HEDGING

Sometimes you do not wish to state a fact too categorically since you are not sure whether you can prove
that it is true; at other times it is advisable not to sound too categorical as it might connote that you are
imposing your opinion on the others – your interlocutors, readers or viewers. This type of hesitancy,
however, does not mean that you have virtually no idea what you are talking about. It is, rather, a form of
communicative decorum: whether you are speaking casually to your friends at a party or giving a formal talk
to a group of peers in formal circumstances, sounding hesitancy (or being tentative) can be a discursive form
of showing deference to your audience, to the idea of truth or to any other values you adhere to.
The speaker’s/writer’s self-distancing from the message conveyed in order to express tentativeness,
called hedging, is never marked discursively by hesitation fillers of the ‘you know’ type as you encounter in
informal and colloquial communication. On the contrary, it may often occur in highly formal structure.
Here is the range of expressions you can use to distance yourself from facts and opinions and make them
therefore sound impersonal.

1.1 Noun phrases

There is little doubt that she took her own life.
There is some doubt that the country can control its inflation.
There is no doubt that he knows what he's doing.
There is little evidence of your ability to manage change.

1.2 Verbs: appear and seem (that)

It seems that the President may soon stand down.
It appears that the news reports are true.
The weather appears to be changing.
The outcome seems to be inevitable.
To add further distance you can use the modal verb would:
It would appear that you have already made up your minds.
They would appear to be hostile.
It would seem that you are in the wrong.

1.3 Modal adverbs (perhaps, possibly, probably) and other adverbs (apparently, seemingly, ostensibly); the
adjective unlikely:
Maybe it is too early to draw a conclusion, but the empirical evidence so far …
Some form of fear (e.g. anything from nervousness to panic) is perhaps the most common feeling related
to anxiety.
A bedroom is ostensibly the safest room in the house, but many parents started to think differently when
news of a young child being kidnapped from her own bedroom one night flooded the media.

1.4 The passive voice

It is widely recognised that the future of advertising is on the Net.
There are not believed to be any survivors.
It is not known whether he will accept the offer.

The following table (Jordan 1980:19)1 organises hedging devices on a decreasing scale of uncertainty –
so you should read from top to bottom as devices showing you are slightly closer to certainty or possibility:
2 | Hedging – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

METHOD OF EXPRESSING BASIC MEANING

BASIC MEANING through VERB PHRASE through ADVERB
not definitely TRUE appears to apparently
seems to seemingly
not definitely CERTAIN tends to
(is) likely to (very) probably
may well
POSSIBLE might maybe
may perhaps
could possibly
can

Hedging may be a safe politics to adopt – one that is both deferential to the audience and tentative vis-à-
vis the ‘immutability’ of certainty. However, too many such devices or contextually misplaced ones may be
detrimental to you as a speaker.
Expressing such degrees of certainty or uncertainty is ultimately a matter of subjective choice: someone
else might see the same things in a significantly different light, depending on their own orientation and
communicative purposes. Here is an example of conversion from a definite to a tentative statement by
substituting a ‘tentative’ verb for the verb to be in the indicative mood:

definite Industrialisation is viewed as a superior way of life.

tentative Industrialisation tends to be viewed as a superior way of life.

Conversely, by removing hedging devices you can transform tentative statements into definite ones:

tentative The ideal of economic development is likely to be associated with different policy goals.
definite The ideal of economic development is associated with …
tentative Perhaps greater clarity can be brought to the meaning of economic development by
implementing a strategy of ….
definite Greater clarity is brought to the meaning of economic development ...

Reaching a balance between tentativeness and certainty in academic writing

Academic writing, and especially scientific papers that report findings or overview the literature on a
particular topic, will strike you as on the whole a very assertive and straightforward type of communication.
However, no such piece of discourse is entirely factual – i.e. fact-orientated in approach – and objective –
with definite statements – in reporting facts: as soon as the author uses hedging devices s/he actually
articulates her/his subjective awareness of other subjectivities (the audience’s) and diversity of opinion.
Striking a balance between the two – expressing the author’s certainty and tentativeness – is negotiable as a
function of many factors, among which communication circumstances, the socio-professional relation
between writer and readership, and the degree of novelty of the facts being presented.
At times, the hesitancy expressed in a text may clearly refer not so much to the author’s as to a third
party’s s/he mentions, as the italicised words show in the following excerpt from a research article:

