Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi

Zhang Yan

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13

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Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi

Zhang Yan

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 29 March 2023 Accepted: 25 April 2023 Published: 10 May 2023

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Abstract

Hedges are a part of fuzzy language and play an important role in language communication. Since hedges entered into the academic world, there have been numerous researches on hedges. However, few existing studies have analyzed legal discourse from the perspective of Adaptation Theory, and few studies have been conducted on the pragmatic analysis of hedges used in defendants' arguments in civil courts. Therefore, based on the classification method of hedges by Prince, this study conducted a pragmatic analysis of hedges used by defendant in court arguments from the perspective of Adaptation Theory. The trial case of Lao Rongzhi, which has caused a great disturbance in recent years is chosen in this study. It is concluded that defendant often uses multiple hedges to adapt to the context simultaneously, resulting in different communicative effects, such as expressing respect, expressing politeness, arousing sympathy, and avoiding responsibility. The use of hedges is related to the special nature of court trial and the defendant's intention to evade responsibility and obtain a reduction in sentence. By conducting a multidimensional analysis of hedges in defendant’s arguments in court trial, this study aims to enrich the research on hedges in court discourse, increase public attention to defendant discourse, and attempt to provide some inspiration and guidance for defendants to use hedges and for judges, lawyers, and other court participants to respond to hedges.

Published in	International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13
Page(s)	43-47
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Hedges, Defendant's Arguments, Adaptation Theory, Court Trial

References

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[2]	Zhang Jing. The role of gender in the use of linguistic hedges in natural spoken language between taiwan and mainland [J]. Journal of Huaqiao university. 2021 (6): 150-160.
[3]	Wu Guangting&Yang Lianrui. A corpus-based contrastive analysis of hedges in English and Chinese: a case study of approximators [J]. Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages. 2021 (1): 45-52.
[4]	Pan Feng&Sheng Dandan. Norms and norm-taking in interpreting for Chinese government press conferences: a case study of hedges. Foreign Language Learning Theory and Practice. 2021 (1): 115-124.
[5]	Lakoff G. Hedges: A study in meaning criteria and the logic of fuzzy concepts [J]. Journal of Philosophical Logic, 1973 (2).
[6]	Prince E., Frader J. & Bosk C. On Hedging in Physician—Physician Discourse [J]. Linguistics and the Professions. Hillsdale, NJ: Ablex, 1982.
[7]	Wu Tieping. A Preliminary Study of Fuzzy Language [J]. Journal of Foreign Languages, 1979 (4).
[8]	He Ziran. Hedges and Verbal Communication [J]. Journal of Foreign Languages, 1985 (05).
[9]	Peter M. Tiersma. Legal Language. Interpreted by Liu Weiming [M]. Law Press China, 2015.
[10]	O’Barr, W. H. Linguistic evidence: Language, power, and strategy in the courtroom [M]. New York: Academic Press, 1982.
[11]	Verschueren, J. Understanding Pragmatics [M]. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
[12]	Li Jie, He Ziran. 12 Lectures on Pragmatics [M]. East China Normal University Press, 2011.
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[15]	Formentelli M. Address strategies in a British academic setting [J]. Pragmatics, 2009 (2).

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APA Style

Zhang Yan. (2023). Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 9(2), 43-47. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13

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ACS Style

Zhang Yan. Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2023, 9(2), 43-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13

