Adverbial Hedging Construction In Movie Scripts
SKRIPSI
Submitted to fulfill one of the requirements of Sarjana Sastra Degree
DEVINA PUTRI ARUMA NIM 63707003
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS
INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF COMPUTER BANDUNG
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study of pragmatics)” yang mengangkat teori hedging sebagai salah satu strategi komunikasi di bidang pragmatik. Hedging diangkat dalam penelitian ini karena fungsinya dalam memanipulasi ucapan; hedging dipercaya sebagai strategi yang
digunakan untuk melembutkan ucapan. Ketika penutur menggunakan hedging,
penutur tersebut dapat menyatakan intensinya dengan sopan. Ada beberapa jenis konstruksi hedging yang sering dipakai oleh penutur, tetapi dalam penelitian ini, konstruksi hedging adverbial dipilih karena kesederhanaan penggunaannya dan kemunculannya yang sering ditemukan dalam percakapan sehari-hari terutama di dalam naskah-naskah film. Karena itu, naskah-naskah film digunakan dalam penelitian ini sebagai sumber data. Bagaimanapun, ada beberapa persoalan yang ditemukan ketika membaca naskah film seperti: memahami intensi dari penutur yang menggunakan konstruksi hedging dan interpretasi juga respons dari petutur setelah mendengar ucapan penutur. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis intensi dari penutur yang menggunakan konstruksi hedging dan menganalisis interpretasi juga respon dari petutur setelah mendengar ucapan penutur tersebut. Setiap analisisnya menggunakan metode kualitatif yang dijelaskan secara deskriptif. Pada akhir penelitian, simpulan yang didapat dalam penelitian ini
adalah para penutur menggunakan konstruksi hedging adverbial untuk
memperkirakan atau menyamarkan ucapannya dan membuat ucapannya menjadi kabur atau mengurangi kekaburan, sehingga mereka dapat menyatakan intensi mereka dengan sopan dan mengurangi efek negatif dari ucapan mereka tersebut.
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study of pragmatics)” which raises hedging theory as a communication strategy in pragmatics field. Hedging is raised here because its function in manipulating the utterance; it is believed as a communication strategy used by the speaker to soften his/her utterance. When the speaker uses hedging, he/she can express his/her intention politely. There are some types of hedging constructions generally used by the speaker, but in this research, adverbial hedging construction is chosen because it has simple construction and occurs frequently in daily conversation especially in movie scripts. Hence, movie scripts are taken to be the data source in this research. However, there are some problems found when reading the movie scripts; they are: understanding the intention of the speaker with hedging construction and understanding the interpretation and the response of the hearer after listening to the
speaker’s utterance. Therefore, this research purposes to analyze the intention of speaker with hedging construction and the interpretation and the response of the hearer. Each analysis applies qualitative method described descriptively. The research shows that the speakers use adverbial hedging construction to approximate or shield their utterance and make them to be fuzzy or less fuzzy, so they can express their intention politely and reduce the negative impact of their utterance.
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the easiness to finish this research. Finally, I can finish the research entitled
“Adverbial Hedging Construction in Movie Scripts (A Study of Pragmatics)” which
was made to fulfil one of the course requirements in English department of
UNIKOM.
This research aims to explain the intention of the speaker, the interpretation
and the response of the hearer in movie scripts through the communication strategy
called hedging.
However, this research would never be finished without the support of people
who involved to the process of making this research. Thus, I wish to express my
gratitude to:
1. Prof. Dr. H. Moh. Tadjuddin, M.A., the dean of English department of
UNIKOM,
2. Retno Purwani Sari, S.S., M.Hum., the head of English department and
the first advisor,
3. Tatan Tawami, S.S. , the second advisor,
4. Asih Prihandini, S.S., M.Hum., the secretary of English department and
the commission of skripsi.
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x
Bandung, July 2010
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1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes the issues that relate to hedging construction, the
characteristics of the data, the problems found when learning the data, the
purposes and the significances of this research, and the framework of the theory
used to describe the data.
1.1 Background to the Study
Hedging is a construction that may frequently be found in our daily
conversations and writings. Its function is to soften the speaker’s claim, so the
hearer who listens to speaker’s claim will not be offended. Hence, by using
hedging, the speaker can express his/her idea and intention but he/she is still in the
safe position. Here, there are some examples of hedging in English and in Bahasa:
In English:
Example 1
This example is taken from one of scenes in Spiderman Movie
There was an octopus man, Ock, who hospitalized because of the damage of his two waldos. Those waldos looked like useless things because they were broken. Ock felt desperate, sad, and mess. Then, his assistant Weiner came and show the condition of Ock.
Weiner: Whoa, doc! You looked a little messed up yourself.
The construction “little” in that utterance can make the utterance fuzzy because actually the speaker intends to explain that Ock looks mess, but the using of
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“little” in that utterance can soften the claim. On the other hand, there is another example of hedging which is used to begin the topic or stop the previous topic.
Example 2
The speaker says: By the way, how about coming over to Florida next week?
The construction of ‘by the way” above helps the speaker to begin the topic or stop the previous topic.
In Bahasa:
These examples above were taken from the dialogue of Ada Apa Dengan Cinta
Movie
Example 1
On that day, Cinta was invited by Rangga to come to his house. Then, Rangga asked her to help him to cook. Cinta was glad to help him then she tried to slice some vegetables. But, Rangga felt that Cinta sliced them in the wrong way because Cinta sliced them vertically.
Rangga: Ehm, ini potongnya agak miring sedikiti bisa nggak?
The using construction “agak” can make the utterance fuzzy. In fact, the speaker
intends to explain that Cinta sliced vegetables in the wrong way and ask Cinta to
slice them obliquely. By using “agak” the speaker can express his idea and
command politely. On the other hand, there is another example which is used to
cancel the appointment respectfully, as stated in example 2.
In Cinta’s room, Cinta was looking for a reason to tell her friends that she wanted to cancel the appointment with them because she wanted to go with Rangga
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The construction “kayaknya” shows vagueness that helps the speaker to cancel the
appointment respectfully.
In addition, hedging can be assumed as communication strategy which
shows politeness, vagueness, and mitigation. In communication strategy, hedging
can help the speaker to express his/her intention naturally, so that the hearer will
not be aggrieved, commanded, judged, and intimidated. Thus, there is no
misunderstanding between the speaker and the hearer. Accordingly, this is an
important topic to be raised in this research especially hedging that consist of
adverbial construction. It is chosen because it has simple construction in an
utterance.
In the previous research, Ariastiti (2005) analyzed the relationship of
hedging with various of maxims. Diferent from it, I analyzed adverbial in
hedging construction to describe the intention of speaker’s utterance and to
describe the interpretation and response of the hearer after listening the speaker’s utterance. Whereas, data analyzed were taken from movie scripts; it is believed as
an effective media to introduce language. So, this research entitled “Adverbial
Hedging Construction in Movie Scripts (A Study of pragmatics)”.
1.2 Research Question
When analyzing the data, I found some problems which appeared when I
read the movie scripts. The problems consist of some questions which would be
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They are:
1. What is the intention of speaker’s utterance with hedging construction?
2. What is the interpretation of the hearer after hearing the speaker’s
utterance in their conversation?
3. What is the response of the hearer to respond the speaker’s utterance?
1.3 Objective
After finding some problems which can be defined as research question, I
have some purposes in my research. They are:
1. Describing the intention of speaker using hedging construction in his/her
utterance.
2. Describing the interpretation of the hearer who listened to the speaker’s utterance in their conversation.
3. Describing the response of the hearer to respond the speaker’s utterance.
1.4 Significance to knowledge
This research has some purposes theoretically and practically. In
theoretically, the readers can learn another alternative in communication strategy
as a study of pragmatics. They also can understand the specification of hedging
and its function in communication. In practically, the reader can recognize
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1.5 Framework of theTheories
This research uses theory of hedging as the grand theory. Hedging is a
device to make utterance fuzzy or less fuzzy in order to mitigate the impact of
utterance. Meanwhile, adverbial hedging construction is one of hedging
construction that modifies a complete idea expressed in the utterance.
According to K. Hyland hedging is the expression of tentativeness and
possibility, and it is central to academic writing where statements are rarely made
without subjective assessments of their reliability and the need to present
unproven propositions with caution and precision. In addition, G. Lakoff(1972)
argued that hedging is a study in meaning criteria and the logic of fuzzy concepts.
