The Pragmatics of Syntactic Hedging in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion | ||||
| مجلة کلية الأداب - جامعة السويس | ||||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 22 February 2025 | ||||
| Document Type: المقالة الأصلية | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jfask.2025.354338.1198 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Author | ||||
Iman Raouf Muhammad  
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| Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Port Said University, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| This study addresses the pragmatics of syntactic hedges in drama. It identifies the devices, strategies, functions and purposes of syntactic hedging employed in Shaw’s Pygmalion. To fulfill this aim, it adopts an eclectic model integrating three taxonomies, namely those of Salager-Meyer (1997), Varttala (2001) and Fraser (2010). Through blending both qualitative and quantitative methods, the data analysis shows that there are seven forms of syntactic hedges present in the drama, and the most frequently employed device is the conditional. These devices are used as strategies of avoidance, concealment, depersonalization, indetermination, intimacy, irony, and politeness. The analysis also highlights their various functions along with their dramatic, symbolic and thematic purposes. The findings indicate that hedging contributes to themes that Shaw seeks to disseminate to bring social reform. Through hedging, Shaw does not impinge upon the readers’ freedom of interpretation, but rather leads them, like himself, into an intricate maze of fuzziness. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| syntactic hedges; hedging strategies; hedging functions; Pygmalion; fuzziness | ||||
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