The inability of social scientists to draw clear conclusions from previous research about the effects of sex
on cooperation is well documented (Ledyard 1995). While some studies have found more cooperation
from females (Bonacich 1972; Dawes, McTavish and Shaklee 1977), other findings suggest that males
are more cooperative (e.g., Brown-Kruse and Hummels 1993; Sell and Wilson 1991). The majority of
3 | Hedging – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

evidence, however, points to no differences (Caldwell 1976; Goehring and Kahan 1976; Sell 1997). The
equivocal results led Ledyard (1995:161) to conclude that the question of whether sex affects
cooperation in social dilemmas remains open.
(Simpson 2003: 35)2

Practice

1. Underline all the examples of hedging in the texts below. Compare the texts which use hedging massively
with those which don’t and explain why some texts avoid hedging.
2. Explain the attitude conveyed by the use of hedging.

Are mobile phones the new cigarettes?

It has been suggested that cellular phones will be the tobacco of the 21 st century. It appears that their
use is almost as addictive as cigarettes, with psychologists’ reports claiming that there is evidence that users
display withdrawal symptoms if deprived of their mobiles for more than 24 hours. There is certainly no
doubt that mobile phone use in public is just as annoying as smoking. Mobile-free zones are already being set
up in cinemas and restaurants and it would seem that trains will soon be following suit with “mobile” and
“non-mobile” carriages available on all the commuter services to London. On a more serious note, it is now
widely believed that excessive mobile phone use may cause cancer, and it has been proposed that all mobile
phones should carry a government health warning similar to the one displayed on cigarette packets.

Crisis of representation3

This phrase was coined by George Marcus and Michael Fischer to refer specifically to the uncertainty
within the human sciences about adequate means of describing social reality. This crisis arises from the
(noncontroversial) claim that no interpretive account can ever directly or completely capture lived
experience. Broadly conceived, the crisis is part of a more general set of ideas across the human sciences that
challenge long-standing beliefs about the role of encompassing, generalizing (theoretical, methodological,
and political) frameworks that guide empirical research within the human sciences.

Sex, Fear, and Greed2

I argue that the inability to draw more definitive conclusions from past studies stems from the fact that
previous investigations of sex and cooperation have focused almost exclusively on Prisoner’s Dilemma. The
problem with this focus, as discussed below, is that social dilemmas differ from each other in important
ways. Furthermore, the theories I outline below suggest that an exclusive focus on Prisoner’s Dilemma is
particularly problematic when the independent variable of interest is sex. Specifically, these theories suggest
that females are more likely to defect out of fear (the prospect that one’s cooperation may be exploited)
while males are more likely to defect out of greed (the temptation to free-ride on others’ cooperation).
Because, as discussed below, Prisoner’s Dilemma contains both fear and greed, the theories suggest that we
should not expect to observe sex differences in it.
4 | Hedging – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

Writing, General Knowledge, and Postmodern Anthropology4

The meditation on language that has constituted the backbone of the western epistemological tradition
has perhaps never been so intense as right now in the era of the postmodern. And it might well be that
current attention to the incessant buzz of language hides the fear of some that it’s out of control and that the
structuralist and poststructuralist attitude to it, since at least as far back as Michel Foucault’s Langage à
l’infini, is somewhat hopeless for the human beings that many of us still dub1 ourselves. At a time in history
where advanced capitalism has commodified2 the very notion of being almost out of existence, the question
of language keeps on re-emerging in new forms, like some kind of irrepressible3 pest.4 One effect of the
pestilence in the U.S.A. is certainly the spectacle now of all disciplines in the humanities scratching away at
language based theory, that foreign body left after the visitation of language. Perhaps “scratching away”5
isn’t the right metaphor: most of these disciplines are trying to find ways of negotiating with,
accommodating,6 and sometimes even aspiring to identification with the linguistic scavenger.7
... Marcus and Fischer designate the current “crisis of representation” as the result of an uneasy interplay
of two projects in anthropology: first, ethnography’s commitment to a systematic (if gradual, or partial)
description of given cultural and social units; and second, anthropology’s chronic dream (somewhat
shattered lately) of discovering an encompassing totality.
The simultaneity of these two apparently disparate aims seems these days not to constitute much of a
problem for many who would call themselves scientists. Bourgeois empiricism in our day becomes
increasingly confident of its ability to conflate8 theory and evidence – and, concomitantly, part and whole –
even as it produces ever more reductive notions of precisely the inseparability of description and conclusion
(this is especially true in areas such as statistics, cognitive psychology, etc.). But for anthropologists (and to
their credit, most likely9) the relation between part and whole has been made problematic by the nature of
the anthropological object itself: that is, the ethnographer clearly has more often than other kinds of
observer to recognise that the conception of the whole is a construct of the observer, and that the part is not
readily assimilated to that construct: specific evidence still does not contain its own theorisation10 into a
totality.

