As language evolves through every generation, there are certain concepts which connect all speakers together. Despite age, language, or background, a sense of vagueness is present in all forms of communication. As it often leads to miscommunication amongst speakers, it is important to identify vagueness and the reason of its occurrence through language. As words carry their own difinitive meaning, there is still the important of context to take into consideration which can change the perception of a word from each speaker. It can be assumed that the most crucial action taken to avoid vagueness amongst communication is to be as informative as possible. When describing something, it is necessary to be comparative and specific when referring to an object or person. without withholding important information. Vagueness is not to be confused with ambiguity as they are similar terms often associated together. Ambiguity leaves question of meaning as there is more than one present sense to a statement or question. However regarding vagueness, there is rather not enough information given to be confused about. As we move forward in time, our way of communicating seems to be going backwards rather than progressing. There is definetely an increase of vaguness concerning everyday communication in this day and age which is important to look into as well.  I think that the first step in avoiding vagueness when speaking is to differentiate the term from these similar concepts which are often associated. The idea of context must also be further studied to understand it’s significance regarding vagueness and why it is necessary in communication as a whole.

If person A was attempting to start a conversation on a topic that is not wanted, person B might break both the manner and quantity principles. They would most likely be overly brief or ambiguous if they say something like “Just stop” or “Enough”. Their response would be short due to their annoyance, so they wouldn’t be specific at all. They are breaking the quantity maxim because they are not providing enough information as to why they want them to stop talking. I think they would also be violating the first maxim under manner which states “Avoid obscurity of expression”. If they were to say “Enough” or “Just stop”, perhaps someone at the table would say “what?” or “what’s wrong?” It’s hard to understand what the person means when they speak in this manner as it is a very indirect and vague response.

For my final paper, I have chosen the topic of ‘vagueness’. I think firstly, I have to distinguish vagueness from ambiguity as they are close but not the same and are often times confused. I think I myself still get confused between the two and so working on this topic will help me have a clearer understanding. Indeterminacy is also associated with vagueness as it leaves room for question regarding the properties of a word. The word friend does not specify which gender the friend is, however the word ‘friend’ itself only holds one meaning, not several. This is why it is indeterminate, rather than ambiguous. I would like to go further in detail about vagueness and how people view certain words which have a different meaning depending on context. For example, if the verb tall was used, I could possibly survey students on how tall they think someone should be to be considered tall. I liked the example we used in class with shaquille o neill as he is one of the tallest men known, however when standing next to the statue of the world’s tallest man, he was shorter in comparison. Therefore, I think comparison is very important when discussing vagueness and would like to focus on this. I also think it’s interesting that vagueness ties into the topic of antonyms which we learned in class. When discussing scalar antonyms, there needs to be context in order to determine which side something is on. For example, there is either hot or cold, but there can also be somewhere in the middle which is warm or room temperature for example. Therefore, these antonyms can be considered vague as it also depends on context. How hot does something have to be to be considered hot and not warm, for example. The reason that simple antonyms are not vague is because they leave no room for question or context. If is a light switch is on, it physically cannot be off at the same time. Through my paper, I hope to tie these two topics together to explain the concept of vagueness and how important context is when speaking on something.

Simple Antonyms:

The answer is wrong , the answer is right. The answer cannot be both or both cannot be true.

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Gradable Antonyms: 

New and Old because something doesn’t have to necessarily be old if it’s not new. It can be a little worn out or having something several months after buying it doesn’t neither it new or old.

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Reverses:

Enter and exit are examples as they are the reverse of the initial word if that makes sense. They are associated with each other as their opposites. You can either enter or exit a room.

I entered the room as my father exited.

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Converse: 

I gave sara the book and she took it from me.

She sold the watch, someone bought it.

These are corresponding antonyms which are not necessarily the opposite of each other, but are related and based off each other. For example, she gave me something, therefore I received it. He is my husband, therefore that makes me his wife.

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Taxonomical Sisters:

Green , Blue are taxonomical sisters since they both fall under the category of colors.

Scorpion , Spider are taxonomical sisters as they both fall under the category of Arachnids.

 

 

1A  She gave the John money today. – 1B John got money today.

Because she gave John money today, the statement that John received money today would have to be true.

2A My car got a wash today. – 2B I have a car

The presupposition trigger is “My car” which shows that if i got my car washed, it implies I have a car.

3A Sally ended the phone call – 3B Sally was on a phone call.

The trigger is “ended” which shows that she was on a phone call to begin with which she could eventually end.

 

One pair of expressions that share the same denotation would be ‘snake’ and ‘reptile’ because they are related to each other, yet have different meanings. For example, the animal ‘snake’ is considered a reptile, however a reptile is not limited to snakes only as there are other reptiles like alligators, crocodiles, lizards, etc. Although the words share the same denotation, they are used differently when speaking. When speaking of reptiles you are talking about a broad generalization, but when you are speaking of snakes it is more specific. They are associated but are not necessarily tied to each other both ways. Another example would be ‘Red’ and ‘Color’. They have the same denotation but not the same meaning, while red is always going to be a color, it is not always certain that when you say color, red is associated as color is a broad term which has several categories.

This is my first post.