Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 5(1) January 2022 pp. 21-38 P- ISSN: 2614-5960 e-ISSN: 2615-4137 http://jurnal.ugj.ac.id/index.php/RILL Copyright 2022 @ Ni Putu Ayu Amartha Sabhagani Subagia Putri, Ni LuhNyoman Seri Malini, Made Detriasmita Saientisna 21 Article LEXICAL HEDGES IN REFLECTING GENDER DIFFERENCES Ni Putu Ayu Amartha Sabhagani Subagia Putri sabhagania@gmail.com English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University, Bali-Indonesia Ni Luh Nyoman Seri Malini seri.malini@unud.ac.id English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University, Bali-Indonesia Made Detriasmita Saientisna detriasmita@unud.ac.id English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University, Bali-Indonesia Abstract The study discusses lexical hedges in reflecting gender differences through the movie and analyzes the features of lexical hedges used in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie. The data were processed by categorizing the data into components of lexical hedges based on the framework of hedges proposed by Namasaraev (1997) and the sequential positions of lexical hedges proposed by Rosanti&Jaelani (2016). The use of nine types of lexical hedges conforming to its classification by the male and female characters showed a different number of results. As a result, female characters tend to more used lexical hedges rather than men characters. The female characters were mostly used lexical hedges as fillers yeah in their utterance to show their feelings, emotion, or opinion in the movie. The total data showed the number of female characters in using lexical hedges was 92 words sequentially from the most commonly used, i.e. fillers, lexical verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, adverb of frequency, adverb, and noun. Meanwhile, male characters used 40 words of lexical hedges and fillers as the most commonly used hedges through the word; like. In this movie, there were two sequential positions of lexical hedges, namely; the initial and medial position. Besides that, the female characters had a wide range of types in uttering the words that contained lexical hedges, whereas the male characters were not too often in selecting the words of lexical hedges. Keywords: lexical hedges, male characters, female characters, sierra burgess is a loser. mailto:seri.malini@unud.ac.id Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 22 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 Sari Penelitian ini membahas mengenai penggambaran lexical hedges dalam perbedaan gender melalu isebuah film, serta untuk menganalisis fitur lexical hedges yang digunakan dalam film Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. Data sudah diproses dengan mengkategorikan data menjadi komponen lexical hedges berdasarkan kerangka hedges yang disusun oleh Namasaraev (1997) dan posisi sekuensial lexical hedges yang diusulkan oleh Rosanti & Jaelani (2016). Penggunaan dari sembilan tipe lexical hedges berdasarkan klasifikasi oleh karakter pria dan wanita menampilkan hasil yang berbeda. Hasilnya, karakter wanita cenderung menggunakan lexical hedges dibandingkan dengan karakter pria. Karakter wanita paling sering menggunakan fitur lexical hedges sebagai fillers yaitu; yeah dalam ucapan mereka untuk menunjukkan perasaan, emosi, dan opini di dalam film. Total data menunjukkan penggunaan lexical hedges oleh karakter wanita berjumlah 92 kata yang secara beruratan dari yang paling sering digunakan yakni fillers, lexical verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, adverb of frequency, adverb, dan noun. Sedangkan, karakter pria menggunakan 40 kata lexical hedges dan fillers like sebagai fitur hedges yang paling sering digunakan. Di dalam film ini, terdapat dua posisi sekuensial dari lexical hedges yakni posisi awal dan posisi tengah. Disamping itu, karakter wanita memiliki jangkauan yang luas mengenai tipe-tipe dalam penyampaian kata yang mengandung fitur lexical hedges, sedangkan karakter pria tidak terlalu sering menggunakan kata lexical hedges didalam pemilihan kata. Katakunci: lexical hedges, karakter pria, karakter wanita, sierra burgess is a loser Received 2021-06-06 accepted 2022-01-24 published 2022-01-31 APA Citation: Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. (2022). Lexical Hedges in Reflecting Gender Differences. Research and Innovation in Language Learning, 5(1), pp.13-30 http://dx.doi.org/ 10.33603/rill.v5i1.5192 Introduction Language can be used to characterize and provide identity based on the speaker‟s gender. Therefore, the difference of language involved the speaker‟s which are men and women in using language. Both men‟s and women‟s languages have their characteristics and are included in the prominent language use. (Wardhaugh& Fuller, 2015, p.325) statesmen and women‟s speech is not the same in private and public spheres, and different roles within an interaction also lead to different ways of speaking. Stereotypes from the society that expect women should behave in one way and men in another to be called an ideal one. It says men are expected to be stronger and have more power than women that are seen as weak, less powered, and subordinate to men. Those kinds of stereotypes make women employ certain characteristics that differentiate them from men and it occurs not only in behavior but also in the way they use language. http://dx.doi.org/%2010.33603/rill.v5i1.5192 Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 23 According to Holmes (2013), women as role models are required to have a politeness attitude including the use of their language. Generally, women like to use expression, intonation, gestures to support their politeness compared to when men speak. This makes women more expressive in several ways than men in utterances. The different use of language between women and men has been done earliest by Lakoff (1975) that focused on how women‟s language revealed their place in society – a place that was generally seen as inferior to that occupied by men. Lakoff (1975, p.45) stated in appropriate women‟s speech, strong expression of feeling is avoided, expression of uncertainty is favored, and means of expression regarding subject matter deemed „trivial‟ to the „real‟ world are elaborated. Lakoff also states that the differences of phonetics used by women when it comes to utilizing lexical hedges such as well, you know, and sort of. Also, there are many different ways of reducing the illocutionary pressured speech, and hedges did use some linguistic features. Lexical hedges are used to weaken the strength of an assertion. When someone hedges linguistically, they avoid saying something definite and keeping their option open (Coates, 1996, p.152). It refers that when someone hedges an utterance, they are saying the lack of confidence in the truth preposition that showed by the statement. In addition, hedging concludes as strategies in linguistics which expressed in particular functions and domains in different genres. It also qualifies definite commitment in a way expressing possibility than certainty (Hyland, 1996). Moreover, society is reflected in movies and turn, movies influence society by changes in representations, challenging the audience‟s morals and transforming viewers‟ opinions. The study used the selected movie entitled Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie. This movie was released on September 7, 2018, in the United States and distributed by Netflix. The focus of this article is the utterances of the characters in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie. This study only focused on the use of lexical hedges by using the framework of hedges proposed by Namasaraev (1997). In addition, there are several studies about the use of hedges were done by another researcher. Namaziandost&Shafiee (2018) analyzed the differences between male and Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 24 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 female EFL students in using lexical hedges in their academic spoken language. In order to answer the research questions, this study has taken the data from the students of Islamic Azad University of Abadan, Iran, which were 40 Iranian upper-intermediate English as Foreign Language learners majoring in TEFL. The participants divided men and women into two on a par group. Five conversation sessions in one gendered part were recorded individually from male and female respondents. In analyzing data, this study used frequency counts. In applying the framework of hedges, the result shows there were differences between male and female participants‟ tendency when they used the word that contains lexical hedges. It shows that the male participants were less in applying hedges compared with women participants. Moreover, male participants frequently used uh, yeah, I think as lexical hedges or fillers, meanwhile, female participants frequently used lexical hedges or fillers as follows; hmm, you know, uhh, yeah. The result of data from this study showed the female participants had spacious variation in selecting words of lexical hedges. The other study of the use of hedges has been done by Rosanti&Jaelani (2016). This study analyzed the use of lexical hedges for male and female students in debate. This study aimed to find out the use of lexical hedges by using the framework of hedges proposed by Namasaraev (1997). In analyzed the data, this study used the descriptive- qualitative method. As a result, there are differences among male and female participants. The data showed female participants tend to utilize more lexical hedges rather than men participants. The use of words hmm, you know, uhh were frequently used by female participants, while male participants often used lexical hedges or fillers as; I think, hmm, and uhh. According to Macaulay (2005), the differences in the use of hedges can be seen through social class, age, and gender. He states a similar case that shows you know conclude as complex and sophisticated pragmatic particle also reflects as a turn-yielding device, as a signal of linguistic imprecision, as an appeal to the addressee for comforting feedback, as a cue that the speaker understanding the addressee. In his research, it showed you know associated with the speaker from lower-class. However, as Macaulay (2005, p. 77) states the gender differences affect the use of hedges; for instance, the research shows I Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 25 mean frequently used by middle-class women for an explanation. According to Lakoff, women must choose appropriate or their best language when they interact with others people, because it occurs linguistic discrimination in the way they are taught to use language and, in the way, general language treats them (cited from Tannen, 2007,p. 162). Macaulay (2005, p.82) states like is tend