Indexed by:会议论文

Date of Publication:2011-01-01

Included Journals:CPCI-SSH

Page Number:239-249

Key Words:hedges; hedging; ESL; EFL; identities

Abstract:By comparing and contrasting the use of hedges/hedging in English writing by three groups of college students of different cultural backgrounds, this study contests the notion that cultural differences contribute to the disparity in using hedges/hedging in English writing. It demonstrates that the use of hedging has little to do with a writer's identity and it is not a problem for writers who don't speak English as a native language. It raises such issues for further discussion as what it means to write in a second language, the standard of a standard writing and the notion of native-like proficiency.