The Anthropologist as Apologist?5

Numerous recent monographs, articles and conferences have focused on just this anxiety of relevance,
and have sought to justify and legitimate both the morally dubious activities of anthropologist in the past

1 to dub = to give something or someone (or oneself) a name that describes them in some way
2 to commodify = 1. to turn something into a commodity, to make commercial; 2. to treat something as if a commodity
commodity = a product that is bought and sold
3 irrepressible = full of energy, confidence, and happiness so that you never seem unhappy
4 pest = 1. a small animal or insect that destroys crops or food supplies = vermin; 2. an annoying person, especially a

child
5 to scratch away at = to disfigure or attempt to erase by scratching
6 to accommodate = to accept someone’s opinions and try to do what they want, especially when their opinions or needs

are different from yours

7 scavenger = 1. an animal that scavenges; 2. a person who searches through things that other people do not want for

food or useful objects

to scavenge = 1. (of animals) to eat anything that it can find; 2. (of humans) to search through things that other people
do not want for food or useful objects
8 to conflate = to combine two or more things to form a single new thing
9 likely = (adj.) probable to happen or to be true; (adv.) probably
10 theorisation [Br.E.] / theorization [Am.E.] = to form or suggest a theory about something
5 | Hedging – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

and map out11 a coherent, “useful” vision for anthropology in the future. However, as new opportunities for
engagement have presented themselves, for instance the anthropology of development policies and
practices, important questions have been raised too about the way anthropology has come to regard itself,
and the dichotomies (pure: applied; us: them and so on), which are still central to the “ideology” of the
academic subject of anthropology.
It is, I will argue, only through a considered engagement with such issues, being at once both fully aware
of the historical traditions of anthropology and of the perils12 and pitfalls13 of “representation” both in word
and in deed,14 as well as of the ethics of such practices, that anthropology can escape from what Marcus
(1998, 249) termed “a strong internal politics of anxiety” and recast itself in an image more in keeping with 15
the aims of its modern day practitioners: one in which “representation” refers both to the self-aware practice
of “writing” a culture, and to that of advocating for the interests of that culture. This dual engagement might
allow anthropologists to exert greater positive influences on policy and practice in the “real world”,
assuage16 some of the ethical quandaries17 which the “crisis of representation” has thrown up,18 and
reconnect anthropology with its humanist origins and instincts.
It is undeniable that the initial basis for anthropological research, and the rise and consolidation of
anthropology as an academic discipline from its inception,19 is intimately linked to colonialism. From the
founding fathers onwards,20 anthropology has sought21 out the exotic “other”, and had usually concentrated
this search in the colonial possessions of the British empire, at least until the period of decolonisation and
independence.

Advertising in Modern and Postmodern Times6

Market segmentation involves the precise classification of groups in order to facilitate the achievement
of the marketing concept. Marketing practitioners identify market segmentation as a vital competitive
business strategy in modern times. It is generally recognized that social and economic life in the West is
experiencing dramatic change. Of particular relevance are the changing character of numerous institutions
such as the household,22 employment, welfare,23 the public sector and the market. Alongside these
institutional changes and closely associated with them is the weakening, if not disintegration, of many
“traditional” values relating to the family, gender, class, leisure, morality and work. At a personal level, the
decline in traditional collective solidarity’s (e.g.,24 social class, community, nationality) has resulted in a shift
away from identities secured through such relationships towards identities that depend more on a
particularly distinctive or differentiated lifestyle and mode of consumption.25 In short, many Western

