A Pragmatic Study Of Vague Language In Cross-Cultural Communication

Vague language, as an important feature of language, is widely used in cross-cultural communication. It can make communication smoother and more effective. Vague language in cross-cultural communication is rule-governed, subjective and dynamic. This thesis, with a detailed analysis of vague language in cross-cultural communication in the light of the Cooperative Principle, Politeness Principle and Face-Saving Theory, believes that vague language can be used more appropriately, if the speaker has a sound knowledge of both cultures.This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter I presents literature review, rationale, objectives and structure of this study. Cross-cultural communication in this thesis mainly refers to cross-cultural communication in verbal language, thus, chapter II introduces the definition of verbal cross-cultural communication and characteristics of verbal language in cross-cultural communication. Meanwhile, the significance of cross-cultural communication is introduced in this chapter. In chapter III, first it gives an introduction, definition and features of vague language, then presents the use of vague language in cross-cultural communication. And much attention is paid to the pragmatic failure of vague language and the reasons for its failure in cross-cultural communication. Chapter IV is an introduction to some pragmatic principles including Cooperative principle, Politeness Principle and Face-saving Theory. Chapter V gives a pragmatic analysis of vague language in cross-cultural communication. Abundant examples of vagueness in cross-cultural communication are examined within the framework of Cooperative Principle, Politeness Principle and Face-Saving Theory and five pragmatic functions of vagueness are concluded. Chapter VI summarizes this thesis, pointing out that vagueness functions irreplaceably and plays a positive role in cross-cultural communication. Besides, this chapter gives the limitations and directions for further study.