hope to help readers know better about English news and the necessity of hedges in news language. 1.2 Aim and objectivesThe dissertation is primarily concerned with the following three research questions: () What is the relation bet

17、ween the application of hedges and the characteristics of news?() What principle should be followed when hedges are applied to English news?() Whats the pragmatic function of hedges in English news?This thesis will study on the application of hedges in English news and its pragmatic functions, it is

18、 hoped that this study will benefit English news readers and writers. The significance of this thesis is both theoretical and practical. A good knowledge of pragmatic functions of hedges in English news will provide insights for news reading and interpretation in certain social contexts, and give so

19、me inspiration for the writing of news.1.3 Research method and data collectionThe corpus consists of 15 pieces of English news, which are chosen from China daily, and The New York Times. These three newspapers are widely read by people, so this dissertation collects data from them. These samples Eng

20、lish News published during 2010-2012, which are selected at random from current English news that turn up in two main newspapers available at school library and Internet. Data analysis is used in order to characterize the principal forms of hedges in the representative samples of English news. By an

21、alyzing the major hedging expressions and the frequencies appeared in news, the dissertation can clearly reveal the pragmatic functions of hedges in English news.1.4 Organization of the dissertationThe dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter One briefly introduces the rationale, aim and

22、objectives, and data collection of the research. Chapter Two relates the review of literature to the hedges, and theoretical framework of present study. Chapter Three summarizes the characteristics of English news and the reason for the existence of hedges in English news. Chapter Four is the main b

23、ody of the dissertation in which two principles for analysis outlined in Chapter Two is applied to analyze the collected data to indicate pragmatic functions of hedges in English news and further combines with the news language feature to explain the practical function of hedges. Chapter Five draws

24、conclusions, discusses limitations of the dissertation and suggests further research. 2. Literature Review2.1 IntroductionThis chapter begins with the review of concepts of hedges and the classification for the hedges and at the same time it discusses related studies on hedges in news reports. The f

25、inal section of this chapter outlines the theoretical framework that will be applied in the subsequent chapter. 2.2 Definitions of hedgesFuzziness is one of the essential features of natural language, and its importance is not less than other language features found early. As an important part of fu

26、zzy language, Hedges were first proposed by the U.S. linguist Lakoff who proposed it in 1972 and began to study it, and it was defined as “Words whose job is to make things fuzzy or less fuzzy”. According to the oxford concise dictionary of linguists with Chinese translation, hedge is a linguistic d

27、evice by which a speaker avoids being comprised by a statement that turns out to be wrong, a request that is not acceptable, and so on.2.2.1 Classification of hedgesArising from no unified definition of hedge, researchers may hold different views of the categorizations of hedges. Prince (1982) claim

28、s that there are at least two kinds of hedges from semantic and pragmatic perspectives, one is approximator (contain adaptor and rounder), and the other type of it is shield (contain attribution and plausibility). At home, Wu Tieping (1999：71) argues that hedges can be classified into four kinds fro

29、m the viewpoint of grammar. The first kind is some adjectives and adverbs, such as often, very, possibly, perhaps etc. The second kind is some suffixes, such as“-ish”, “-like”. If they are used after some words, hedges will be formed. The third kind is some phrases. When speakers or writers have uncertainty and indecisive view towards something, they will use some phra