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An Analysis of Hedges and Boosters Types in Donald Trump's Presidential Speeches

Dian Zelly.B(1), M. Affandi Arianto(2),
(1) Universitas Negeri Padang  Indonesia
(2) Universitas Negeri Padang  Indonesia

Corresponding Author
Copyright (c) 2025 Dian Zelly.B

DOI : https://doi.org/10.24036/ell.v14i3.135288

Full Text:    Language : en

Abstract


This study explores the types of hedges and boosters in Donald Trump‘s Presidential Speeches by using Hyland‘s Framework. The study aims to analyze the types of hedges and boosters in Donald Trump‘s presidential speeches. Qualitative approach is used in conducting this research followed by content analysis used to analyze all three speeches. The findings revealed that Donald Trump uses various types of hedges and boosters on his presidential speeches where boosters appear more often rather than hedges on his speeches, with certainty modals is the most used boosters type and modal auxiliary verb as the most used hedges type. These findings show that Trump's speech style emphasizes aggressiveness and confidence, mirroring his persuasive and powerful political character. Overall, this study advances our understanding of stance-taking and persuasive methods in political language, particularly in the context of presidential communication.

Keywords


Hedges and boosters; political discourse; presidential speeches

References


Hyland, K. (2005). Metadiscourse: Exploring interaction in writing. Bloomsbury.

Saqib Raza, Z., Saeed, Z., & Nawaz Khan, A. (2025). A corpus-based comparative analysis of hedges and boosters in the inaugural speeches of President Trump and President Biden. Journal of Arts and Linguistics Studies, 3(1), 1157–1186. https://doi.org/10.71281/jals.v3i1.267

Hyland, K. (1994). Hedging in academic writing and EAP textbooks. English for Specific Purposes, 13(3), 239–256.

Fissilmi, S., Kurnia, D. T., Octaviani, R. N., & Cahyono, S. P. (2024). Hedges and boosters in the presidential candidate debate to build the candidate’s image. Language Circle: Journal of Language and Literature, 19(1), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.15294/lc.v19i1.10079

Hidayati, F., & Dallyono, R. (2015). The use of hedges and boosters as rhetorical devices in the construction of speeches. Linguistik Indonesia, 33(1), 25–41.

Kusumawati, H., Rukmini, D., & Mujiyanto, J. (2021). The Realization of Hedges and Boosters in Trump‘s and Clinton‘s Utterances in the U.S. Presidential Debates in 2016. English Education Journal, 11(2), 177–186. DOI: 10.15294/eej.v11i1.42683

Hyland, K. (1998). Boosting, hedging and the negotiation of academic knowledge. Text & Talk, 18(3), 349–382


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Copyright (c) 2025 Dian Zelly.B

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