to more used by the middle-class adolescent conversation through male and female, yet it is not commonly used for the middle-class adult conversation. It is shown by the use of well occurred as the most frequent hedges for working-class men and middle-class girls; adolescents use remarkably less well rather than adults, then men use well for elaboration and self- repairs. The hedges of you know are used frequently by women to express uncertainty while reduce the use of you know to show certainty. Macaulay (2005) also makes specification the differences in the use of hedges through social class, age, and gender. Hedges are known as hedging which are linguistic features that reflect the speaker's uncertainty and protect both speaker and addressee's face. It is also used as a “vitally important” device (Salager-Mayer, 1994,p. 241). Therefore, hedges are used to value the face needs of both speaker and addressee faces when they discuss sensitive topics. According to Coates (2004,p. 90) women frequently use more hedges since when they speak, they choose highly sensitive and impersonal topics. Men commonly use this feature in order to assert dominance. In addition, according to Nikula (1997,p. 188), using a hedge refers to a way of conveying personal messages to spoken interaction. It could be a communicative strategy that provides the speakers with a softened force of their utterance. This is related to how hedges can muffle a claim, conveying it as an opinion rather than a fact (Hyland, 1998, Markkanen and Schröder, 1997, Salager- Meyer, 1997) which impacts how it helps in cases when absolute statements could give themselves to potentially of face-threatening criticism also opposition. According to Lakoff (1975,p. 38), the hedges are linguistics forms like I’m sure, I think, you know, sort and perhaps. Also, there are many different ways of reducing the illocutionary pressured speech, and hedges did use several linguistic features. Lakoff (1975,p. 234) added that hedges as implicitly words that involve fuzziness-words that make things fuzzier or less fuzzy. Hedges tend to be differentiated into more-fuzzy hedges also less-fuzzy hedges (Fetzer, 1994, 2004): the former of anchor the object, Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 26 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 clause or constituent, over which they have a scope, closer to the periphery of prototype to how they refer, while the latter anchor it closer to its core. Coates (2004,p. 88) states Lakoff (1975) explicitly involves the use of hedges through women with unassertiveness and argues since women believe when it comes to asserting themselves strongly is not great and less ladylike. When someone hedges linguistically, they avoid saying something definite and keep their option open (Coates, 1996,p. 152). It refers that when someone hedges an utterance, they are saying the lack of confidence in the truth preposition that showed by the utterance. The functions of hedges in conversation are as follows: a) To mitigate the possible unfriendliness or unkindness of a statement, where it is used for the sake of politeness. b) To show speaker‟s uncertainty about what she is saying or cannot vouch the accuracy of the statement itself. c) As an apology for making an assertion because the speaker does not want to assert themselves strongly. In other words, hedges are used to weaken and strengthen any assertions. The main theory of this study focused on the use of hedges through the framework of hedges by Namasaraev (1997). In his framework, Namasaraev (1997,p. 153) proposed there are nine types of lexical hedges conforming to its classification. Table 1. Classification of Hedging No. Classifications Words Sample Sentences 1. Modal auxiliary verb must, will, can, should, would, could, may „Such a measure might be more sensitive to change in health after specialist treatment.‟ 2. Lexical verb assume, argue, appear, estimate, think, suggest, indicate, speculate, propose, suppose, seem, tend. „In spite of its limitation, the study appears to have several important strengths.‟ 3. Probability adjectives likely, unlikely, certain, clear, possible, probable, definite. ‘It is likely to result in failure.‟ 4. Noun claim, estimate, suggestion, possibility, probability. „We estimate that one in five marriages end in divorce.‟ 5. Adverb clearly, practically, conversely, presumably, possibly, definitely, perhaps, virtually, apparently, certainly, completely. „There is, perhaps, a good reason, why she chose to write in the first person.‟ 6. Adverb of frequency generally, often, usually, occasionally, normally, „Sometimes it could produces a lot profit.‟ Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 27 always, never, sometimes, seldom, rarely, frequently. 7. “If” clause if anything, if true „If true, our study contradicts the myth that men make better managers than women.‟ 8. Compound hedges looks probable, may be suggested, seems reasonable Such compound hedges can be double hedges (it may be suggested that; it seems likely; it would indicate that; this probably indicates); treble hedges (it seems reasonable to assume that); quadruple hedges (it would seem somewhat unlikely that). 