Some observations on the distribution and function of hedging in German and English academic writing

Kreutz, Heinz; Harres, Annette

doi:10.1515/9783110821048.181

Cited by 46 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Our overall finding is then in agreement with those of previous research (Bloor and Bloor 1991, Meyer 1997, Crosnier 1997, Beaufrère-Bertheux 1997and Kreutz and Harres 1997) that has shown that hedging forms part of the system of conventions underlying academic writing, and that, "being conventional, it is bound to be culture-specific as well" (Vassileva 1997: 204). Research carried out in other languages has also shown that English academic writing is more heavily hedged than other languages such as Finnish (Ventola 1997, Duszak 1997 and Bulgarian (Vassileva 1997), and that hedges are more common in spoken English than in spoken German, while it seems to be the reverse in German/English academic writing (Clyne 1991).…”

Section: 4 Cross-linguistic Comparison Of the Block-discriminatedsupporting

confidence: 92%

The scimitar, the dagger and the glove: intercultural differences in the rhetoric of criticism in Spanish, French and English Medical Discourse (1930–1995)

Salager‐Meyer

Ariza

Zambrano

2003

English for Specific Purposes

182

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The socio-pragmatic phenomenon of academic conflict (AC) is here addressed from a cross-cultural and diachronic perspective, and is examined by combining a quantitative approach and a qualitative discoursal analysis of its salient rhetorical features in a corpus of Spanish, French and English medical articles published between 1930 and 1995. The speech acts that conveyed AC were recorded in each paper and classified into 2 categories according to their level of commitment (direct author's involvement) or detachment (hedginess and AC responsibility shifting). The quantitative results were analyzed by means of the Chi-square test. Our overall findings indicate that French and Spanish scientists tend to be not only more critical, but also more authoritarian and passionate in the formulation of their AC than their Anglo-Saxon counterparts. However, when analyzed diachronically, our results indicate that from the 1990s on, the rhetorical behavior of

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Section: 4 Cross-linguistic Comparison Of the Block-discriminatedsupporting

confidence: 92%

The scimitar, the dagger and the glove: intercultural differences in the rhetoric of criticism in Spanish, French and English Medical Discourse (1930–1995)

Salager‐Meyer

Ariza

Zambrano

2003

English for Specific Purposes

182

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“…Our global results thus confirm the fact that courtesy and tactfulness are eminently cultural manifestations (Kreutz 1997and Kreutz and Harres 1997, Ventola 1997, and that it is possible to identify national academic styles that can be traced back to different intellectual styles and attitudes towards knowledge and learning which, as Clyne (1981Clyne ( , 1987 puts forth, are passed on from generation to generation through the education system and are deeply embedded in cultural and rhetorical assumptions about what material may be presented, how it is to be organized and how it may be presented in a maximally acceptable way (Motchane 1990, Birch Becáas 1997.…”

Section: Overall Quantitative Results (1810-1995)supporting

confidence: 80%

Rhetorical evolution of oppositional discourse in French academic writing. Oppositional discourse in academic writing

Salager‐Meyer¹

2017

HJLCB

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We here analyze the quantitative and qualitative evolution of academic conflict (AC) in a corpus of 90 medical articles published between 1810 and 1995. The linguistic means expressing AC were recorded in each paper and classified according to whether they expressed a direct or an indirect conflict. The frequency of each category of AC was first recorded in each paper, and then calculated per 20-year periods. Our results were analyzed using Chi-square tests. In the whole corpus, direct AC were more frequent than indirect ones (p = .0001). When analyzed per 20-year periods, our quantitative results allowed us to divide the 185 years studied into 2 distinct periods, the cutting-off point being the 1910's when the frequency of indirect AC started a slow but continuous ascent. In each Block direct AC outnumbered indirect ones (p =.0001), but indirect AC were more frequent in Block B than in Block A (p = .039). A qualitative analysis of the AC recorded revealed that both 19th and 20th century AC were expressed in a personal, polemical and authoritarian manner, although the confrontational stance of late 20th century AC tends to be mitigated either by means of hedging expressions or through the shifting of person to object thematization. We conclude that when formulating their professional disagreement, French-speaking scientists have always been authoritative, categorical, direct and personal, although the tone of voice of confrontations tends to be more "low key" as we approach the turn of the 21st century.

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“…Of particular interest to the languages here investigated is Kreutz's and Harres's ongoing study of the distribution and function of hedging in German and English academic writing (Kreutz and Harres 1997). This study suggests that particles may serve different purposes across languages: whereas the primary function of German particles appears to be that of asserting the writer's authority, English particles serve mainly to 'downtone and mitigate arguments and assertions' (Kreutz and Harres 1997: 181).…”

Section: Empirical Studies Of Communicative Stylesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Academic Writing and Culture: An Overview of Differences between English, French and German

Siepmann

2006

meta

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This article provides a critical overview of recent research on cross-cultural divergences between English, French and German academic writing, demonstrating its relevance to translation. The author starts by discussing Galtung’s notion of culture-specific intellectual styles. He then explores the relationship between composition teaching and writing style. This is followed by a detailed discussion of cross-language comparisons of various text types which lend evidence to significant differences between the linguacultures under survey. The resultant plurality of linguacultures, the author goes on to argue, must be preserved as a value in itself, and merits special attention on the part of the translator.Le présent article propose une vue d’ensemble critique des acquisitions récentes de la recherche sur les divergences culturelles en matière de prose scientifique, tout en illustrant les apports de cette recherche à la traductologie. D’abord, on étudie la notion de « style intellectuel » proposé par Galtung ainsi que les rapports entre enseignement de la rédaction et techniques d’écriture. Ensuite on passe en revue un certain nombre d’études contrastives consacrées à différents types de texte et qui mettent en évidence de nets décalages entre les pratiques d’écriture observables dans les communautés linguistiques anglophones, francophones et germanophones. Cette pluralité des pratiques d’écriture, conclut-on, doit être préservée comme une valeur en soi, et elle appelle une attention particulière de la part du traducteur

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Some observations on the distribution and function of hedging in German and English academic writing

Cited by 46 publications

References 12 publications

The scimitar, the dagger and the glove: intercultural differences in the rhetoric of criticism in Spanish, French and English Medical Discourse (1930–1995)

The scimitar, the dagger and the glove: intercultural differences in the rhetoric of criticism in Spanish, French and English Medical Discourse (1930–1995)

Rhetorical evolution of oppositional discourse in French academic writing. Oppositional discourse in academic writing

Academic Writing and Culture: An Overview of Differences between English, French and German

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