DOI:10.30842/alp2306573716203
Dheskali V. Shprehje mbrojtëse ‘hedges’
and përforcues ‘boosters’: A corpus analysis of student academic
texts in Albanian (L1) and English (L2). Acta Linguistica
Petropolitana. 2020. XVI(2): 54–76.
To use various realizations of modality (particularly
modalization) and intensity and to keep the balance of the right
amount of conviction with tentativeness is at the heart of
effective writing within the academic context [Halliday,
Matthiessen 2014; Hyland 1998a, 1998b]. It is essential for novice
writers to know how to negotiate with their readers and express the
due amount of probability, usuality and degree of the statements’
truthfulness while discussing established facts, personal opinions
or referring to other sources. These can be achieved through the
usage of the devices that Holmes [1990] and Hyland [1998b] termed
hedges and boosters. These
devices are important elements of well-written academic papers.
Despite the importance of the skills in academic writing, which
includes a proper usage of hedges and boosters, very little
research has been conducted on academic writing in Albania [Toska
2015]. Thus, initiating research on these phenomena, which I name
shprehje mbrojtëse ‘hedges’ and përforcues
‘boosters’, in this field is crucial.
This paper explores the way Albanian BA, MA and PhD students use
hedges and boosters in their academic writings in Albanian (L1) and
English (L2). It compares propositional subcategories of hedges
(approximators, e.g. APPROXIMATELY) and boosters (intensifiers,
e.g. TOTALLY) with authorial hedges (shields, e.g. I THINK) and
boosters (emphasizers, e.g. CERTAINLY). The paper borrows concepts
from the widely known theory of Systemic Functional Grammar
[Halliday 1985; Halliday, Matthiessen 2014] to prove its usefulness
in explaining hedges and boosters. The theory is interwoven with
Prince et al.’s [1980] categorization of hedges and Quirk et al.’s
[1985] model of boosters.
For the purposes of the study, two corpora of writings by
Albanian students in Albanian (around 2.2 million words) and in
English (around 600,000 words) are compiled. Each corpus contains
texts by both male and female writers. Disciplinary domains pertain
to both “soft” and “hard” sciences (Social Sciences, Languages and
Literature, Medicine, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and
Informatics). Results of the quantitative analysis show that hedges
are significantly favored by Albanians in L1. This indicates, among
other interpretations, that they prefer to project a “humble” image
about themselves in their academic writings and conform to their
“low” vertical power and institutional roles within the scientific
community.
Keywords
corpus linguistics, academic writing, Systemic
Functional Grammar, modalization, hedge, booster, Albanian student
corpora, Albanian, English, L1, L2
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