Hedges In George W. Bush’s Speeches

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study
Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a
speaker (or writer) and interpreted by a listener (or reader). It has consequently, more
to do with the analysis of what people mean by their utterances than what the words
or phrases in those utterances might mean by themselves. Pragmatics is the study of
speaker meaning (Yule, 1996:3).
This type of study necessarily involves the interpretation of what people
mean in a particular context and how the context influences what is said. It requires a
consideration of how speakers organize what they want to say in accordance with
who they’re talking to, where, when, and under what circumstances. Pragmatics is
the study of contextual meaning (Yule, 1996:3).
Speakers and listeners who involved in conversation are generally
cooperating with each other. This sense of cooperation is simply one in which people
having a conversation are not normally assumed to be trying to confuse, trick, or
withhold relevant information from each other. The concept of there being an
expected amount of information provided in conversation is just one aspect of the
more general idea that people involved in a conversation will cooperate with each
other. In most circumstances, the assumption of cooperation is so pervasive that it

can be stated as a cooperative proncipleof conversation and elaborated in four subprinciples called maxim. It can be assumed that, when involving in conversation,
people are normally going to provide an appropriate amount of information (maxim

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of quantity), tell the truth (maxim of quality), be relevant (maxim of relation) and try
to be as clear as they can (maxim of manner) (Yule, 1996:35).
Yule (1996:38) explains there are certain kinds of expressions speakers use to
mark that they may be in danger of not fully adhering to the principles. These kinds
of expressions are called hedges. The importances of the maxim of quality for
cooperative interaction in English may be best measured by the number of
expression we use to indicate that what we’re saying may not be totally accurate. The
initial phrases below:
1.

As far as I know, they’re married.

2. I may be mistaken, but I thought I saw a wedding ring on her finger.
3. I’m not sure if this is right, but I heard it was a secret ceremony in

Hawaii.
4. He couldn’t live without her, I guess.
The conversational context for the examples 1-4 might be a recent rumor involving a
couple known to the speaker. Cautious notes, or hedges, of this type can also be used
to show that the speaker is conscious of the quantity maxim, as initial phrases in
example below, produced in the course of a speaker’s account of her recent vacation:
5. As you probably know, I am terrified of bugs.
6. So, to cut a long story short, we grabbed our stuff and ran.
7. I won’t bore you with all the details, but it was an exciting trip.

In this study, the writer analyzes George W. Bush’s speeches. The 43rd
President of the United States President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New
Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He received a
bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University in 1968, and then served as an F2
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102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. President Bush received a Master
of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. Following
graduation, he moved back to Midland and began a career in the energy business.
After working on his father’s successful 1988 Presidential campaign, President Bush

assembled the group of partners who purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise
in 1989. On November 8, 1994, President Bush was elected Governor of Texas. He
became the first Governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive 4-year terms
when he was re-elected on November 3, 1998.
Since becoming President of the United States in 2001, President Bush has
worked with the Congress to create an ownership society and build a future of
security, prosperity, and opportunity for all Americans. He signed into law tax relief
that helps workers keep more of their hard-earned money, as well as the most
comprehensive education reforms in a generation, the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001. This legislation is ushering in a new era of accountability, flexibility, local
control, and more choices for parents, affirming our Nation’s fundamental belief in
the promise of every child. President Bush has also worked to improve healthcare
and modernize Medicare, providing the first-ever prescription drug benefit for
seniors; increase homeownership, especially among minorities; conserve our
environment; and increase military strength, pay, and benefits. Because President
Bush believes the strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens, he
has supported programs that encourage individuals to help their neighbors in need.
Every single word from a leader gives significant and big impacts to his
people. By reflecting on that fact, a leader needs much consideration before
delivering his speech. As a leader, his position is much like someone standing on the