In accordance with Lakoff’s main concern, Brown/Levinson (1987,145) said
hedge: a particle, word, or phrase that modifies the degree of membership of a
predicate or noun phrase. It means that hedging has some particles that can help
the speaker to convey his/her intention smoothly.
The functions of hedging are first, hedges allow writers to express
propositions with greater precision in areas often characterized by rapid
reinterpretation and second, using hedges concerns the writer’s desire to anticipate
the possible negative consequences of being proved wrong and the eventual
overthrow of a claim (Hyland, 1998a; Salager-Meyer,1994). So, it can be
concluded that hedging has functions to soften claim, command, request, and
complaint in order to make the speaker safe; the speaker can reduce the risk of
being seen negatively and at the same time place his/her self in the natural
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Based on the theory of hedging, for analyzing the data, I took the theory of
Chan Swee Heng and Helen Tan (2002) who defined hedging as a concept to
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This chapter describes the specification of theories which relates to the topic
and the problems under study. The theories consist of pragmatics, as a basic theory of
the research, and hedging, as a theory used to analyze the data.
2.1 Pragmatics
Pragmatics is a basic theory in this research because it becomes a root of the
topic and the analysis in this research. In addition, it holds the important role in this
research because this research relates to the relationship between language, context,
and intention that become a part of pragmatics study. For understanding the
explanation of pragmatics, I describe the explanations of pragmatics qouted from
some linguists below.
According to Rudolf Carnap (1939:4), pragmatics is the field of all those
investigations which take into consideration such as action, state, and speaker’s or
hearer’s environment. Yule (1996:4) also explains that:
“Pragmatics is the study of the relationships between linguistics forms and the users of those forms. The advantage of studying language via pragmatics is that one can talk about people’s intended meanings, their assumptions, their purposes or goals, and the kinds of action (request) that they are performing when they speak”.
From the explanations above, it can be assumed that pragmatics is the study of
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speaker or hearer. In addition, pragmatics can also be defined as the study that
discusses the correlation between the linguistics forms and the form users (the
speaker or the writer). So, by studying language through pragmatics, the speaker can
explain his/her assumptions, purposes, and requests when they are speaking. At the
same time, the hearer can also understand the intention of speaker’s utterances.
The intention of speaker’s utterance is generally expressed explicitly and implicitly. Furthermore, there is an implicit intention which is frequently used to
reduce the negative impact of the utterance and believed as one of communication
strategies that can smooth the utterance; it may be found in hedging construction.
2.2 Hedging
In pragmatics, hedging has an important role in politeness, mitigation, and
vagueness. Hedging was introduced first by G. Lakoff (1972), he argues ‘hedges’ as words whose function is to make meanings fuzzier or less fuzzy. He (1972:195) also
defines as follows:
“For me, some of the most interesting questions are raised by the study of words whose meaning implicitly involves fuzziness-words whose job it is to make things fuzzier or less fuzzy. I will refer to such words as ’hedges’”.
For adding Lakoff’s fuzzy concept, Zadeh (1972) made a correlation between
fuzzy concept and hedging in his article “Fuzzy-Set-Theoretic Interpretation of
Linguistic Hedges”. He analyzed some words that can be categorized as a fuzzy set
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The explanations above can be interpreted that hedging consists of some
simple words that can be a device to make things fuzzy or less fuzzy. For example,
the words very, much, more or less, essentially, and slightly can be determined as
words that influence things fuzzy.
Besides making things fuzzy or less fuzzy, Hyland (1996a) explained that
some hedging devices such as I think, sort of, maybe, and possibly are frequently
used to create conviviality, facilitate discussion, show politeness, and oil phatic
wheels.
It can be assumed that in hedging, the fuzzy and less fuzzy things are used by
the speaker to show conviviality and politeness of his/her utterance. Hence, the
speaker can manipulate his/her utterance to make it soft, so he/she can spare
his/herself from the negative impact of the hearer.
To understand the division of hedging, Prince/Bosk/Frader (1982:85)
generally distinguish kinds of hedging into two parts: approximators and shields. In
approximation classification, they argue that approximators affect the truth-conditions
of propositions,Prince/Bosk/Frader note:
“People who produced such a sentence would be committed to the truth of the proposition the sentence expresses, but would also maintain that the proposition expressed is not a clear-cut one. Those people would probably reserve such hedges for discourse about situation that are not prototypical or not subject to exact measurements”.
For example:
This example is taken from Pride and Prejudice movie script.
On that day, Elizabeth got misunderstanding about Mr. Darcy. She explained her anger roughly and continuously.
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Mr. Darcy: You have said quite enough, Madam. I perfectly comprehend your feelings. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.
The adverbial ‘quite’ in Darcy’s utterance indicates an approximation that appears when he approximates the quantity of Elizabeth’s words. As stated in situation above, the intention of Mr. Darcy is that actually he feels Elizabeth talks too much.
By using construction ‘quite enough’, he intends to stop Elizabeth words and
explains his intention politely.
Different from approximators, shields do not affect the truth-conditions of
propositions because people who express the sentence are not fully committed to the
truth of the proposition. Here, people usually use hedges for discourse to regard
something uncertain or regard situation they believe for various reasons.
In conclusion, based on the linguists’ idea of hedging, hedging is a device that can mitigate the negative impact of the utterance and help the speaker to convey
his/her intention smoothly. Hedging devices can be distinguished into two parts;
approximators, when the speaker uses hedging devices to approximate his/her
utterance to adapt or round something, and shields, when the speaker uses hedging
devices to shield the intention of his/her utterance. The approximators and shields can
influence things fuzzy or less fuzzy such as: very, much, more or less, essentially, and
slightly, technically, practically, sort of, maybe, and possibly. The using of fuzzy or
less fuzzy concept is used to raise conviviality and politeness in a conversation.
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2.2.1 The Function of Hedging
From all definitions of hedging which were explained by linguists, I resume
that the most important point of hedging functions is to make the speaker in the safe
position when he/she utters his/her utterance. This is because hedging device used by
the speaker affects the hearer to feel comfortable when hearing the speaker’s utterance. When the speaker softens his/her utterance, he/she can also expresses
his/her idea freely without feeling afraid of the negative impact of his/her utterance.
2.2.2 Types of Hedging Construction
Hedging is defined as devices that can diminish the impact of utterance with
various purposes. Those devices are classified into hedging construction. It consists
of some word classes that can be assumed as types of hedging. Types of hedging are
frequently used in conversation. There are linguists that classify the types of hedging
such as Salager-Mayer (1994) and Chan Swee Heng-Helen Tan (2002).
Salager-Mayer (1994) defines types of hedging into taxonomy of hedges. He
explains that there are some word classes included of the principle of hedging. There
are: modal auxiliaries (may, can, might, could, would), modal lexical verbs (to seem,
to appear, to believe, to assume, to suggest), adjectival, adverbial and nominal modal
phrase (possible, probable, assumption, claim, possibility, perhaps, probably, likely,
apparently), approximators (approximately, roughly, about, often, occasionally, a lot
of), Introductory phrases (I believe, as far as I/we know), and certain “if” clauses (if true, if anything).
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On the other hand, Chan Swee Heng-Helen Tan (2002) limits
Salager-Mayer’s theory by mitigating adjectival, nominal, approximators, and introductory
phrases and adds some word classes in her theory of hedging construction types that
she calls typology of hedging construction. Her typology of hedging include of
adverbials (approximately, generally, quite), epistemic verbs (suggest, seem, appear),
modal verbs (may be, would be), cognition verbs (believe, surmise, think),
hypothetical construction (If, and unless), and anticipatory it-clause (It and there).
From the theory described by two linguists above, it can be concluded that
hedging has several types whose have functions. Each type has own intention; modal
is commonly used to express the tentativeness of the proposition or the possibility in
the future. Adverbial is commonly used to modify a complete idea expressed in a
claim and approximate or shield something. Modal lexical verbs that consist of
epistemic and cognition; epistemic verb is used to soften idea and cognition verb is
used to precede the use of verbs giving a focus to the speaker’s or writer’s
assumption. Certain ”If” clauses and hypothetical construction are usually used in making hypothesis politely. Anticipatory it clause is commonly used to front the
claim giving it more focus in the proposition. These types of hedging construction are
used by the speaker to convey his/her intention which can be understood by seeing
the context. From all the theory of types of hedging constructions, I took the
adverbial hedging construction to be the subject of this research because its simple
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2.2.3 Adverbial Hedging Construction
Adverbial is one of types of hedging construction. It can be defined as a quite
simple construction in hedging because it consists of one or two words. Adverbial
hedging construction includes perhaps, possibly, probably, practically, likely,
presumably, virtually, apparently, sort of, kind of, approximately, very, generally, quite. The speaker usually uses adverbial hedging construction to modify a complete
idea expressed in an utterance and approximates or shields something.
