A Corpus-based Analysis on Hedges in Abstracts of Marine Academic Journals

This paper studies the distribution characteristics of hedges in English abstracts of Chinese and foreign marine academic journals, analyzes the similarities and differences in their use based on a self-built corpus with the search tool AntConc3.5.9. and provides some suggestions on appropriate use of hedges in English abstract in a bid. The results show that the frequency of hedges used in Chinese marine academic journals is low, with obvious differences, and the form is relatively simple. Cultural differences, English proficiency and cultural background can partly explain the above findings. This finding provides some reference for the writing of abstracts of academic journals and helps China scholars to show China’s marine academic achievements to the international stage.