LOS MECANISMOS DE ATENUACIÓN EN CARTAS AL EDITOR. UNA EXPLORACIÓN EN LA COMUNIDAD MÉDICA

This paper aims to identify, describe and analyze the linguistic hedging strategies used in a corpus of letters to the editor published in specialized Chilean medical journals between 1999 and 2017. 302 texts were analyzed considering the use of the following categories: shields, approximators, impersonal expressions, personal implication and doubts, and temporary deixis. Two types of hedges predominate: shields and approximators, which affect the author's commitment to what is expressed and to the audience, protecting the author from threats to his image. The results may contribute to the knowledge of this genre from the discourse analysis perspective. They also have didactic implications for the teaching of writing and reading skills in medical genres.