Adverbial is a word, a phrase, or a clause that can explain the question where,
when, how, and why in the sentence pattern. An adverb can modify verbs, adjectives
(including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs. Randolph Quirk
(1985:479) distinguished adverb as seven main categories of semantic role: (a) space
(position, direction, and distance), (b) time (position, duration, and frequency), (c)
process (manner, means, instrument, and agentive), (d) respect (e) contingency
(cause, reason, purpose, result, condition, and concession), (f) modality (emphasis,
approximation, and restriction), (g) degree (amplification, diminution, measure).
However, not all of types of adverb can be categorized as adverbial hedging
construction. To determine the difference of adverbial as hedging and adverbial
without hedging, I make the example of them.
- Adverbial as hedging, (this example is taken from the Amy Tan’s Rule of The Game short story)
At the Christmas party, Vincent got the chess set, which would have been a very decent present to get at a church Christmas party, except it was obviously used and, as he and his mother discovered later, it was missing a
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black pawn and a white knight . His mother graciously thanked the unknown benefactor, saying , “too good. Cost too much”. When they got home, his mother told him to throw the chess set away.
From the short story above, the adverbial ‘too’ in the utterance of Vincent’s
mother can be defined as adverbial hedging construction. It can be assumed that
the intention of the mother is actually she doesn’t like the gift because it is a bad
and used chest. It can be seen when she asks Vincent to throw away the gift when
they get home. However, by using adverbial hedging ‘too’, she can thank the benefactor politely.
- Adverbial without hedging (this example is taken from Titanic movie script) Rose sits on a deck chair and opens the sketchbook. On Jack’s sketches...each
one an expressive little bit of humanity: an old woman’s hands, a sleeping man, a
father and daughter at the rail. The faces are luminous and alive. His book is a celebration of the human condition.
Rose: “Jack, these are quite good! Really, they are”.
The adverbial “quite” and “really” in Rose’s utterance cannot be defined as
hedging because Rose uses the adverbial construction in her utterance only for
representing her admiration of Jack’s sketches. She has no hidden intention by using the adverbial in her utterance.
As stated in example above, it can be interpreted that an adverbial can be
defined as hedging or not depends on the context as the background of the speaker to
utter his/her utterance. To understand more about adverbial hedging construction, I
explain some linguists’ explanation.
According to Lakoff (1972:195), he was not interested in the communicative
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phrases like rather, largely, in a manner of speaking, very, in their ability “to make
things fuzzy or less fuzzy”. The idea of Lakoff was also adopted by Fraser (1980), he
adds Lakoff’s view by adding adverb ‘sort of’ and ‘kind of’.
Salager-Mayer (1994, 1997) argues that the some of important elements of
hedge is adverbial and approximators of degree, quantity, frequency, and time, such
as: perhaps, possibly, probably, practically, likely, presumably, virtually, apparently,
approximately, roughly, about, often, occasionally, generally, usually, somewhat, somehow, a lot of. Last, Chan Swee Heng-Helen Tan (2002) adds another example of
adverbial which relates to hedging construction: approximately, generally, and quite.
From all the definition above, there are some types of adverb which can be
defined as hedging construction includes of adverb of degree, adverb of quantity,
disjunctive adverb, adverb of frequency, and adverb of time
2.2.3.1 Adverb of Degree
According to Quirk (1985: 485-486), “degree adverbials are concerned with the assessment of gradable constituents in relation to an imaginary scale; one of the
subroles is amplification, which is concerned with asserting a generalized high
degree, and another is its opposite, diminution”.“Thirdly, there is the expression of measure, without implication that the degree is notably high or low”.
Chan Swee Heng and Helen Tan (2002) describe the example of hedging in
adverb of degree:
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2.2.3.2 Adverb of Quantity
According to English vocabulary adverb of quantity is a word that specifies
the quantity of things such as any, both, each, few, a lot of, many, numerous, several,
some. According to Ernst (2002) treats multiplicatives, frequency adverbs, and
adverbs of quantification as instances of quantificational adverbs, with Q-adverbs
(largely corresponding to 'habitual adverbs' in his terms) preceding freq-adverbs
because the former must modify longer time intervals than the latter.
Salager-Mayer (1994,1997) argues that adverb ‘ a lot of’ can be categorized as adverbial hedging
2.2.3.3 Disjunctive Adverb
Disjunctive adverb is an adverb that expresses the information considered the
descriptive statements of the speaker. It is generally used to refer to the sentence that
is not fully described in the previous conversation. Thus, It is commonly appears at
the beginning or at the end of sentence. It includes of honestly, actually,
unfortunately, in my opinion, frankly, interestingly, luckily, clearly, fortunately.
Based on Quirk (1985:440), He identifies disjunct with the speaker's authority
for, or comment on, the accompanying clause
“Semantically, DISJUNCTS (cf 8.121ff) express an evaluation of what is being said either with respect to the form of the communication or to its meaning.”
Salager-Mayer (1994,1997) considers some adverbs that can be assumed as
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generally, and apparently. In addition, Chan Swee Heng and Helen Tan (2002)
describe the example of hedging in disjunctive adverb:
- Generally, girls are more eloquent speakers compare to boys.
2.2.3.4 Adverb of Frequency
Adverb of frequency generally considered as an adverb that can answer the
question “how frequently?” or “how often?” . This adverb gives the information how
often something happens. It consists of daily, weekly, often, sometimes, rarely and
frequently.
Quirk (1985:541) defines that frequency can sometimes be conceived in
absolute terms without concern for the period of time over which the recurrence in
question took place. He also defines it into two categories: definite frequency and
indefinite frequency.
Salager-Mayer (1994,1997) considers some adverbs that can be assumed as
adverbial hedging in adverb of frequency and time category such as: often,
occasionally ,sometimes, and usually. For Example:
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2.2.3.5 Adverb of Time
Adverb of time can tell when the event happens, how long, and how often it
happens. It commonly consists of yesterday, today, tomorrow last year, next
Saturday, next week the day, after tomorrow, last night, the other day. It can refer to a
period of time in the past, present, or future.
Quirk (1985:526) describes obligatory predication adjuncts of time occur in
BE clauses where the subject refers to an event (cf 10.10, 10.25).
As stated in adverb of frequency category, Salager-Mayer (1994,1997)
considers some adverbs that can be assumed as adverbial hedging in adverb of
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This chapter describes the specification of research objects, especially in
relation to the topics and the problems under study. This chapter also describes the
description of research methods used, the data sources, and the data collection
techniques.
3.1 Research Object
The research object that I chose in this research is movie scripts. Movie
scripts that I took consist of Twilight, New Moon, Sixth Sense, and Titanic movie.
Twilight is released in 2008 and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. This movie is the
first film of Twilight Saga and its script was written by Melissa Rosenberg and New
Moon is a film released in 2009 as the second Film of Twilight Saga that was taken
from a novel written by Stephenie Meyer. This movie was directed by Chriz Weitz as
a producer and Melissa Rosenberg as a script writer. Then, Sixth Sense was released
in 1999 by M. Night Shyamalan as a director and scriptwriter. Last, Titanic was
released in 1997 by James Cameron as a director and scriptwriter. This movie is
known as the highest-grossing film of all time.
I chose those movies because there are various data that appropriate with
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movies that won some awards. According to Academy Award Nominations, those
movies are good movies which are watched by many viewers in the world.
Movie script contents of some dialogues. The dialogue holds the important
role in the movie because it consists some utterances which describe the story of the
movie. Those utterances have purposes; both implicit and explicit intentions. Here, I
chose the utterances with adverbial constructions in those movie scripts that I
collected to be my data source.
3.2 Method
The method used in this research is qualitative method that focuses its
explanation descriptively. Boeree (2005) explained that qualitative methods:
“as the name indicates, are methods that do not involve measurement or statistics. Because the natural sciences have had such resounding success with quantitative methods, qualitative methods are sometimes looked down upon as less scientific. That is, of course, a mistake. Qualitative methods have been in use in philosophy, sociology, and history for centuries, and many of the famous studies we refer to in psychology classes every day were actually qualitative”.
