Abstract

Vagueness is one of the essential properties of language. Linguists consider vagueness to be of crucial importance for its efficient usage in everyday communication. Hedges are part of vagueness. This paper includes a widely existing phenomenon in human communication –– hedges and the pragmatic functions in college English teaching. It is composed of six chapters, with Chapter Four as its core which analyzes the pragmatic functions of hedges in English teaching. In the hope of knowing the use of hedges in college English classes and giving some suggestions, we first try to give the concept and classification of hedges. Then the results of an empirical study are given and analyzed. In the research, by using quantitative approach, 40 college English classes are recorded, and some teachers as well as students are also interviewed. Based on theory preparations and the research, we study hedges from the pragmatic perspective, with the help of two main pragmatic principles: “Cooperative Principle” and “Politeness Principle.” In the next part of this paper, we give some suggestions of using hedges properly and correctly. This paper holds that appropriate use of hedges does not hinder any effective language communication. Instead, it can, in many cases, make linguistic expressions more natural, polite, cooperative and effective. That is to say, a conscious and meaningful use of hedges would greatly help the teacher to accomplish the goal of effective teaching. From the point of view of pragmatics, an empirical study of hedges will be of vital importance in college English teaching.

Key Words： Vagueness, hedges, pragmatic function, quantitative approach, English teaching.

摘 要

    模糊是一种常见的语言现象，在大学英语课堂中也不例外。作为模糊语的组成部分，模糊限制语在大学英语课堂的语言交际中起了十分重要的作用。虽然近年来模糊限制语一直是国内外学者关注的热点，但这方面的实证研究却为数不多。本文以大学英语教师的课堂教学为语料，通过使用定量分析的方法，从语用学角度探讨课堂教学中模糊限制语的使用情况及其语用功能。作者运用录音的方式，收集了大学40节英语课堂的语料，并作了统计分析，得出了较有价值的数据。为了进一步了解模糊限制语的使用效果，作者还对一些老师和学生进行了采访。在文章最后作者提出了一些有助于英语教师有目的地使用模糊限制语以达到交际目的的建议。

关键词：模糊语，模糊限制语，语用功能，定量分析，英语教学。

Introduction
People tend to believe that good use of language must meet the requirements of clarity and precision. It is true in some situations. For instance, one should know the exact time instead of “this afternoon” when booking a ticket. Therefore, vagueness is believed to be avoided. However, the world itself is more than that simple. Language, which is used in our daily life, cannot and need not be clear and precise all the time, especially in the process of communication. As Joanna Channell put in her book Vague Language, “One of the most useful and enduring insights to come out of the recent study of language use is that speakers and writers tailor their language to make it suitable to the situation ”.