9. Fillers well, you know, by the way, you see, hmm, I mean, like, all I know, like, uhm, uh…huh, sort of, uhh You know, it can help them to fulfil the daily needs. Methods The data of this research were taken from the movie entitled Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie. The data used the utterances of the male and female characters in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie and use the script that has been published on the internet, and the movie. The process of collecting data was done through several steps. First, watching and reading intensively to the words and phrases that occurred in the conversation in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie while looking for references of lexical hedges feature then transcribing the data into a list. The second step, reading the transcript that was being searched through the internet and highlighting the words or phrases that contain the hedges feature. The third step, taking note of the utterance and the minute when the utterance was said by the characters and noted it as a list. Lastly, sort the list chronologically to make a clear analysis and bolding utterances that contain the aims of this study. A mixed method was applied in analyzing data. According to Leech & Onwuegbuzie (2008) generally, mixed-method shows research that includes collecting, analyzing, and also interpreting quantitative and qualitative data in a study that examines the same underlying phenomenon. In addition, the combination in using quantitative and qualitative approaches increases a better understanding of the research problems instead of using only one approach (Cresswell and Clark, 2007). Therefore, this research used quantitative and qualitative research in a way to get an impeccable understanding of the Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 28 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 research problem. The data were processed by way of identifying the use of hedges spoken by male and female characters, which were taken in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie. In this research, the amount utterances of lexical hedges used by male and female characters were counted based on nine features of lexical hedges. Afterward,the tendency by male and female characters in using lexical hedges in their utterance was analyzed by providing a table to classify the data. This table was used to categorize the data into components of nine lexical hedges features based on the framework of hedges proposed by Namasaraev (1997). In addition, this article also discussed the sequential positions of lexical hedges proposed by Rosanti&Jaelani (2016). Results and Discussion Result This section discusses the analysis of the data based on the framework of hedges proposed by Namasaraev (1997). After finding the data from the female utterances in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie, this article provides it on the tables. The result showed how the male and female characters‟ selecting words to express their feelings by using lexical hedges. The Use of Hedges in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser Movie Table 2. Data of Lexical Hedges as Fillers No. Features Male Characters Female Characters Fillers 1. You know 2 3 2. Well 6 12 3. Hmm 1 2 4. Um 1 3 5. I mean 2 5 6. Yeah 4 15 7. Like 10 13 Total 26 53 Lakoff (1975,p. 45) states that the linguistic forms of fillers may use if there are lack of self-confidence as anyone does in some situations. As Table 2 shows, the male characters tend to used 26 words of lexical hedges as fillers. Meanwhile, the female characters‟ tendency utilized 53 words of lexical hedges as fillers such as; you know, well, hmm, um, I mean, yeah and like. Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 29 Table 3. Data of Lexical Hedges as Modal Auxiliary Verbs No. Features Male Characters Female Characters Modal Auxiliary Verbs 1. Can be 0 1 2. Could be 1 2 3. Would be 0 2 4. Should be 2 3 5. May 0 3 Total 3 11 Table 3 reveals the male characters used 3 words of lexical hedges as modal auxiliary verbs, there are; could be and should be. Meanwhile, the female characters‟ tendency utilized 11 words of lexical hedges as fillers, namely; can be, could be, would be, should be, and may. According to Brown & Levinson (1987) when the speaker utters a statement but they do not want to take the full responsibilities for what they saying, he/she can use hedging devices “can” to propose a hypothetical possibility, also “could” to make their idea even more temporal (Leech, 2004). Table 4. Data of Lexical Hedges as Lexical Verbs No. Features Male Characters Female Characters Lexical Verbs 1. I think 4 5 2. Believe 1 2 3. Seem 0 3 4. Assume 0 1 5. Suppose 0 1 Total 5 12 In Table 2.3 the male characters tendency used 5 words of lexical hedges as lexical verbs such as; I think and believe. Meanwhile, female characters used 10 words of lexical hedges as lexical verbs through words; I think, believe, assume, and suppose. Table 5. Data of Lexical Hedges as Adverb of Frequency No. Features Male Characters Female Characters Adverb of Frequency 1. Sometimes 1 1 2. Always 0 3 3. Never 1 5 4. Usually 1 1 Total 3 10 Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 30 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 Regarding using the lexical hedges as an adverb of frequency as shown in Table 5, the male characters‟ tendency used 3 words namely; sometimes, never, and usually. In contrast, the female characters used 7 words of lexical hedges as an adverb of frequency, there are; sometime, always, never, and usually. Table 6. Data of Lexical Hedges as Adverb