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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Vague Language: why people use it and how to interpret itDaniel Greene, BA, Graduate Candidate, CI & CT, NIC Master
1Monday, November 12, 12
Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Introductions: me
• Diploma from School of Creative & Performing Arts
• AA in ASL Interpreting
• BA in English• Singing,
photography• In Master of Arts in
Interpreting Studies program at WOU.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
• Your studies?• Your work?• Your hobbies?• What do you think
Vague Language is?• What do you hope to
learn, and how do you plan to incorporate it into your work?
Introductions: you
?3Monday, November 12, 12
Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Workshop Description
Participants will study and explore the use of vague language (VL) in both English and ASL, the communicative purposes of VL, the importance of retaining ambiguity when conveying vague messages from one language to another, the benefits of leaving language vague instead of interrupting to request clarification, and specific strategies for conveying VL in both ASL and English. Participants will gain an elevated respect for when, why, and how we should say just what our consumers said.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Educational Objectives
By end of workshop, participants should be able to: Define VL and name at least 5 communicative purposes
that VL serves. Distinguish between language that needs to be clarified
and language that is better conveyed at uttered. Have strategies for conveying VL in English and ASL
without interrupting for clarification. Give a dozen examples of words, phrases, signs,
classifiers, and mouth morphemes used in VL in English & ASL.
Know where to look for more resources.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Agenda
7 hours with 1-hour lunch and two 15-minute breaks
.6 CEUs in Professional Studies (PS)
Lecture, discussions, Q & A, etc.
Take care of yourself, ask questions, respect others, share knowledge and share time.
Message me privately with a note or email [email protected] if you don’t want to comment/question publicly.
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Mad Libs GamePair up: responder and scribe. Fill in the blanks as vaguely as possible; e.g., if it asks for a noun, fill in a vague noun.
Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
VAGUE
vague |veɪg|adjective of uncertain, indefinite, or unclear character or
meaning: many patients suffer vague symptoms.
thinking or communicating in an unfocused or imprecise way: he had been very vague about his activities.
DERIVATIVESvague•ness noun,vagu•ish adjective
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French, or from Latin vagus ‘wandering, uncertain’ (New Oxford American Dictionary).
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VL is not…
VL is not “vague language” in the sense of unfocussed, uninformative, sloppily constructed, poorly articulated, badly written, or incomprehensible to those who know the speaker well.
Ambiguous language like “porcelain egg container” or “The chicken is ready to eat” whose “vagueness” usually serves no social function.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
VL is…
Intentional
Approximate
Nonspecific
Polysemous
Pragmatic (speakers’ goals)
Social (speakers’ relationship to each other)
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
People use VL intentionally to:
Purposes of VL reduce social distance,
imply group membership, develop rapport
be concise, relevant, informative, non-pedantic
be flexible, allow for alternatives, collaborate
be polite, manage tension, save face, avoid losing face
Promote group identity, protect individual identity
avoid taking responsibility
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
VL is Universal
Found in every language studied so far.
Used in both English and ASL.
Used more in speaking than in writing.
Predominant in casual discourse but exists in formal discourse and “frozen” texts.
A characteristic of native fluency.
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Paul Grice’sConversational Maxims
Maxim of Quantity: Be succinct. Say as much as necessary, but not too much.
Maxim of Quality: Be honest. Only say what you have evidence for and believe to be true.
Maxim of Relation: Be relevant. Make your contribution relevant to the interaction.
Maxim of Manner: Don’t be ambiguous (or vague)
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Violating theMaxim of Manner
“Indirect Strategies” (Brown & Levinson, 1987 in Hoza, 2007) Be ambiguous, be vague Overgeneralize Displace hearer Be incomplete, use ellipsis
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
‘And you know what that means!’ —Flouting Maxims
Humorous Conversational Implicature (Cutting, 2007, p. 225) “Well you know what he’s like.” “I can imagine why you wouldn’t want to.” “I really like the teacher very much.”
…and you know what that means / … and I don’t have to tell you what that means.
How can we handle such implications?
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Examples of VL Hedge words, adverbial modifiers, ambiguous responses, etc.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Polite Pucker (pp) & Polite Grimace (pg)
Figures from the book It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign It: Politeness in American
Sign Language. Hoza, J. (2007). Washington, D.C. Gallaudet
University Press. Photographer: Jack Hoza.