In addition, Glass & Hopkins (1984) argued that descriptive research involves
gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and
describes the data collection. Here, I use qualitative method to analyze the data and
use descriptive way to describe the analysis gradually. This research method also
includes data collection and data analysis.
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3.2.1 Data Collection
There are some steps that I did to collect my data source, the steps include:
1. Choosing the latest movie which would be a data source. Here, I looked for
some popular movies in order to make the reader familiar with the data that I
took. The movie scripts were taken from 28th February, 2011 to 10th March,
2011.
2. Looking for scripts of Twilight, New Moon, Sixth Sense, and Titanic movie
script On , http://www.scribd.com/doc/28819330/Twilight-Script (Twilight
movie script),
http://www.atwilightkiss.com/new-moon-unofficial-film-script-severed-ties-part-1.html (New Moon movie script),
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Sixth-Sense,-The.html (Sixth Sense movie
script), and http://sfy.ru/?script=titanic (Titanic movie script).
3. Reading the movie script. When reading the movie script, I tried to understand
each movie story in order to make me easier to analyze the data.
4. Selecting some speaker’s utterances, I selected speaker’s utterances which have adverbial construction that related to hedging.
3.2.2 Data Analysis
When analyzing the data, I did some steps that helped me to analyze my data
include:
1. Learning the theory of hedging that I took to analyze my data. I read some
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theory of Chan Swee Heng and Helen Tan(2002) that discussed about
hedging constructions.
2. Understanding the data, some utterances that consist of adverbial
construction in hedging,
3. Analyzing the data through adverbial construction in hedging, I analyzed the
adverbial construction in the speaker’s utterance to understand his/her
intention.
4. Analyzing the interpretation of the hearer, after understanding the intention of
the speaker’s utterance I described the interpretation of the hearer who
listened to the speaker’s utterance that consist of adverbial construction in
hedging.
5. Analyzing the response of the hearer, after describing the interpretation of the
hearer, I analyzed the response of the hearer by understanding her/his
utterance.
To give further explanation about data analysis, I give an example of the data analysis
below:
Data
Lovett, standing out of Rose's sightline, checks his watch. Hours have passed. This process is taking too long.
LOVETT : (1)Rose, tell us more about the diamond. What did Hockley do with it after that?
ROSE : (2)Im afraid I'm feeling a little tired, Mr. Lovett. Lizzy picks up the cue and starts to wheel her out.
LOVETT : (3)Wait! Can you give us something go on, here. Like who had access to the safe. What about this Lovejoy guy? The valet. Did he have the combination?
(28)
Lizzy takes her out. Rose's old hand reapears at the doorway in a frail wave goodbye.
Analysis:
The construction ‘little’ in Rose’s utterance can be classified as an approximation that appears when Rose approximates her tire that she feels, as stated
in utterance (2).
In addition, instead of using construction ‘tired’ to represent his intention,
Rose used construction ‘little’ to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is made to explain that actually she does not want to continue her story because she wants to take a rest.
Based on the data, the intention of Rose who does not want to continue her
story because she wants to take a rest appear after Lovett seems insist her to continue
her story by uttering (1).
The hearer, Lovett understands Rose’s intention and responses her by saying (3). He thinks Rose won’t continue her story. By saying (3), Lovett intends trying to
hold her in order to continue her story. Finally, he stops because Lizzy does not like
his effort to hold Rose and Lizzy expressed it by saying (4). By saying (4), Lizzy
(29)
24
This chapter describes the finding of data that consists of adverbial hedging
construction, and the discussion of all the data to analyze the intention of the
speaker’s utterance, the interpretation of the hearer, and the hearer’s response after listening to speaker’s utterance.
4.1. Approximation
An approximation can affect the truth-conditions of propositions. In these data
below, approximation is used by the speaker to approximate his/her utterance. It
frequently appears in adverb of degree, adverb of frequency, adverb of quantity, and
disjunctive adverb.
4.1.1. Adverb of Degree
Adverb of degree determines the strength or intensity of something that
happens. It is generally used to answer the sort of question such as ‘how much?’ or
‘how little?’. It is also concerned with the assessment of gradable constituents in
relation to an imaginary in amplification, diminution, or measure of something. In
this case, the speaker uses adverb of degree in his/her utterance to approximate
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Data 1
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
CHARLIE :I don’t care whose fault it is. (to Bella) If you’re with him, I expect him to bring you back WITHOUT a scratch. (to Edward) So far, your
track record hasn’t been so good. Just recently, she’s gone through a
window and broken her leg, which got her hospitalized; and now, as a birthday present, (1) she gets cut badly enough (2) that she requires
stitching from a doctor. (holds up three fingers) (3)That’s three strikes.
Consider yourself out of the g–
BELLA :(4) Dad, please. It was my fault. I tripped and landed on some glass.
Besides, Carlisle sews faster than any doctor I’ve had. It’s no big deal.
You know I’m so accident-prone.
Analysis:
The construction ‘badly enough’ can be interpreted as an approximation that
occurs when Charlie approximates the degree of Bella’s injury, as seen in utterance
(1).
In addition, instead of using the construction “badly” to represent his intention
clearly, Charlie uses ‘badly enough’ to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is executed to make Edward feel guilty and put all the troubles in his shoulder.
When learning from the data, Charlie’s intention is that he wants to make
Edward well-informed that he is not good enough for Bella; Edward always put Bella
in danger and the last one is the worst. Charlie uttered (2) and (3) to support his true
intention.
The addresser, Bella, understands the Charlie’s intention and responds him by saying (4). She thinks that:
(31)
2. Charlie is over reacting about the accident.
By saying (4), Bella intends to give an understanding that all the troubles should not
be placed on Edward and at the same time Bella attempts to mitigate her father worry.
Data 2
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
JACOB :(self-consciously) What? Does my being half-naked bother you? I could put a shirt on.
BELLA : (1) No, no. I just hadn’t realized before. (2) Did you know, you’re sort of beautiful?
JACOB : (3) Did you just trip and hit your head pretty hard? BELLA : (4) I’m serious.
Analysis:
The construction ‘pretty hard’ can be assumed as an approximation that
appears when Jacob approximates the degree of hit in utterance (3). In addition,
instead of using ‘hard’ to represent his intention clearly, Jacob uses ‘pretty hard’ to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness of utterance (3) is made to hide his over feeling of what
Bella said about him, in fact, Bella did not trip and hit.
From the data, Jacob’s intention for hiding his over-feeling appears when Bella said (2) while looking his being half-naked. By using (3), Jacob does not clearly
accept of what Bella said about him. This shows that Jacob actually tries to accept it
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The hearer, Bella, understands the intention and responds by saying (4). She
thinks that Jacob feels over feeling because of what she has said. By saying (4), she
intends to convince him that what she thinks about him is true.
Data 3
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
SEQ. EXT. La Push Beach. Afternoon. Jacob and Bella walk along the beach. Bella notices the figures on top of the cliff. She stares, horrified, when one of them decides to leap.
BELLA : (1) NO! Don’t jump!
JACOB :Bella, it’s okay. They’re just cliff diving.
BELLA : (2) Oh. Wow. It’s so high. Have you ever tried it? JACOB :Yeah, it’s fun. A little scary, kind of a rush.
BELLA : (3)Jake, I want to try cliff diving.
Bella goes towards the base of the cliffs. Jacob catches her by the arm and stops her.
JACOB :Bella, wait. Not today, all right?
JACOB : (4) (warily) Soon. Sometimes you’re a little strange, Bella. (5) Do you know that?
BELLA : (6) Sure, sure.
Analysis:
The construction ‘little strange’ in Jacob’s utterance can be categorized as an
approximation that occurs when Jacob approximates the degree of anomaly in Bella’s self, ‘little strange’.
In addition, instead of using the construction ‘strange’ to show his intention
clearly, Jacob uses the construction ‘little strange’ to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is made politely to make Bella realize that she is strange.
(33)
Based on the data, the intention of Jacob is that he wants to make Bella realize
that she is strange; At the beginning Bella looks scared of the cliff and realizes that it
is high, at stated in (1), (2) suddenly she wants to try cliff diving, at stated in (3).
Jacob uttered (4) and (5) to support his intention.
The hearer, Bella, understands the intention and answers by saying “(6)”. She thinks that:
1. Jacob does not want her to try cliff diving.
2. Jacob wants to make her realize that she is strange
By answering (6), Bella intends to show that she realizes that she is strange.