No. Features Male Characters Female Characters Adverb 1. Definitely 2 3 2. Probably 1 2 Total 3 5 Table 6 showed the data of lexical hedges as adverb were used by male characters through 3 words, while women characters used it through 5 words. Table 7. Data of Lexical Hedges as Noun No. Features Male Characters Female Characters Noun 1. Suggestion 0 1 Total 0 1 As Table 7 shows, the use of lexical hedges as noun only used by female character once through the word; suggestion. Table 8. The Total Data of Lexical Hedges by Male and Female Characters No. Features of Lexical Hedges Male Characters Female Characters 1. Fillers 26 53 2. Modal auxiliary Verbs 3 11 3. Lexical Verbs 5 12 4. Adverb of Frequency 3 10 5. Adverb 3 5 6. Noun 0 1 Total 40 92 The number of female and male characters who used the expressions of lexical hedges was various. There were differences between male and female characters‟ propensity in selecting the words that contain lexical hedges. It indicated by the total of lexical hedges used between male and female characters in uttering their minds. In the way of this, the data showed among the nine features of lexical hedges based on the framework of hedges proposed by Namasaraev (2016), lexical hedges as fillers were most frequently Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 31 used by both male and female characters in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie. The movie used as the media for this study to get the data about the differences on the utilization of lexical hedges between male and female characters. In the Table 8 above, the aggregate of male and female characters. The use of nine types of lexical hedges conforming to its classification by the male and female characters showed a different number of results. As a result, female characters tend to more used lexical hedges rather than men characters. The female characters in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie mostly used lexical hedges as fillers in showing their feelings, emotions or opinions towards each other in the movie. The total data showed the number of female characters in using lexical hedges was 92 words sequentially from the most commonly used, i.e. fillers, lexical verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, adverb of frequency, adverb, and noun. Meanwhile, the male characters in the movie used 40 words of lexical hedges. The most common hedges used by male characters namely fillers, lexical verbs, adverbs, adverbs of frequency, modal auxiliary verbs. However, in this movie, there were not hedges of the noun used by male characters. It is a part of how people behave towards one another around us because every society does different things, hence, both men's and women's language have their characteristics and are included in prominent language use. As Coates (1986, p. 4) states, gender as the term to describe socially constructed categories based on sex-most societies operates in terms of two genders, a technical term in linguistics to refer to word classes where contrast such a masculine-feminine-neuter-animate-inanimate, etc. In addition, the types of lexical hedges as probability adjectives, lexical hedges as “If” clauses, and lexical hedges as compound hedges were not found in this study. Discussion In general, the sequential positions of lexical hedges in utterances are divided into three types, those are initial, media, and final which sequence their function severally (Rosanti&Jaelani, 2016). Firstly, the initial position shows that lexical hedges frequently express as the initial maker in the utterance, self-expansion, and utterance signal. Secondly, the media position as elaboration most of the time and used as a repair Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 32 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 signal. Lastly, the final position which reveals as a confirmation seeker and signal of turn-handling into rising intonation. By way of this, the discussion showed the data from the female utterance of the movie which showed three sequential positions of lexical hedges as the initial position, lexical hedges as medial position, and lexical hedges as final position. Hedges as Initial Position In this article, the male and female characters used the words such as; I think, you know, I mean to appear at the beginning of the utterance as the initial position of hedges. Although being the beginning, the initial positions of lexical hedges do not always be the first word that being utterance. Those means that the final position of lexical hedges appears afterward a speaker‟s identity can be used to switch a topic, also indicate a different speaker to take a turn. Furthermore, the initial position of lexical hedges occurs after the start of the talk. By way of this, the initial position of lexical hedges indicates to express an initial marker, self-extension, and utterance signal. Example [1] [1:16:17-1:16:35] Sierra : What did I tell you? Jamey : What do you think... that you told me? Sierra : What do you think I think you think I told you? Jamey : What, are you, like, afraid to tell me that you like me or something? Sierra : No! Jamey : No? Sierra : I mean, yeah, no. I don‟t know. Let‟s just not say it over the phone, okay? Not like this. The example [1] above showed the dialogue between male and female characters, Jamey and Sierra. This dialogue occurred through phone calls. In this