Hedging in Newspaper Editorials: A Cross-Linguistic Analysis of Indian and British English

Abstract

This study compares linguistic hedging in newspaper editorials between Indian English (IE) and British English (BrE). The aim is to identify types of hedges, their frequency, and their pragmatic functions. Two datasets comprising 20 editorials from 'Times of India (IE) and 20 from ‘The Guardian’ (BrE), covering a similar time frame, were contextually analysed. The findings reveal that BrE editorials exhibit more hedging, utilising a wider range of linguistic hedges, as evident by a higher type to token ratio (TTR). Furthermore, the study also presents a list of frequent pragmatic functions served by hedges in newspaper editorials. The study provides insights into cross-linguistic variations in editorial language choices between Indian and British English, specifically in the use of hedges. Moreover, it can have fruitful implications in teaching-learning linguistic hedging (which is a crucial part of an individual’s pragmatic competence) to the IE as a Second Language (ESL) learners.