On the Functions and Forms of Metadiscursive Hedging in Applied Linguistics

Metadiscourse, defined as discourse about discourse, has been borrowed from philosophy into applied linguistics and has evolved as a new area of research in this field. Although metadiscourse is a relatively new subfield in applied linguistics, it has been researched by a range of scholars around the world. The current paper reports the findings of a qualitative library research conducted to identify the functions and forms of metadiscursive hedging in applied linguistics. First, it defines the topic briefly and reviews the existing, but still burgeoning, literature on it. Then, it establishes an interface between fuzzy logic, linguistics, pragmatics, politeness, and applied linguistics. The paper concludes with a discussion of the future directions of research on metadiscursive hedging in applied linguistics.