dialogue, last night Sierra was drunk and she called Jamey. She was about to ask Jamey about her call. She probably wanted to know whether she said something weird or strange because she drunk and did not remember anything. Then, Jamey asked Sierra back, and she said I mean, yeah, no. I don't know. In this sentence, Sierra used the women‟s language features, namely lexical hedges in words I mean in initial position in her utterance. She used the hedge I mean in her utterance because she has trouble on telling her statement. This expresses the lack of confidence in Sierra as the speaker in answering Jamey‟s question and insecurity of something that can be ruining her statement. The hedges I Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 33 mean in this initial position also conclude as explanation in order to fulfills the speaker‟s respect need when they involve highly sensitive topics. Example [2] [0:49:11-0:49:30] Jamey : Hey Sierra : Hey, you. It‟s me. Jamey : You working out? You sound out of breath. Sierra : Oh, um... I was just moving furniture. Jamey : Oh, nice, a little redecorating. Nothing wrong with that. You know, I‟m actually glad you called. The example [2] above showed the dialogue between male and female characters, Jamey and Sierra. This dialogue occurred through phone calls. In this case, when Sierra called Jamey, he noticed Sierra‟s voice sound out of breath. Then, Sierra explained that she was moving the furniture in her room. As a response, Jamey said that redecorate was such a good thing. In addition, he uttered You know, I’m actually glad you called. In his utterance, the words You know occurred in initial position of his statement. You know conclude as hedges which reflects as an appeal to the addressee for comforting feedback. Therefore, the initial position of lexical hedges can be indicated as an initial marker, self-extension, and utterance signal. Example [3] [1:04:35-1:04:43] Veronica : Sierra. You are so tense right now. Smile, calm down. It's a party. Sierra : I know… That‟s what‟s so terrifying. The example [3] above showed the dialogue between female characters, Veronica and Sierra. In this dialogue, Veronica saw Sierra and realized that Sierra seems nervous. As someone who asked Sierra to accompany her to the party, Veronica started wondering why Sierra looks pretty uptight because she felt strange for someone that seems nervous when going to the party. At that time, Sierra answered Veronica‟s statement by saying an utterance which contains the lexical hedge. It shows Sierra used lexical hedge I know in her sentence I know… That’s what’s so terrifying. Sierra used the lexical hedge I know that appeared in initial position to strengthen her statement to emphasize her statement in describing how she felt in that moment. This hedges in initial position Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 34 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 reflectit occurs precisely in the beginning of the statement. In this case, the lexical hedges indicated as a self-expansion when Sierra tried to describes how she felt during that time and she tried to express her strong feelings to Veronica about how a party can be a horrible thing to her. Hedges as Medial Position The words that are used by female characters and conclude as the medial position of lexical hedges as follows; hmm, like, well, believe, seem, can be, may, could be, will be, would be, never, definitely, and suggestion. Those kinds of words appear in the middle position of hedges in male and female characters‟ utterances in the movie; thus, it can be a form of clauses, phrases, also single lexical unit. The function of the words that occur in the medial position is to repair and elaboration signal. It indicates it is not a problem of error, yet it includes a modification of syntactic level. In addition, fillers namely; hmm and yeah functioned to help the speaker when it comes to giving a pause to think what the speaker will say for continuing the utterances. It also reflects the speaker‟s hesitation about what they explain to the addressee. Example [4] [0:21:39-0:22:25] Sierra : Theoretically, I can still make this work until the big game when East plays West. When is that? Daniel : I don‟t know, check the band schedule. I think two weeks. Sierra : Two weeks? Okay, well, obviously I can‟t have him going up to Veronica then. You think I'm crazy? Daniel : Mm-hmm. The example [4] above showed the dialogue between male and female characters, Daniel and Sierra. This dialogue took place in the classroom. During the class, they whispered to each other about how Sierra wants to keep her secret in pretending to be Veronica to her chatmate named Jamey. Sierra asked Daniel about the big annual event which confronts their school team with Jamey‟s school team. Then, Daniel said the event might be held in two weeks, afterward Sierra uttered ‘Two weeks? Okay, well, obviously I can't have him going up to Veronica then. You think I'm crazy?’ to answered Daniel. In this utterance, Sierra used lexical hedges well in medial position of her utterance. The hedges well in Sierra utterance used to express her uncertainty about her statement. As hedges that appeared in medial position, the hedges well reflected a repair Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 35 which is not solely a problem of error. Yet, it concludes modification of syntactic level in the utterance. Example [5] [0:36:12-0:36:41] Jamey : Hey! Sierra : Bonsoir! Jamey : Bonsoir, Mademoiselle. Good day, fair maiden. What soft light through yonder window... we‟re still doing old timey stuff, right? Sierra : Yeah, totally. Jamey : I‟m just super-glad that you picked up because if you hadn‟t, then I would have had to, like, come up with some sort of hilarious voicemail to impress you, and that would have been super-terrible for both of us, you know? The example [5] above showed the dialogue between male and female characters, Sierra and Jamey. In this situation, Sierra and Jamey were about talk to each other through phone calls. At that moment, Jamey said I’m just super-glad that you picked up because if you hadn’t, then I would have had to, like, come up with some sort of hilarious voicemail to impress you, and that would have been super-terrible for both of us, you know?To tell Sierra what he felt after Sierra answered his call. In Jamey‟s utterance, he used hedges like in medial position of his statement. The hedge like helps him in gives a pause to think what he will saying in his utterance. In other words, the hedge like in this middle of the sentence served as a device of telling the time span as the speaker searching for the next upcoming words to say. Example [6] [0:40:20-0:40:45] Jamey : Do you wanna FaceTime tomorrow? I mean, it would be nice to see you, you know. Sierra : Would it really, though? Jamey : Well, maybe more for me than for you. Sierra : No, no, I just... yeah, there's no reason why I shouldn't logically. The example [6] above showed the dialogue between male and female characters, Jamey and Sierra. The dialogue occurred through phone calls. In this case, Jamey assumed that the girl he has been calling is Veronica, not Sierra. Then, Jamey asked Sierra about his idea to do a facetime for the first time by saying that it would be nice because they can see their face through the screen while doing a call. In the dialogue, Sierra uttered No, no, I just... yeah, there's no reason why I shouldn't logically, so yeah. Yes, yeah. This utterance contains the lexical hedges yeah in medial position. Therefore, with that lexical hedges she was about to express her struggle in keeping her Putri, Ni PAASSP., Malini, Ni LSM, & Saientisna, MD. 36 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 secret. Since she accepts Jamey‟s request to do facetime call, she used lexical hedges to connote her lack of confidence since she got nervous. The words yeah in middle of her sentence functioned as a pause for her to think what she would say in her statement. Hedges as Final Position When the words of hedges as final position appeared, it is generally followed by rising intonation. It functioned to ask for confirmation and turn-yielder regarding to the end of the utterances. Hedge as final position also does not always be the last word that being utterance also indicates the end of a turn structural unit in a stream of talk uttered by the same speaker. By way of this, the final position shows that lexical hedges frequently functioned when seeking confirmation and turn-handing signal. In this movie, there are no utterances that contained lexical hedges in final position used by male and female characters. Conclusion This study focused on analyzing the use of hedges by the characters in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie based on the framework of hedges proposed by Namasaraev (1997). The findings showed the differences of tendency by male and female characters in using the words of lexical hedges in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser movie. This research indicates that female characters tended to use more lexical hedges rather than male characters. The female characters were most frequent in using lexical hedges as fillers namely; you know, well, hmm, um, I mean, yeah and like in their utterance.Meanwhile, the total of male characters in uttering the words of lexical hedges are 40 words. The male characters were most frequently used the lexical hedges as fillers through 26 words. In this movie, the female characters had wide range of types in uttering the words that contained lexical hedges, whereas the male characters were not too often in selecting the words of lexical hedges. Lastly, the female characters tendency used only one word of lexical hedges as noun namely; suggestion. Besides that, this study does not find the lexical hedges as probability adjective, lexical hedges as adverb of frequency, and lexical hedges as „If‟ clause. Research and Innovation in Language Learning 5(1) January 2022 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 37 References Baquee, A. (2016). Influence of Gender Roles in Language Choice: A Study on Male and Female Students of Private Universities in Dhaka City. Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge University Press. Coates, J. (1986). 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She is available at sabhagania@gmail.com Ni Luh Nyoman Seri Malini is a senior lecturer at English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University. She is interested in Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, and Literatures. She can be contacted at seri.malini@unud.ac.id 5978117 Made Detriasmita Saientisna is lecturer in English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University. His email is at detriasmita@unud.ac.id mailto:seri.malini@unud.ac.id