Data 4
(This data is taken from Titanic movie script)
BRIDE : (1)Another ice warning, sir. This one from the "Baltic". SMITH :Thankyou, Sparks.
(Smith glances at the message then nonchalantly puts it in his pocket. He nods reassuringly to Rose and the group.)
SMITH : (2)Not to worry, it's quite normal for this time of year. (3) In fact, we're speeding up. (4) I've just ordered the last boilers lit.
(Andrews scowls slightly before motioning the group toward the door. They exit just as second officer Charles Herbert Lightoller comes out of the chartroom, stopping next to First Officer Murdoch.)
LIGHTOLLER :Did we ever find those binoculars for the lookouts?
Analysis:
The construction ‘quite normal’ can be assumed as an approximation that
occurs when Smith approximates the degree of ship condition normality, as stated in
(34)
In addition, instead of using construction ‘normal’ to represent his intention, Smith uses construction ‘quite normal’ to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is made to
mitigate the passenger group’s worry although he knows there is a warning about the
iceberg.
Based on the data, the intention of Smith who mitigates the group’s worry is
supported by his next utterance (3) and (4).
In this case, there is a hearer, Andrews, who understands his intention and
responses by motioning the group toward the door. He thinks there’s something wrong but Smith wants to make the passengers be calm. It can be seen when Andrew
scowls slightly before mentioning the group toward the door. By mentioning the
group toward the door, he intends to bring them to exit the room so that they can
enjoy their trip again.
Data 5
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
BELLA :No! Don’t jump!
JACOB :Bella, it’s okay. They’re just cliff diving.
BELLA :Oh. Wow. (1) It’s so high. (2) Have you ever tried it? JACOB : (3)Yeah, it’s fun. A little scary, kind of a rush.
Analysis:
The word ’so’ in Bella’s utterance can be viewed as an approximation that appears when Bella approximates the degree of Jacob’s jump, as seen in utterance (1).
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make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness is made to express that she is impressed and
hardly believes of Jacob’s jump.
Based on the data, the intention of Bella to state the feelings of being
impressed and hardly believe occurs when she said (2) to support her intention.
The hearer, Jacob, understands Bella’s intention and answers her by saying
(3). He thinks that Bella is amazed of his jump. By saying (3), he intends to explain
that he always jumps the cliff if he is in hurry, although he knows that is scary but is
fun.
Data 6
(This data is taken from Sixth Sense movie script)
Cole is seated on the front stoop of his brownstone. On the steps and on the landing are his plastic soldiers in the grips of a war. On the step are two rows of soldiers facing each other. To one side are a couple soldiers covered by a tissue.
MALCOLM :What happened to those two? Being under tissue paper can't be a good thing.
Cole removes the tissue.
COLE : (1)That's Private Jenkins and Private Kinney. They got killed. Private Jenkins has a baby girl that was born seven pounds, six ounces. He's never seen her. He wanted to get back to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and hold her...
Cole points to the other soldier.
COLE : (2) Private Kinney's wife is really sick -- she has something called a brain anism.
MALCOLM :(soft) You mean aneurysm.
COLE : (3) Yeah, Private Kinney needed to get back safe to take care of her.
Beat. Cole's face becomes emotional. Tears fill his eyes. COLE : (4) It's sad they died, isn't it?
Malcolm falls into silence and stares at his client. Beat. Cole wipes his eyes quickly.
COLE : (5) Don't look at me.(beat) I don't like people looking at me like that.
(36)
Malcolm takes in Cole's gesture and expression. COLE : (6) Stop looking at me. Malcolm looks down.
MALCOLM :Where should I look then, Cole? COLE :Look over there.
Cole points to the corner of the street. Malcolm slowly turns. He sits in profile to Cole. Beat.
MALCOLM : (7) It's very unusual for someone your age to understand the kind of problems that Private Jenkins and Private Kinney have or even to be thinking about them at all...
Malcolm continues to stare at the street. Beat. MALCOLM :It is okay if I look back now? Cole doesn't answer.
MALCOLM :Tap the foot once for "No" and twice for "Yes." Cole taps his foot once.
Analysis:
The construction ‘very unusual’ in that utterance can be assumed as an
approximation that occurs when Malcolm approximates the degree of anomaly in
Cole’s self, as seen in utterance (7).
In addition, instead of using the construction “unusual” to represent his
intention, Malcolm uses ‘very unusual’ to make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness is
executed to show what he thinks about Cole that Cole seems like abnormal child. The
construction ‘very unusual’ is chosen by him to represent his idea about abnormal child because that construction is more appropriate to be used when talking to a child.
When learning from the data, Cole uttered (1), (2), (3) and (4) and Malcolm
responded him by saying (7) to explain his intention that he wants to tell Cole that he
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with his age. Malcolm’s sense of Cole’s anomaly also show when Cole uttered (5)
and (6). It shows that Malcolm stares at Cole strangely.
Different from the previous data, In this case, the addresser, Cole understands
Malcolm’s intention and responses him by doing something (taping his foot once).
He thinks Malcolm thinks that he is abnormal child. By taping his foot once, he
intends to show that he does not like if Malcolm stares strangely at him.
Data 7
(This data is taken from Twilight movie script)
Bella VO : My first day at the new school, it’s March, in the middle of the semester. Great.
[A few students giggle at the sight of the truck.] Black student: Nice ride.
Bella :Thanks. [walks towards school building holding some papers] Eric : [shows up from behind Bella] You're Isabella Swan, the new girl.
Hi, I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place. (1) Um, anything you need? Tour guide? Lunch date? Shoulder to cry on?
Bella : (2) Uh, I'm really kind ofthe more ‘suffer in silence’ type. Eric : (3) Good headline for your feature.. I m on the paper, and you re
news, baby, front page.
Analysis:
The construction ‘really kind of’ in Bella’s utterance can be interpreted as approximation which appears when Bella approximates her characteristics, as stated
in (2).
In addition, instead of using “kind of” to represent his intention directly, Bella
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show her intention clearly that she does not need him when she is sad because she
would much rather be alone and deal with it herself than show it to the public.
According to the data, the intention of Bella who is not interested in Eric’s offer because she would rather be alone appears after Eric offers something to her, as
seen in utterance (1).
The hearer, Eric understands Bella’s intention and answers her by saying (3).
He thinks Bella does not need his help when she feels sad because she likes to be
alone. By saying (3), Eric intends to hit on her and try to flatter her in hope she will
be interested in him.
Data 8
(This data is taken from Twilight movie script)
Jessica: She’s got a great spike, huh? [to Bella] I’m Jessica by the way. (1) Hey you're from Arizona right?
Bella: (2) Yeah.
Jessica: (3) Aren't people from Arizona supposed to be like, really tan? Bella: (4) Yeah, maybe..that's why they kicked me out.
Mike: [giggles] You’re good. Jessica: [laughs] That’s so funny.
[Bella turns around. Mike raises his eyebrows.
Analysis:
The construction ‘really’ in that utterance can be interpreted as approximation
which appears when Jessica approximates the characteristics of Arizona people, as
(39)
fuzziness is made to represent her intention clearly that she wants to show her wonder
because of Bella’s bright skin.
Based on the data, the intention of Jessica who wonders of Bella’s bright skin
appear after Bella admits that she is from Arizona, in utterance (1), (2).
The hearer, Bella understands Jessica’s intention and responses her by saying
(4). She thinks Jessica wonders her bright skin after knowing that she is from
Arizona. By saying (4), Bella intends to confess that people from Arizona is tan and
wants to joke about her bright skin.
Data 9
(This data is taken from Twilight movie script)
[Jasper and Alice prepares to check out at the reception. Bella packs her stuff in the room. Her cell phone vibrates. She picks up the call from home.] Bella: Hey, mom. I’m glad you got my message. What are you doing home? Renee: Bella, Bella! Bella? Where are you?
Bella: Calm down. Everything’s fine. Renee: Bella! Bella!
Bella: I’ll explain everything later. Mom, are you there?
James: (1) Forks High School doesn’t protect its students’ privacy very well. (2)
You know it’s just too easy for Victoria to find your previous address. (3) It’s a nice
house you have here. I was prepared to wait for you. Then Mom came home after she received a very worried call from your Dad. And it all worked out quite well. Hmmm..
Renee: Please, wait..
(40)
Analysis:
The construction ‘very well’ in James’s utterance can be assumed as
approximation which occurs when James approximates the degree of students’ privacy protection of Bella’s high school, as seen in utterance (1).
