A Cross cultural Analysis of the Use of Hedging Devices in Scientific Research Articles

Hedging is a significant aspect of academic writing and it is an important resource for L2 writers (Hyland, 1994). Hence, this study set out to compare the frequency of hedges employed in different sections of research papers written by non native English speaking authors (NNESA) and native English speaking authors (NESA). To this end, 40 research articles written by the two groups of authors was analyzed based on the taxonomy of hedges proposed by Salagar Meyer (1994). The results showed that generally NESA utilized more hedges compared to NNESA and there is a significant difference between these authors use of hedging devices. The results can have implications for L2 teachers in that they should take measures to familiarize their students with the hedging devices and show them how to use hedges appropriately.