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AMA Style

Zhang Yan. Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2023;9(2):43-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13,
  author = {Zhang Yan},
  title = {Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {43-47},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20230902.13},
  abstract = {Hedges are a part of fuzzy language and play an important role in language communication. Since hedges entered into the academic world, there have been numerous researches on hedges. However, few existing studies have analyzed legal discourse from the perspective of Adaptation Theory, and few studies have been conducted on the pragmatic analysis of hedges used in defendants' arguments in civil courts. Therefore, based on the classification method of hedges by Prince, this study conducted a pragmatic analysis of hedges used by defendant in court arguments from the perspective of Adaptation Theory. The trial case of Lao Rongzhi, which has caused a great disturbance in recent years is chosen in this study. It is concluded that defendant often uses multiple hedges to adapt to the context simultaneously, resulting in different communicative effects, such as expressing respect, expressing politeness, arousing sympathy, and avoiding responsibility. The use of hedges is related to the special nature of court trial and the defendant's intention to evade responsibility and obtain a reduction in sentence. By conducting a multidimensional analysis of hedges in defendant’s arguments in court trial, this study aims to enrich the research on hedges in court discourse, increase public attention to defendant discourse, and attempt to provide some inspiration and guidance for defendants to use hedges and for judges, lawyers, and other court participants to respond to hedges.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi
AU  - Zhang Yan
Y1  - 2023/05/10
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 43
EP  - 47
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13
AB  - Hedges are a part of fuzzy language and play an important role in language communication. Since hedges entered into the academic world, there have been numerous researches on hedges. However, few existing studies have analyzed legal discourse from the perspective of Adaptation Theory, and few studies have been conducted on the pragmatic analysis of hedges used in defendants' arguments in civil courts. Therefore, based on the classification method of hedges by Prince, this study conducted a pragmatic analysis of hedges used by defendant in court arguments from the perspective of Adaptation Theory. The trial case of Lao Rongzhi, which has caused a great disturbance in recent years is chosen in this study. It is concluded that defendant often uses multiple hedges to adapt to the context simultaneously, resulting in different communicative effects, such as expressing respect, expressing politeness, arousing sympathy, and avoiding responsibility. The use of hedges is related to the special nature of court trial and the defendant's intention to evade responsibility and obtain a reduction in sentence. By conducting a multidimensional analysis of hedges in defendant’s arguments in court trial, this study aims to enrich the research on hedges in court discourse, increase public attention to defendant discourse, and attempt to provide some inspiration and guidance for defendants to use hedges and for judges, lawyers, and other court participants to respond to hedges.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Zhang Yan

School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China

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APA Style

Zhang Yan. (2023). Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 9(2), 43-47. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13

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ACS Style

Zhang Yan. Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2023, 9(2), 43-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13

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AMA Style

Zhang Yan. Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2023;9(2):43-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13,
  author = {Zhang Yan},
  title = {Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {43-47},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20230902.13},
  abstract = {Hedges are a part of fuzzy language and play an important role in language communication. Since hedges entered into the academic world, there have been numerous researches on hedges. However, few existing studies have analyzed legal discourse from the perspective of Adaptation Theory, and few studies have been conducted on the pragmatic analysis of hedges used in defendants' arguments in civil courts. Therefore, based on the classification method of hedges by Prince, this study conducted a pragmatic analysis of hedges used by defendant in court arguments from the perspective of Adaptation Theory. The trial case of Lao Rongzhi, which has caused a great disturbance in recent years is chosen in this study. It is concluded that defendant often uses multiple hedges to adapt to the context simultaneously, resulting in different communicative effects, such as expressing respect, expressing politeness, arousing sympathy, and avoiding responsibility. The use of hedges is related to the special nature of court trial and the defendant's intention to evade responsibility and obtain a reduction in sentence. By conducting a multidimensional analysis of hedges in defendant’s arguments in court trial, this study aims to enrich the research on hedges in court discourse, increase public attention to defendant discourse, and attempt to provide some inspiration and guidance for defendants to use hedges and for judges, lawyers, and other court participants to respond to hedges.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Pragmatic Analysis of Hedges Used in Defendant's Arguments in Civil Courts -- A Case Study of Lao Rongzhi
AU  - Zhang Yan
Y1  - 2023/05/10
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13
T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
SP  - 43
EP  - 47
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1271
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20230902.13
AB  - Hedges are a part of fuzzy language and play an important role in language communication. Since hedges entered into the academic world, there have been numerous researches on hedges. However, few existing studies have analyzed legal discourse from the perspective of Adaptation Theory, and few studies have been conducted on the pragmatic analysis of hedges used in defendants' arguments in civil courts. Therefore, based on the classification method of hedges by Prince, this study conducted a pragmatic analysis of hedges used by defendant in court arguments from the perspective of Adaptation Theory. The trial case of Lao Rongzhi, which has caused a great disturbance in recent years is chosen in this study. It is concluded that defendant often uses multiple hedges to adapt to the context simultaneously, resulting in different communicative effects, such as expressing respect, expressing politeness, arousing sympathy, and avoiding responsibility. The use of hedges is related to the special nature of court trial and the defendant's intention to evade responsibility and obtain a reduction in sentence. By conducting a multidimensional analysis of hedges in defendant’s arguments in court trial, this study aims to enrich the research on hedges in court discourse, increase public attention to defendant discourse, and attempt to provide some inspiration and guidance for defendants to use hedges and for judges, lawyers, and other court participants to respond to hedges.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download