In addition, instead of using construction ‘well’ to represent his intention,
James uses construction ‘very well’ to make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness is made
to show his idea that Fork High School is careless to protect the students’ privacy.
According to the data, the intention of James is that Fork High School cannot
protect its students’ privacy well; he can find Bella’s address and hostages her mom.
He utters (2) and (3) to support his intention.
The hearer, Bella understands James’s intention and response him by saying
(4). She thinks that
1. James got her address from her high school
2. James is in her old house with her mom
By saying (4), Bella intends to beg him to not to hurt her mom.
4.1.2 Adverb of Frequency
Adverb of frequency is an adverb that gives the information how often
something happens and answers the question ‘how often?’ or ‘how frequently?’. In the correlation of hedging, the speaker uses adverb of frequency to approximate the
(41)
Data 10
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
LAURENT : The Denalis are very gracious hosts. (slyly) Will you satisfy my
curiosity? (1) I’ve checked the Cullen house a couple of months ago. (2) It’s empty. (3) Did Edward tire of his little pet?
BELLA : (4) The Cullen’s have moved on but they drop by often. I don’t think I should mention your visit to– to Edward though. (5) He’s still very touchy about James.
LAURENT : (6) I don’t think you’ll be having the opportunity to tell him
anything. You see, I’m very thirsty… Since you’re conveniently here
and obviously unattached, I might as well kill two birds with one stone.
Analysis:
The construction ‘by often’ can be viewed as an approximation that occurs when Bella approximates the frequency of The Cullen’s drop, ‘by often’. In addition, the using of ‘by often’ in utterance (1) is made to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is
made to show that she still keep contact with Edward.
According to the data, the intention of Bella who wants to show that she still
keep contact with Edward although The Cullen’s has moved on. At stated in Bella’s
utterance (4) which is made to answer Laurent’s question (1), (2), and (3). After that
Bella continued her utterance (5) to support her intention.
The hearer, Laurent, understands Bella’s intention and responds her by saying
(6). She thinks the Cullen’s frequently drop although they have moved on, so does
Edward. So Bella still keep in touch with him. By saying (6), Laurent intends to tell
Bella that she has no opportunity to tell Edward anything because she would kill her
(42)
Data 11
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
ALICE : (1) Bella’s disappearing more regularly now. (2) For longer periods. (3) Total blackout. (4) Then she comes back. What does it mean? CARLISLE : (5) Until we know more, we will not act. What’s important is Bella
does come back.
Analysis:
The construction ‘more regularly’ can be viewed as an approximation that
occurs when Alice approximates the intensiveness of Bella’s disappearing, as seen in
utterance (1).
In addition, instead of using the construction ‘regularly’ to represent her intention, Alice uses ‘more regularly’ to make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness is made to show her curiosity because of Bella’s disappearing more intensive than before.
When learning from the data, Alice’s intention seemingly shows her wonder
of Bella’s disappearing more intensive than before is supported by her next utterance
(2), (3), and (4).
The hearer, Carlisle, understands her intention and responds her by saying (5).
He learns that Alice wonders why Bella disappears more intensive than before. By
(43)
4.1.3 Adverb of Quantity
Adverb of quantity is an adverb that specifies the quantity of things. In this
case, The speaker uses adverb of quantity to approximate the quantity of thing and
tucks his/her intention in his/her adverb of quantity construction.
Data 12
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
MATT : (2)Yeah, yeah. Hannah, it‘s not exactly my first time, you know. HANNAH : (3) Sorry, there has just been a lot of talk lately about giant grizzly
sightings. (4) It‘s making me jumpy.
MATT : (5) (teases) And, just like it says in the ‗Top 10 Things to Do to
Avoid Bear Attacks,‘ I will now go 200 yards away from the campsite
to hang the food and pans on a tree
Analysis:
The construction ‘a lot of talk’ in that utterance can be analyzed as an approximation that appears when Hannah approximates the quantity of giant grizzly
sightings talk, as stated in utterance (3).
Instead of using the construction ‘talk’ to represent her intention, Hannah uses
‘a lot of’ to make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness utterance is made to inform Matt
the reason she has been garrulous because a bear may exist because many people talk
about its sightings, so she worry about that.
Based on the data, Hannah looks garrulous when she asked (1). Her garrulous
can be seen when Matt answered “(2)”. The intention of Hannah who wants to clarify the reason why she has been garrulous because many people talk about giant
(44)
sightings which makes her felt worry appears when she said (3) and (4) which can
support her intention.
The addresser, Matt, understands the intention and responds her by saying (5).
He learns that: Hannah thinks that a bear may exist and she is afraid of the bear.
By saying the utterance “(5)”, Matt intends to tease Hannah in order to make her
more afraid than before.
4.1.4 Disjunctive Adverb
Disjunctive adverb is an adverb that expresses the information considered the
descriptive statements of the speaker. It is generally used to refer to the sentence that
is not fully described in the previous conversation and it is usually placed at the
beginning or at the end of sentence. In this case, the speaker uses disjunctive adverb
to approximate his/her descriptive statements in order to explain his/her particular
intention.
Data 13
(This data is taken from Twilight movie script)
Bella: (1)Who’s he?
[Edward enters the lunch room.]
Jessica: That’s Edward Cullen. He’s totally gorgeous, obviously. [Edward passes behind the girls.] ( 2 ) But apparentlynobody here’s good enough for him.
[Edward smiles as if he knows what Jessica is talking about.] Like I care, you know, uh. So...yeah. [Bella sees Edward taking a seat at the same table with the other Cullens.] ( 3 ) Seriously right, don’t waste your time
(45)
Analysis:
The construction ‘apparently’ can be interpreted as approximation that occurs
when Jessica approximates her idea about Edward, as seen in utterance (2).
In addition, she uses construction ‘apparently’ in order to make her utterance
fuzzy. The fuzziness is made to mitigate her judge about Edward. Her idea about
Edward is made to explain her intention to Bella that she should not to pay attention
and crush on him.
According to data, the intention of Jessica who wants to advice that she had
better not to pay attention and crush on him; nobody here is good enough for him.
She utters (3) to support her intention.
The hearer, Bella understands Jessica’s intention and responses her by saying
(4). She thinks that:
1. Nobody in her school is good enough for Edward
2. Jessica thinks she pay attention to Edward, so she advices her to keep away
from him
By saying (4), Bella intends to clarify that she is not planning to approach Edward.
4.2 Shield
Different from approximation, shield does not affect the truth-conditions but
shows the speaker’s commitment to the truth-value of the whole proposition. In these
data below, the speaker shields his/her utterance to shield the intention of his/her
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4.2.1 Adverb of Degree
In shield, the speaker uses adverb of degree to amplify, minimize, or measure
something in order to shield his/her intention.
Data 14
(This data is taken from Titanic movie script)
Ruth is having tea with NOEL LUCY MARTHA DYER-EDWARDES, the
COUNTESS OF ROTHES, british English blue-blood with patirician features. Ruth sees someone coming across the room and lowers her voice.
RUTH : (1)Oh no, that vulgar Brown woman is coming this way. Get up, quickly before she sits with us.
Molly Brown walks up, greeting them cheerfully as they are rising. MOLLY : Hello girls, I was hoping I'd catch you at tea.
RUTH : (2) We're awfully sorry you missed it. (3)The Countess and I are just off to take the air on the boat deck.
MOLLY : (4) That sounds great. Let's go. I need to catch up on the gossip.
Analysis:
The construction ‘awfully sorry’ in that utterance can be interpreted as a
shield that appears when Ruth shields her avoidance of Molly presence, as seen in
utterance (2). In addition, instead of using ‘sorry’ to represent his intention, Ruth uses
construction ‘awfully sorry’ to make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness is made to show
her guilt to Molly. On the other hand, it is also made to avoid Molly in order to not
join her.
According to the data, the intention of Ruth who wants to avoid Molly can be
seen when Ruth utters (1) when she looks Molly comes. It shows that she does not
(47)
Here, the hearer, Molly does not understand Gracie’s intention. She responds Ruth by saying (4). She thinks Ruth feels guilty because Molly misses having tea
with them. By saying (4), she intends to join them.
Data 15
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
JACOB : (1) (self-consciously) What? Does my being half-naked bother you? I could put a shirt on.
BELLA : (2)No, no. I just hadn’t realized before. (3)Did you know, you’re sort of beautiful?
