Chapter 3. The role of ambiguity in intentional vagueness
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Miriam Voghera
Abstract
In order to study the relationship between ambiguity and vagueness, it is necessary to distinguish Systemic Vagueness (SV), which is a property of any linguistic codes, from Intentional Vagueness (IntV), which emerges in messages produced by speakers in response to specific communicative needs. In fact, while ambiguity is one of the possible manifestations of SV, the expression of IntV tends to avoid ambiguous elements. This is confirmed empirically by an analysis carried out on Italian and German spoken corpora to investigate whether and how many ambiguous elements were used in Vagueness Expressions (VEs), which shows how the presence of ambiguous terms in VEs is exiguous in both languages. The almost complete absence of ambiguity and intentional vagueness co-occurring in this research seems to confirm the different nature and function of the two phenomena.
Abstract
In order to study the relationship between ambiguity and vagueness, it is necessary to distinguish Systemic Vagueness (SV), which is a property of any linguistic codes, from Intentional Vagueness (IntV), which emerges in messages produced by speakers in response to specific communicative needs. In fact, while ambiguity is one of the possible manifestations of SV, the expression of IntV tends to avoid ambiguous elements. This is confirmed empirically by an analysis carried out on Italian and German spoken corpora to investigate whether and how many ambiguous elements were used in Vagueness Expressions (VEs), which shows how the presence of ambiguous terms in VEs is exiguous in both languages. The almost complete absence of ambiguity and intentional vagueness co-occurring in this research seems to confirm the different nature and function of the two phenomena.
Chapters in this book
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Part I. Vagueness and ambiguity
- Chapter 2. The role of ambiguity and vagueness in language change 10
- Chapter 3. The role of ambiguity in intentional vagueness 29
- Chapter 4. Vagueness and ambiguity are very different (persuasion devices) 51
- Chapter 5. Ambiguity in discourse 84
-
Part II. Vagueness and ambiguity in language change and use
- Chapter 6. Underspecification and ambiguity of voice markers 110
- Chapter 7. Vague stuff 148
- Chapter 8. Vagueness explored 177
- Chapter 9. Using ambiguity and vagueness to avoid problematic answers 208
- Chapter 10. Vagueness and ambiguity of perlocutionary effects in Prime Minister’s Question time sessions 234
- Chapter 11. Place names in legal texts 259
- Index 281
Chapters in this book
- 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Part I. Vagueness and ambiguity
- Chapter 2. The role of ambiguity and vagueness in language change 10
- Chapter 3. The role of ambiguity in intentional vagueness 29
- Chapter 4. Vagueness and ambiguity are very different (persuasion devices) 51
- Chapter 5. Ambiguity in discourse 84
-
Part II. Vagueness and ambiguity in language change and use
- Chapter 6. Underspecification and ambiguity of voice markers 110
- Chapter 7. Vague stuff 148
- Chapter 8. Vagueness explored 177
- Chapter 9. Using ambiguity and vagueness to avoid problematic answers 208
- Chapter 10. Vagueness and ambiguity of perlocutionary effects in Prime Minister’s Question time sessions 234
- Chapter 11. Place names in legal texts 259
- Index 281
