HEDGING AS A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY IN AMERICAN TELEVISION DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article examines the use of linguistic hedging as a communication strategy in American television discourse. The scripts of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, one of the most popular talk shows in the United States, were taken as the material for this research. The show is based on interviews, which are about real communication between interlocutors, asking questions, giving answers, avoiding categorical statements, being indirect and thus using hedges in speech to achieve communicative goals. The purpose of this research is to identify common representatives of hedges used in American television discourse for successful and effective interaction.

The article has scientific significance as it explores hedging as one of the most common communicative strategies used in American television discourse, considers definitions of the concept of hedging, pragmatic features and functions and offers an analytical approach to understanding the role of hedging in this context.

The authors analyze examples from the television program, demonstrating how hedging is used to achieve various communicative goals. The method of linguistic observation and description, the method of interpretation, and the method of contextual analysis were employed in this study.

The results of data analysis indicate that the linguistic hedges commonly used in American television discourse are “you know”, “like”, “I mean”, “just”, “I think”, “kind of” and “well”. The frequency of their use ranged from 5% to 27% depending on the hedge.

This research on linguistic hedging has practical significance in various areas related to communication, language learning, psychology and public speaking. The results obtained can help improve communication skills, increase the effectiveness of learning and teaching languages, and improve professional skills in various fields.