11 to map out = to plan carefully how something will happen

12 peril = [literary or formal] a danger or problem in a particular activity or situation
13 pitfall = a problem or difficulty that is likely to happen in a particular job, course of action, or activity
14 deed = [formal] something someone does, especially something that is very good or very bad; in deed = in what you

do
15 in keeping with = matching something or suitable in a particular situation
16 to assuage = to make an unpleasant feeling less painful or severe; to relieve
17 quandary = a difficult situation or problem, especially one in which you cannot decide what to do
18 to throw up = to produce problems, ideas, results etc
19 inception = [formal] the start of (an organization, institution or discipline)
20 from ... onwards = beginning at a particular time or age and continuing after that
21 to seek (sought, sought) out = to find someone or something by looking for them in a determined way
22 household = all the people who live together in one house
23 welfare = help that is provided for people who have personal or social problems
24 e.g. = for example, for instance [used to introduce an example]
25 consumption = the amount of energy, oil, electricity etc that is used

to consume = to use time, energy, goods etc

consumer = someone who buys and uses products and services
6 | Hedging – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

societies are experiencing an intensification of the instability and disruptive 26 growth characterized by de-
massification.27 Marketing firms often cite de-massification as a primary motivation for the development of
market segmentation technologies.

3. Complete the sentences below by choosing two possible answers from the list.

appears believed proof shown seem little seems recognised evidence proved appear
hardly any

a. It seems / appears that the population of many modern industrialised cities is beginning to decline.
b. There is __ / __ doubt that in the future we will have to take radical action to control traffic congestion in
our cities.
c. It is generally __ / __ that living in cities with a population of over a million people can be detrimental to
our health.
d. There is little __ / __ that the levels of toxic pollution in the major cities in the U.S. are beginning to
decline.
e. It would __ / __ that the changes in weather patterns could endanger large urban populations in low-lying
land areas due to the rise in the sea level.
f. It has been __ / __ that prolonged exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer.

4. Rewrite these sentences using the words in the brackets.

a) Smoking can lead to cancer. (no doubt)

b) Scientists in many countries believe that increases in carbon dioxide are leading to changes in the world’s
climate. (widely)
c) There is evidence to suggest that the rate of population growth in China is beginning to decrease.
(appears)
d) There is a general feeling that people believe governments are not doing enough about global warming.
(would seem)
e) Scientists haven’t yet produced any substantial evidence that there is life on Mars. (there is little)

5. Complete the negative and limiting adverbials in the sentences below with prepositions from the list. Some of
the prepositions may be used more than once.

during by in after on under until

a) The teacher told them that ___ no account were they to leave the school premises.
b) Only ___ a long wait did we finally get to hear the results of the tests.
c) We were told that ___ no circumstances were we to use our mobile phones.
d) Not even ___ summer are there so many tourists to be seen in the town.
e) Not ___ he’d left university did he really appreciate how much he’d enjoyed being a student.
f) ___ no other world capital will you find the same incredible mix of nationalities.
g) Not once ___ the whole time I knew him did he ever make a mistake in judgment.
h) Only ___ spending a few months her will you understand how this city survives.

26 disruptive = causing problems and preventing something from continuing in its usual way
27 de-massification = causing (society or a social system) to become less uniform or centralized; diversify or decentralize
7 | Hedging – Assoc. prof. Estella Ciobanu

Works Cited

1 Jordan, R. R. 1980. Academic Writing Course. London and Glasgow: Collins.

2 Simpson, Brent. 2003. ‘Sex, Fear, and Greed: A Social Dilemma Analysis of Gender and Cooperation’. Social Forces 82.1:
35–52.
3 Thomas A. Schwandt, The Sage Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry, 3rd ed., 2007, s.v. “Crisis of representation”.
4 Paul Smith, “Writing, General Knowledge, and Postmodern Anthropology”,

http://theory.eserver.org/anthropology.html.
5 Matt Whiffen, “The Anthropologist as Apologist?: Colonial Heritage, Ethnographic Representation and the Ethics of

Advocating Practice”, https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=whiffen&site=10.

6 Pamela Odih, Advertising in Modern and Postmodern Times, London: Sage, 2007 (p. 175).