highest perch on a hill. Everyone easily sees him and also judges him
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simultaneously. A leader cannot avoid that thing. That is the risk of being a leader.
All he can do is preparing, collecting, verifying, and the reconsidering his speech.
When his people meet their confidence about his speeches, then his people may
move and deliver it. Long consideration and good-persuasive words will place a
leader to the most comfort place in his people’s heart. If he is not able to convince
his people that problems running can be solved a support for him will be decreased
and even his people could do a rebellion. The rebellion is the embodiment of their
disappointment toward his work. Hence, in this condition a leader, as also a
politician, chooses a safe way in their speeches by using hedges.
Hedge becomes the last option since this technique does not provide the
direct answer of something. When a leader is being asked for his responsibility
toward a trouble, they are not necessary to answer “yes” or “no” of being suspected
against the trouble. They use hedges since hedges place them between “yes” or “no”.
There is no direct answer. Only a man with a special thought could interpret someone
who uses hedges. By hedging the words a leader seems to give a direct answer
toward a trouble but actually they do not. Hedge is often called as “a politician

language”. This technique is commonly known among the politicians since they
always seek a way that places them on a comfort place in the eyes of people.
Lying upon those issues, considering hedging words contained in the leader’s
speeches would be an interesting discussion since by finding and counting hedges in
their speeches, the level of vagueness of the leader may be honestly revealed. George
W. Bush’s speeches , is the object to be analyzed. He was the leader of superpower
country and we may argue that he was once the number one man in this world. One
of the hedges found in Bush's speeches when he delivered a speech called The Iraqi
Threat on October 7, 2002. He says:
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8. If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy, or steal an amount of highly
enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, it could have a nuclear
weapon in less than a year.
According to Fraser (2010:23), hedge used in the above sentence is If clause. If
clauses are also known as conditional clauses or conditional sentences. This means
that the event in the main clause (not counting the if) only takes place if the condition
in the clause containing if is fulfilled. It can be seen from sentence that the main
clause about having a nuclear weapon in less than a year only takes place if the

condition in the clause containing if is fulfilled. If the main clause doesn’t takes
place, the speaker couldn’t be blamed because he already told the condition in which
the main clause would take place. According to Coates (1996: 154-162) the function
of hedges in above sentence is expression of doubt or lack of confidence. Bush as a
speaker, lack of commitment to what he is saying. He lack of confidence in truth of
the proposition expressed in the utterance by the used of word “if” which show
uncertainity.

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1.2 Problem of the Study
Based on the background above, the problems of the study of this thesis are
formed as follow:
1. What types of hedges are found in George W. Bush’s speeches?
2. What is the function of each hedge found in George W. Bush’s speeches?
3. Which type of hedges is the most dominant in George W. Bush’s speeches?

1.3 Objective of the Study
As stated at the problems of the study above, below are the objectives of the

study to answer the problems of the analysis namely:
1. To find out the types of hedging constructions found in George W. Bush’s
speeches.
2. To find out the function of each hedges.
3. To determine the most dominant type of hedging construction found in George W.
Bush’s speeches.

1.4. Scope of the Study
In discussing a certain problem in a certain field, giving a limitation in the
explanation of problem is absolutely needed. The scope or the limitation is aimed to
make the elaboration more focus to the problems that are discussed about and avoids
the ambivalence in linking the problems and theory to solve it. There are three
speeches that will be analized in this thesis, first The speech of Iraqi Threat
Cincinnati, OH 7 October 2002, second The speech of War Message Washington,
DC 19 March 2003 and the last George W. Bush Address One Year After Operation
Iraqi Freedom Washington, DC 19 March,2004, all of it is about Iraq war. The
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problem would be limited only from hedges that found in the utterances performed in

three speeches above. So the types and the function of hedge would be valid only for
that speeches.
There are three main problems would be answered from this thesis. First, to
determine the types of hedging construction in George W. Bush’s speeches. The
types of hedges from the speeches could be in form of words, phrases, clauses, or
sentences. The second, the function of hedge. And the last, the most dominant type
of the hedging construction in George W. Bush’s speeches would be determined on
this thesis. Through this scope of analysis it will be more easily for the readers to
figure out the problems and the ideas systemically.

1.5 Significances of the Study
In this our daily life, the significances of doing something could be viewed in
many different ways. All of consideration about the significances are merely depends
on someone’s perspectives. Moreover, one thing that always happens is in doing
something there is always a significance that would influence to others as in this
analysis. This analysis hopefully could give some worth significances such as:
1. This analysis could enrich the knowledge of the reader of hedges and gives
another point of view in hedges analysis.
2. This analysis could give some information about hedges found in George W.
Bush’s speeches.

3. This analysis practically can be used as reference to those who have interest in
pragmatic and to help the students in making another research about hedges.

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