The Use of Hedges in Persian Learners’ Writing

The use of hedges can be an indispensable part of academic writing. Hedges are generally used to moderate the impact of an utterance or the certainty of its content and therefore play an important role in academic writing. This study which was a pioneering work in Persian as a second language. Based on the academic goals perused by Persian as a Second Language (PSL) learners and the importance of hedges in writing, the present study aims to investigate the type and order of occurrence of hedges in the writings of PSL learners. Using Estaji and Salimi’s (2018) taxonomy, a writing test was conducted with 100 (50 male and 50 female) adult learners from different nationalities consisting of Chinese, Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, and Syrian. The participants were selected using convenience sampling. The data derived from the writing samples were analyzed and categorized. The categorized output was analyzed through MANOVA to check the impact of gender and first language on hedge type and order of occurrence. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference between male and female PSL learners in terms of using hedges, with females using hedges more than males; and Arab PSL learners using modal verbs, lexical verbs, and nouns more than their Chinese counterparts. The results of this study can aid instructors and learners of Persian as a second language regarding academic writing.
Extended Abstract:
Hedges play an integral role in academic writing. The main function of hedging devices is to moderate the impact of an utterance or the certainty of its content. Therefore, the uses of hedges generally help individuals to produce less biased and more scientific pieces of writing. As an indispensible skill in the pursuit of academic achievement, writing is considered to be a vital instrument. However, language learners generally have difficulty with writing and consider it to be daunting task. Errors in the use of hedging devices can bring about misunderstandings that might contribute to a low score on writing. In order to avoid such predicaments, it is recommended that second language learners be familiarized with hedging devices and their use in second language writing. Hence, in perusing academic achievement, Persian as Second Language (PSL) learners need to focus on the correct use of hedges in academic writing. Therefore the goals of this study were: 1. to find out the order of occurrence and type of different hedging devices used; 2. to check the correlation between gender and use of hedging devices, and 3. to check the correlation between speakers'' native language and use of hedges. By shedding light on this matter, the authors hope to create awareness raising regarding the correct usage of hedging devices and promote the overall quality of writing among Persian learners in Iran. To achieve these goals, Estaji and Salimi’s taxonomy (2018), which was adapted from Hyland (1998) and fitted for Persian, was used to analyze the Persian writing samples of 100 (50 male and 50 female) adult learners from different nationalities consisting of Chinese, Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, and Syrian.  The data derived from the writing samples were analyzed and categorized on the basis of Hyland''s (1998) scale. According to Hyland (1998) hedging devices are means to describe doubt and uncertainty and the writer can use them to show that they are not fully adhered to the truth condition of proposition. One important to consider is that the criterion for detecting hedges was just the definition of words and not the translations from English to Persian, identically. The writings were used to analyze the order of occurrence and the type of hedges used. The participants were asked to write a writing sample of approximately 200 words during class time and were assigned 45 minutes. The classroom setting was selected; and the teacher of the class was asked to introduce the writing topic and gather the writing samples so as not to create anxiety in learners. After the samples were written, the papers were gathered and categorized on the basis of gender, and students’ native language. Overall, a total of 25 male and 25 female Chinese and 25 male and 25 female Arab speakers took part in the writing activity. After the writings were analyzed and the type and order of occurrence of hedges were determined, the data were coded and entered into the SPSS software (Version 25). The classification of hedging items was based on syntactic categories. The categories were 1. Modal verbs; 2. Lexical verbs; 3. Adverbials; 4.nouns; and 5. Adjectives, which show concepts like: hesitation, estimation, probability, and author''s attitude towards the proposition. The categorized output was analyzed through MANOVA to check the impact of gender and first language on hedge type and order of occurrence. The results revealed that there was a significant relationship between the male and female use of hedges. It was concluded that females made use of modal verbs, adverbials, nouns and adjectives more than their male counterparts. Also, the results indicated that the average usage of hedges in PSL learners with Arabic as a native language was more than the PSL learners with Chinese as their native language. According to findings, it can be said that there was a significant difference between PSL learners with Chinese as a native language and PSL learners with Arabic as a native language regarding the use of hedges. According to the results, PSL learners with Arabic as a native language used hedges at a higher rate as compared to PSL learners with Chinese as a native language. Some of the probable reasons behind the Arab learners’ tendency to use more hedges as compared to their Chinese counterparts could be their native language characteristics or their writing culture which are very similar to Persian; however, further studies need to be conducted. The results of this study can aid instructors and learners of Persian as a second language regarding academic writing. It can be employed to design tasks and materials for teaching writing that focus not only on grammar, but also on rhetorical structures for Chinese and Arab PSL learners.