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case, it can be seen that the speech turns into a question when it has rising intonation in it. In the end, this is supposed to turn a statement into a question, thereby
weakening the force of it making the speaker sound uncertain.
5. Lexical Hedge
Lakoff and Bucholtz 2004 state that lexical hedges are parts of lexical hedging which can be used to weaken the strength of an assertion. It means lexical
hedge is as a sign of speaker’s uncertainty. There were only two lexical hedges that came up in Hart speech.
[16] Its... Its kind of like... surprise Hart puts lexical hedge on her speech in order to give a pause before
continuing to speak. Besides, it also expresses Hart’s uncertainty towards the idea of
what she is talking about. Lakoff and Bucholtz 2004 identify lexical hedges as a mean of expressing uncertainty or tentativeness. Lexical hedge was applied again in
Hart ’s speech when she was given an opportunity as a Miss Congeniality.
[17] I kind of hoped it wouldn ’t.
In sentence [17], kind of is used to weaken the strength of an assertion that may cause offense. She never imagines that she will get such an honored title like Miss
Congeniality. Since Hart worked for the FBI, she could not use her new title at work but still she was really touched. Lakoff and Bucholtz 2004 point out that women use
this features as their protection for not overstepping their rights by making a certain statement.
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6. Tag Question
According to Lakoff and Bucholtz 2004, tag question refers to indications of approval-seeking. Tag question is a
“syntactic device” which expresses uncertainty. According to Holmes 2008, there are four functions of tag questions. They are to
express uncertainty, to show positive politeness devices, to soften a directive or a criticism, and to show confrontational and coercive devices. The researcher
discovered two tag questions in Hart ’s speech.
[18] His victims didnt get a chance to choke on a peanut, did they, sir? Speech [18] indicates that tag question is used to confirm at certain information to the
addressee. Besides, tag question that is used by Hart to express her feeling of uncertainty. After saying uncertain information, she uses tag question to avoid
misunderstanding. Another tag question was used by Hart in order to confirm information that she did not really know.
[19] Hes punishing me, isnt he? Again, the sentence [19] shows how tag question is used in order to make sure
whether she is being punished or not. Moreover, by using tag question she wants to get a confirmation of her claim from the addressee. She indicates her speech with a
tag question which signaled doubt about what she is asserting. Moreover, the implementation of tag question here is also to avoid misunderstanding or to obtain
clearer information.
