HEDGING MEANS IN SPOKEN MEDICAL DISCOURSE: FUNCTIONING FEATURES

Aim. To analyze the linguistic hedging devices in doctor-patient communication to express caution or mitigate statements regarding the patient’s treatment. To achieve the aim, such objectives were set as identification of linguistic hedging devices in doctor-patient discourse, determination of the key characteristics of hedging in spoken medical discourse, and analysis of hedging devices used by doctors to convey information.
Methodology. Hedging devices and their functional features in doctor-patient discourse were described, identified, and analyzed based on a corpus of 172 doctor-patient conversation scripts from polyclinics and hospitals in Astrakhan. Observation, pragmatic analysis (to identify the speaker’s goals and intentions when using hedging devices), as well as traditional descriptive and classification methods, which facilitated the structural and functional analysis of the identified hedging devices, were employed in the research.
Results. The analysis revealed that hedging in spoken medical discourse functions as a multifunctional strategy – it influences patients, provides doctors with a protective communicative tool in conflict situations and is an effective argumentative device in doctor-patient interactions.
Research implications. The study identified functions and features of hedging that help to mitigate negative information, obscure the true meaning of utterances, maintain the dialogue, create distance, and enhance empathy. These findings can assist doctors in making well-grounded decisions and engaging patients in the treatment process.

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