The Use of Lexical Certainty Modifiers by Non-Native (Finnish) and Native Speakers of English.

A study investigated the use of lexical certainty modifiers, which have a mitigating or emphasizing function (e.g., "I suppose," "sort of," "obviously"). Although certainty modifiers add little to the referential information of messages, they can be very important interpersonally, particularly in terms of politeness. Analysis focused on the use of certainty modifiers by advanced level non-native (Finnish) speakers (NNSs) of English in comparison with that of native (British) speakers and those in conversations in Finnish. NNSs were university-level students. Data were drawn from 12 recorded infrrmal conversations, 4 for each conversation type: among NNSs; among native English speakers; and among native Finnish speakers. Three types of certainty modifiers (hedges, emphatics, implicit modifiers) were distinguished and their distribution in the three conversation types was examined. Results indicate that although the NNSs were otherwise proficient English speakers, they were largely unaware of the significance of certainty modifiers, with the result that their conversation seems more detached, more matter-of-fact, and less involved with each other and with the topic at hand than the native speakers of either English or Finnish. Contains 16 references. (MSE) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *************************************************i.AA******************* Pragmatics and Language Learning Monograph Series, Vol. 4, 1993 The Use of Lexical Certainty Modifiers by Non-Native (Finnish) and Native Speakers of English Tarja Nikula University of Jyvaskyla PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY