Communicating through Vague Language

Sabet, Peyman G. P.; Zhang, Grace

doi:10.1057/9781137486387

Cited by 41 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 76 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…al. 2003;Metsä-Ketelä 2006;Sabet and Zhang 2015), and, as such, language learners should have the opportunity to learn how to speak vaguely. However, teaching vague language can be a challenging task if there are no materials or resources available, or if the instructors are not aware of the frequency of vagueness in everyday communication.…”

Section: Pedagogical Approaches (Or the Lack Thereof) For Teaching Va...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A reference list from BP natives’ production and interpretation data for the teaching of numeric imprecision in L2/L3 Portuguese

Jimenez¹,

Cosme²

2022

PLJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study, we examined how numeric imprecision is expressed and interpreted in Portuguese. Specifically, we looked at approximators (APs) (e.g., umas 40 pessoas 'some 40 people', quase 10 alunos 'almost 10 students'), which are lexical items that make the semantic boundaries of expressions containing numeric values vague. APs are generally not part of the language curricula or textbooks for non-native speakers despite them being highly present in everyday communication. With this in mind, our goal is to create a pedagogical reference list of the most commonly used APs in Portuguese, as this information can assist Portuguese language instructors and material creators, especially those serving populations whose native language is Spanish, as it is often the case in the US. Using the data from 57 Brazilian Portuguese native speakers, we analyzed the range and frequency of APs produced during a written elicited production task, as well as their interpretation of the meaning of imprecise quantities in a forced-choice task. Descriptive and inferential statistics showed that (i) APs are employed with high frequency, (ii) several different APs are used, and (iii) APs that exist or are cognates in Spanish do not always share the same semantic meaning in Portuguese.

show abstract

Section: Pedagogical Approaches (Or the Lack Thereof) For Teaching Va...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A reference list from BP natives’ production and interpretation data for the teaching of numeric imprecision in L2/L3 Portuguese

Jimenez¹,

Cosme²

2022

PLJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There are also emerging studies looking at VL in the context of academic writing. Using MICASE, Sabet and Zhang (2015) compared the use of VL by native speakers of English, Chinese, and Persian speakers. They found that L2 speakers tended to use language that is more vague compared with L1 speakers.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hedging Functions in Malaysian Doctoral Candidature Defense Sessions

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The main aim of the present study is to build knowledge and understanding regarding the linguistic use of hedging by Malaysian speakers of English in academic spoken discourse and, more specifically, doctorate students presenting their thesis in the candidature defense. It looks not only to describe the specific nature of spoken academic hedging in Malaysia but to make inroads into identifying cultural factors that shape the way this hedging takes place. To realize these aims, a corpus-based investigative case study that used both quantitative and qualitative methods was used. Transcriptions of candidature defenses and semi-structured interviews regarding the nature of doctoral candidature defense were used to gather the data. The study found that national culture and the dynamic power distance in the educational culture surrounding the defense had an effect on the interpersonal hedging used by Malaysian speakers and the gap in hedging use between panel members and candidates. Disciplinary culture was also observed to influence hedging, specifically in referencing other work and testing theory to build an argument.

show abstract

Introduction

Zhang¹,

Parvaresh²

2019

Elastic Language in Persuasion and Comforting

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Communicating through Vague Language

Cited by 41 publications

References 76 publications

A reference list from BP natives’ production and interpretation data for the teaching of numeric imprecision in L2/L3 Portuguese

A reference list from BP natives’ production and interpretation data for the teaching of numeric imprecision in L2/L3 Portuguese

Hedging Functions in Malaysian Doctoral Candidature Defense Sessions

Introduction

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About