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

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.