JACOB : (4)Did you just trip and hit your head pretty hard? BELLA :I’m serious
Analysis:
The construction ‘sort of’ can be interpreted as a shield that occurs when Bella
shields her shyness, in utterance (3). Different from the previous data, here, the shield
utterance (3) is made to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is made to cover or shield her
shyness to Jacob by praising him.
Based on the data, the intention of covering her shyness starts when Jacob
asked (1) and she answered (2). The utterance (2) shows that she is surprised seeing
Jacob’s half-naked. By saying (3), she can support her intention that she wants to cover and shields her shyness by praising Jacob.
The hearer, Jacob, understands her intention and response her by saying (4).
He thinks Bella assumes that he is beautiful after seeing his half-naked. By saying the
(48)
Data 16
(This data is taken from Twilight movie script)
[The red truck arrives at school.]
Bella VO: My first day at the new school, it’s March, in the middle of the semester. Great.
[A few students giggle at the sight of the truck.] Black student: (1) Nice ride.
Bella: Thanks. [walks towards school building holding some papers]
Eric: (2) [shows up from behind Bella] You're Isabella Swan, the new girl. Hi, I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place. Um, anything you need? Tour guide? Lunch date? Shoulder to cry on?
Bella: Uh, I'm really kind of the more ‘suffer in silence’ type.
Eric: (3) Good headline for your feature« I m on the paper, and you re news, baby, front page.
Bella: (4) No, I’m not. You..please don’t have any sort of… Eric: (5) Whoa, chillax. No feature.
Bella: Okay, thanks. Eric: Cool
Analysis:
The construction ‘sort of’ in that utterance can be interpreted as shield which
appears when Bella shields her nervous, as seen in utterance (4).
By using “sort of”, she wants to make her utterance fuzzy. The fuzziness is
made to cover her intention that she is nervous because she just got there and all these
people are talking to her and such giving her all this attention that she just does not
need, so she turns Eric down.
From the data, the intention of Bella who is nervous because Eric and the
other people notice and talk about her that makes her uncomfortable appears when a
few students giggle at the sight of the truck (the truck is hers), black students utter
(49)
The hearer, Eric understands Bella’s intention and answers her by saying (3).
He thinks Bella is not comfortable with the situation. By saying (5), Eric intends to
calm her down by telling that he is not going to put her in the paper.
4.2.2 Adverb of Time
Adverb of time is an adverb that explains when something happens. In this
case, the speaker uses adverb of time in his/her utterance to determine the time of an
event and shield his/her intention.
Data 17
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
HANNAH : (1) Matt, are you sure you cleaned the pans? If a bear smells them… MATT : (2) Yeah, yeah. Hannah, it’s not exactly my first time, you know. HANNAH : (3) Sorry, there has just been a lot of talk lately about giant grizzly
sightings. It’s making me jumpy.
Analysis:
The construction ‘exactly’ belongs to shield classification that appears when
Matt shields his belief of something that he has heard before, as stated in (2).
The using of ‘exactly’ is made to make the utterance fuzzy. The fuzziness is
made to show that he is bored because Hannah has remembered him before and
Hannah might have remembered him repeatedly.
When learning from data, the intention of Matt who wants to show his bore
because Hannah has advised him repeatedly appears when Hannah said (1) and Matt
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The hearer, Hannah, understands his intention and responds him by saying
(3). She thinks matt is bored because she tells about it repeatedly. By saying (3), she
intends to give an understanding that she tells him repeatedly because she is afraid of
a bear. Many people talk about that and it seems a bear may exist.
4.2.3 Disjunctive Adverb
In shield, disjunctive adverb is used by the speaker to explain his/her
descriptive statement to response the previous utterance and to shield his/her
intention.
Data 18
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
RENEE : (1) How about coming over to Jacksonville, sweetheart? BELLA :Sure, mom.
RENEE : (2) Well, actually, I didn’t mean just for a vacation. (3) Charlie and I have been talking. (4) We thought it would be best if you moved back
in with me. (5) Phil’s really excited to see you.
BELLA : (6) What?!! How dare you make a decision about my life? I’m
eighteen, and I can choose what to do! It’s my life! You have no right!
I want to stay here in Forks Analysis:
The construction ‘actually’ in that utterance can be categorized as a shield that appears when Renee shields the truth that she wants to expose to Bella, in utterance
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Different to the previous data in shield, here, the shield utterance is made to
less fuzzy. Renee uses ‘actually’ to make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness utterance is made to tell the truth that she wants Bella to move back in with her.
Based on data, the intention of Renee who intends to tell the truth that she
persuades her in utterance (1) because she wants Bella to move back in with her is
supported by saying (3),(4), and (5).
The addresser, Bella, understands her intention and responds her by saying
(6). She thinks that Renee persuades her to come to Jacksonville because she wants
her moving back in with her. By saying “(6)” she intends to reject Renee’s volition.
Data 19
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
BELLA : (1) Do you want me out of this house? Why didn’t you say anything? Just give me a little time to look for a place, and –
CHARLIE : (2) Bells, Bells… You’ve got it all wrong. (3) Of course, I want you
to stay here. (4) I was just worried that I can’t seem to help you. (5) I
just thought your mother can take better good care of you at this time. BELLA : (6) I’m sorry, Dad. I know I’m being a pain right now.
Analysis:
The construction ‘of course’ can be assumed as a shield which appears when
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As the same as data 10, the shield makes utterance less fuzzy. The using of ‘of
course’ is made by him to less fuzzy which can make the utterance clearer. The less
fuzziness is made to solve misunderstanding and explain that he wants Bella to stay
with him but he is afraid if he cannot help her.
Based on the data, Bella looks upset to him by saying (1) and Charlie
responded her by saying (2), (3), (4), and (5) to support his intention that actually he
wants Bella to stay with him but he is afraid if he cannot help her so he thinks her
mother is a better way.
The addresser, Bella, understands his intention and responds him by saying
(6). She thinks Charlie wants give the best for her. By saying (6), she intends to show
that she realized she has got misunderstanding.
Data 20
(This data is taken from Titanic movie script)
These conversations above happened after Jack was success helping Rose who almost drowned in the sea.
Jack is uncuffed. Cal gets Rose to her feet and moving.
CAL : (1)(rubbing her arms) Let's get you in. You're freezing. Cal is leaving without a second thought for Jack.
GRACIE : (2) (low) Ah... perhaps a little something for the boy? CAL : (3)Oh, right. Mr. Lovejoy. A twenty should do it.
Analysis:
The construction ‘perhaps’ in that utterance can be categorized as a shield that
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Different from previous data, here, instead of telling his suggestion to
represent his intention directly, Gracie uses construction ‘perhaps’ to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is made to suggest Cal politely to give Jack souvenir because he has
helped her fiancée, Rose.
When learning from the data, the intention of Gracie who suggests Cal
politely to give Jack souvenir can be seen when he uttered (2) low. Gracie uttered (2)
because he wants to responses Cal who uttered (1) without paying attention to Jack.
The hearer, Cal understands Gracie’s intention and responses him by saying
(3). He thinks he should give Jack something. By saying (3), he intends to give Jack
money as appreciation for him.
4.3. Approximation and Shield
In this classification, the speakers approximate something to affect the
truth-condition of proposition but at the same time, they also shield their intentions of their
utterance.
4.3.1 Adverb of degree
Here, the speaker uses adverb of degree to approximate the degree of
something to shield her intention.
Data 21
(This data is taken from New Moon movie script)
RENEE : (1) Are you eating? Sleeping well? BELLA : Yes, mom.
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RENEE : (2) I really miss you. BELLA : (3) Miss you too..
Analysis:
The construction ‘really’ in Renne’s utterance can be interpreted as
approximation and shield which occurs when Renee approximates the degree of her
yearning and shields her guilt because there’s something that she does not know as a mother, as stated in utterance (2)
Here, Renee chooses to use ‘really’ in her utterance in order to make it less fuzzy. The less fuzziness is made to convince Bella that she always loves her
although she does not know her condition.
From the data, the intention of Renee that wants to show that she always loves
her occurs when she asked something that should be known by a mother, as seen in
utterance (1). By saying (2), she can support her intention.
The addresser, Bella, understands her intention and answers her by saying (2).
She learns that Renee always loves her. By saying (2), Bella intends to show that she
always loves her too and as the same Bella attempts to appreciate her mother.
4.3.2 Disjunctive adverb
Here, the speaker approximates his descriptive statements in order to shield
his particular intention.
