A Study Of Pragmatic Vagueness From The Perspective Of Relevance-Adaptation Model

The focus of the present study is on the use of pragmatic vagueness in the setting of the U.S. Department of State press conferences as an intentional communicative strategy. In the present study, pragmatic vagueness is defined: in linguistic communication, the addressor deliberately employs implicit, ambiguous or equivocal ways of expressing ideas under the condition that he or she has the ability to deliver them in explicit, unambiguous or unequivocal manner in order to satisfy certain communicative needs. This type of language phenomenon thus formed and communicative strategy adopted in this case by the addressor is entitled pragmatic vagueness.The theoretical framework is the newly proposed pragmatic model—Relevance-Adaptation Model, which claims that verbal communication aims at seeking optimal relevance. The seeking of relevance results from the inter-adaptation between linguistic structures and contextual correlates. And the seeking of relevance is a dynamic process in which both the addressor and addressee have to make efforts to achieve a successful communication. The research methodology in the present study is a combination of data-driven approach, such as descriptive, qualitative and quantitative methods, with theory-driven approach.The present study is significant in the following aspects: it may shed some new light on the understanding of diplomatic language and vagueness feature of human language as a whole by studying the use of pragmatic vagueness in press conferences; secondly, it is conducive to the further researches of Relevance-Adaptation Model by seeing how much explanatory power it has in the present research; thirdly, it may give us some help in search of a better interpretation of the U.S. foreign policy.The investigation is mainly concerned about variability, adaptation, functions, and mechanism of pragmatic vagueness in the U.S. Department of State spokesperson's words.The present study generalizes three levels of linguistic structures for the realization of pragmatic vagueness employed by the spokesperson in press conferences, namely, lexical level, sentential level and discourse level. The means of the lexical level include pragmatic vagueness by deictics, hedges, fuzzy/general wording and understatement. The means at the sentential level are conditional clauses, negative clauses and meaning inconsistent clauses.Adaptation of pragmatic vagueness demonstrates why the spokesperson employs pragmatic vagueness. In the setting of diplomatic spokesperson's press conferences, the stable contextual factors that the spokesperson should adapt to include communicative norms and diplomatic tactics. The former includes maintaining good image of the spokesperson and satisfying the addressee's face wants. The latter covers maintaining good bilateral relations and maintaining good image of the country in international community.Pragmatic vagueness has positive functions in press conferences, which is consistent with the claim of Relevance-Adaptation Model: the language of the addressor achieves a balance between processing effort and contextual effects. The functions of pragmatic vagueness include: to help the spokesperson manage the press conference, to maintain a good cooperative relationship between the spokesperson and the media, to maintain a good bilateral relationship between the U.S. and major large countries, to conceal the hegemonism essence of American foreign policy and to help make the spokesperson's responses more flexible.The thesis makes a trial study at the mechanism of pragmatic vagueness in both production and interpretation. Pragmatic vagueness is a process of relevance-adaptation in both production and interpretation, which means that the addressor adapts his linguistic choice to the contextual correlates and chooses pragmatic vagueness consistent with the principle of relevance. And the addressee adapts the context to the linguistic choice of the addressor and infers the interpretation consistent with the principle of relevance.