Doubt and Certainty in Health Communication: An Analysis of Hedges and Boosters in Advice at Online Forums
Keywords:
Doubt, Certainty, Health Communication, Hedges and Boosters, Advice, Online ForumsAbstract
This study investigates the use of Hedges and Boosters in health communication. For this purpose, communication in Online Forums dedicated to Mental Health and Physical Health was analyzed. Online Health Forums are increasingly popular platforms due to their accessibility and convenience. However, the language used in them has received limited scholarly attention. Therefore, this study has tried to analyze the Metadiscourse features of the language employed in health forums. The corpora of Mental Health Forums and Physical Health Forums were built from reputable websites where individuals volunteered to answer questions and concerns of patients. The researcher utilized Hyland’s framework (2005) to examine Hedges and Boosters. The markers were identified and examined in context using AntConc, a corpus software. The analysis revealed that online participants in Mental Health Forums and Physical Health Forums equally utilized Hedges in their talk, which demonstrated an equal level of doubt in their advice. However, online users in Mental Health Forums employed Boosters more frequently as compared to those in Physical Health Forums. It showed that people writing in forums for Mental Health tended to express more assurance in their views (Hyland, 2005a) and had a lower level of doubt in their opinions (Hyland, 1998a). The findings of this study can be helpful for future research related to Metadiscourse. The findings of this research can be beneficial for professionals in social work, medicine and welfare services.
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