Data 22
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GRACIE :(low) Ah... perhaps a little something for the boy? CAL : (1) Oh, right. Mr. Lovejoy. A twenty should do it. ROSE : (2) Is that the going rate for saving the woman you love? CAL : Rose is displeased. Mmm... what to do?
Cal turns back to Jack. He appraises him condescendingly... a steerage ruffian, unwashed and ill-mannered.
CAL : (3)I know. (to Jack) Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow, to regale our group with your heroic tale?
JACK : (4)(looking straight at Rose) Sure. Count me in.
Analysis:
The construction ‘perhaps’ in that utterance can be categorized as an
approximation and shield that appears when Cal approximates Jack’s volition to accept his request and shield his unwillingness, as stated in utterance (2).
In addition, instead of telling his request to represent his intention, Cal uses
construction ‘perhaps’ to make it fuzzy. The fuzziness is made to invite him to join
dinner but actually, Cal does not hope him to join. By using ‘perhaps’ he wants to
look like respect Jack as if hoping Jack to join him to dinner.
Based on the data, the intention of Cal who does not sincerely hope Jack to
join him and the others to dinner is shown when he uttered (1) and Rose responded
him by saying (2). It shows that he does not respect Jack. By uttering (3), he only
wants to make Rose happy by pretending to respect Jack.
The hearer, Jack understands Cal’s intention and responses him by saying (4). He thinks Cal does not sincerely invite him to join dinner. By saying (4), Jack intends
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51
This chapter describes the conclusions and suggestion of this research. The
conclusions include the summary and answer of analysis and the suggestions include
some explanations of the other hedging construction theories that have not been
analyzed yet in this research which can be useful for the next researchers.
5.1 Conclusions
As stated in chapter IV, this research has 22 adverbial hedging construction
data that was taken from movie scripts. All data are classified into three categories:
approximation, shield, and approximation and shield. First, approximation is divided
into four types of adverb consist of adverb of degree, adverb of frequency, adverb of
quantity, and disjunctive adverb. Second, shield is divided into three types of adverb
consist of adverb of degree, adverb of time, and disjunctive adverb. Last,
approximation and shield is divided into two types of adverb consist of adverb of
degree and disjunctive adverb.
There are some conclusions in approximation classification:
1. There are 13 data in the approximation classification that include of 9 data of
adverb of degree, 2 data of adverb of frequency, 1 data of adverb of quantity, and
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2. In adverb of degree, the first data, adverbial construction ‘badly enough’, the
second data ‘pretty hard’, the third data ‘little’, and the forth data ‘quite’ show the fuzziness. Then, the fifth data ‘so’, the sixth data ‘very unusual’, the seventh data
‘really kind of’, the eight data ‘really’, and the ninth data ‘very well’ show less fuzziness. In this case, several data show the fuzziness because the speakers
approximate the degree of something by using the words that indicate an obscurity
in their utterance when they try to express their intention. On the other hand, the
others show less fuzziness because the speakers approximate the degree of
something by using words that amplify their utterance when they express their
utterance.
3. In adverb of frequency, the first data, adverb construction ‘by often’ shows the
fuzziness, but the second data, adverb construction ‘more regularly’ shows the less
fuzziness. Although both adverb show the information how often something
happens, but they have different function in an utterance. The first data has a
function to make the vagueness to determine how often something happens
whereas the second data has a function to make the clarity in showing how often
something happens.
4. In adverb of quantity, there is only one data found in this classification, adverb
construction ‘a lot of’ that can be assumed as an adverb that shows less fuzziness. This is because the speaker approximates quantity of something by using a word
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54
There are some conclusions in approximation and shield classification:
1. There are 2 data in the approximation and shield classification that include of 1 data of adverb of degree and 1 data of disjunctive adverb.
2. In adverb of degree, adverbial ‘really’ indicates less fuzziness because the speaker uses that adverbial to strengthen her statement and at the same time, she wants to shield her intention.
3. In disjunctive adverb, adverbial ‘perhaps’ indicates the fuzziness because the speaker uses this adverbial hedging to approximate and shield something in order to make his utterance fuzzy when expressing his idea.
However, the speaker tries to approximate, shield, or approximate and shield his/her utterance and make it fuzzy or less fuzzy in order to express his/her intention politely.
5.2 Suggestion
In this research, I take adverbial construction as one of types of hedging construction. Hedging constructions consist of some categories as follows: adverbials, adjectival, modal auxiliaries, modal lexical verbs, hypothetical construction, and anticipatory it-clause. Each construction has function and way to mitigate the negative impact of the utterance. In addition, all categories can be analyzed. Thus, the researchers can continue this research by taking the other hedging constructions to be analyzed.
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55
REFERENCES
Akmajian, Demers, et al. 2001. Linguistics: an introduction to language and communication. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Cameron, J. 1997. “Titanic (1997) Movie Script”. 10th
March, 2011. <http://sfy.ru/?script=titanic>
Cohen Barry and Cameron James. 2002. “Spider Man Movie Script”. 1st March, 2011. <http://sfy.ru/?script=spider_man_early>
Chan, S.H. and Helen Tan. 2002. Maybe, perhaps , I believe, you could --Making Claims and the Use of Hedges, MELTA Journal, The English Teacher Vol. 31, 2002. 98-106.
Duszak, A. 1997. Trends in Linguistics. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Hartmut Schröder and Dagmar Zimmer. 1997. “Hedging Research in Pragmatics: A Bibliographical Research Guide to Hedging”. Hedging and Discourse. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 249-252
Hyland, K. 1996a. “Writing without conviction? Hedging in science research articles”. Applied Linguistics,17(4): 433 – 453
Lakoff, G. 1972. “Hedges: A study in meaning criteria and the logic of fuzzy concepts.” Chicago: Linguistics Society Papers, 8: 183-228 Lopez, L. (Ed). 2008. “A Twilight Kiss”. 28th February, 2011.
<http://www.atwilightkiss.com/new-moon-unofficial-film-script-severed-ties-part-1.html>
Lubis Grafura. (Ed). 2007. “Transkip Naskah Film Ada Apa Dengan Cinta”. 7th March,2011.
<http://lubisgrafura.wordpress.com/2007/06/21/transkripsi-naskah-film-“ada-apa-dengan-cinta”/>
Markkanen, R and Hartmut Schröder. 1997. Hedging and Discourse. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
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Quirk, R. 1985. A Comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman
Salager-Myer, F. 1997.” I think that perhaps you should: A study of hedges in written scientific discourse”. In T.Miller (ed.) Functional Approaches to Written Text: Classroom Applications. Washington, D.C: United States Information Agency
Syahmalan, M.N. 1999. “The Sixth Sense”. 8th March, 2011. <http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Sixth-Sense,-The.html>
Yule, G. 1996. Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University
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58
CURRICULUM VITAE
A. Personal Identity
1. Name : Devina Putri Aruma
2. Place and Date of Birth : Bandung, 12th March 1989 3. Student Number : 63707003
4. Major : English Department of UNIKOM
5. Sex : Female
6. Nationality : Indonesia 7. Religion : Islam
8. Phone Number : 022-6003143 9. Mobile Number : 085793346960
10.Address : Jl. Halteu Utara No.224 Bandung 40183 11.Email Address : devinaputri17@yahoo.com
12.Weight : 50 Kg
13.Height : 160 Cm
14.Marital Status : Single 15. Parents
1. Father : Wahyu Suprianto Occupation : Entrepreneur
Address : Jl. Halteu Utara No.24 Bandung 40183 2. Mother : Neneng Rohayati
Occupation : Teacher
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59 B. Formal Education
No Year Institusion
1 1993-1994 TK Al-Inayah Bandung 2 1994-2000 SDN Garuda II Bandung
3 2000-2003 SMPN 1 Bandung
4 2003-2006 SMAN 13 Bandung
5 2007-Now English Department of UNIKOM
C. Informal Education
No Year Event
1 2008 Seminar of Copy Writing 1
2 2009 Story Telling Competition
3 2010 Seminar of Literary Discussion
4 2010 Seminar of Copy Writing 2
5 2010 Seminar of Translating and Interpreting Workshop
6 2011 Seminar of Movie Maker
7 2011 Seminar of Saatnya Muslimah Bicara Politik
8 2010 Seminar of Feminism
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60 D. Experiences
1. Palang Merah Remaja in Junior High School 2. Basketball player in Senior High School
3. Teacher of Elementary student in Victory English Course (2009/2010)
Bandung, July 2010
Devina Putri Aruma