Model: Carol Zurek, native deaf signer. Used with
permission from Jack Hoza and Gallaudet University
Press.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Body/head teeter (bt)Figures from the book It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign It: Politeness in American Sign Language. Hoza, J. (2007). Washington, D.C. Gallaudet University Press. Photographer: Jack Hoza. Model: Carol Zurek, native deaf signer. Used with permission from Jack Hoza and
Gallaudet University Press.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
“WELL”/qFigures from the book It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign It: Politeness in American
Sign Language. Hoza, J. (2007). Washington, D.C. Gallaudet
University Press. Photographer: Jack Hoza.
Model: Carol Zurek, native deaf signer. Used with
permission from Jack Hoza and Gallaudet University
Press.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
‘WELL’/pg, btFigures from the book It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign It: Politeness in American Sign Language. Hoza, J. (2007). Washington, D.C. Gallaudet University Press. Photographer: Jack Hoza. Model: Carol Zurek, native deaf signer. Used with permission from Jack Hoza and
Gallaudet University Press.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
DON’T MIND/pp , tight lipsFigures from the book It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign It: Politeness in American
Sign Language. Hoza, J. (2007). Washington, D.C. Gallaudet
University Press. Photographer: Jack Hoza.
Model: Carol Zurek, native deaf signer. Used with
permission from Jack Hoza and Gallaudet University
Press.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
DON’T MIND /pg, pg–frown
Figures from the book It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign It: Politeness in American
Sign Language. Hoza, J. (2007). Washington, D.C. Gallaudet
University Press. Photographer: Jack Hoza.
Model: Carol Zurek, native deaf signer. Used with
permission from Jack Hoza and Gallaudet University
Press.
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
Vague intonation / inflection
Rising tone / inflection (eyebrows, head forward)
List with pauses rather than the “alternative ‘or’”
“Would you like coffee, tea, soda...?” vs. “coffee, tea, or soda?” (rising vs. falling = vague vs. specified)
“Would you like chicken or beef on that salad?” Note the difference between rising tone / inflection and falling tone / inflection.
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Hedges
TRUE (really), actually
MAYBE, maybe, may, might, perhaps, perchance
THINK, think, imagine, suppose
SIMILAR, like
WELL, WELL (hands circling), #WELL, well…
Polite grimace (pg) tighter based on risk to face, rank of request difficulty, power differential. Same as tone.
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Other Vague NMMs
Shoulder shrug, head tilt (don’t know, not sure…)
Eye gaze / pursed lips (thinking about it…)
Pursed lips Mm: “acceptable” “noncommittal” “unimpressed”
Can you think of other vague NMMs?
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Vague ASL Responses
THAT–THAT, “Hm…”, pursed lips (pl)
Head tilt, polite grimace
Body/head teeter (bt)
Shrug
Can you think of other vague ASL responses?
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Vague Vocal Responses
Eh?
Hm
Mm
Uh
Oh
Can you think of any vague vocal responses?
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Vague Response Game in ASL & EnglishPair up into Partner A and B.Partner A make statement to Partner B.Partner B respond noncommittally. Switch, repeat until time is up.
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VL to obfuscate/bewilder in “Party Political Speech”
“My friends, in the light of present day developments, let me say right away that I do not regard existing conditions lightly. On the contrary, I have always regarded them as subjects of the gravest responsibility, and shall ever continue to do so. … For I have no doubt whatsoever that whatever I may have said in the past or what I am saying now is the exact, literal and absolute truth as to the state of the case” (Peter Sellers, 1958 in Joan Cutting, 2007, p. 234).
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VL in Corporate–speak
“Less desirable outcomes may have to be explored.”
“It is not possible at this time to comment upon the present matter with any substantial level of certainty.”
“It is not our intention to discriminate; however, rules must be set to ensure educational standards.”
What other examples of corporate–speak do you interpret in the schools?
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
VL in the Courtroom:direct examination
Person on the stand may use VL so as neither to lie nor to say that for which they have no evidence; e.g., “I think…” or “It might have been. I can’t be sure.”
Person on the stand may use VL to shirk responsibility, avoid blame, or minimize admission of guilt.
Judge or lawyers may ask questions to force person on the stand to clarify vague language.
What happens when you clarify consumers’ VL?
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VL in the Courtroom: Cross-examination
“Q: He was sputtering and choking, was he not? A: No, sir. I would not say it was life threatening. No. Q: He was not choking? A: I am not saying he was not choking. There was some noise coming from his throat, yes” Cotterill, 2007 ‘Vagueness in the British Courtroom’, in Vague Language Explored, ed. Cutting, p. 110).
How do you think this relates to educational interpreting?
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Self-protective avoidance
Negative communication goals = what we want to avoid; e.g., embarrassment at being wrong or inadequate. “I’ll just be giving a brief overview of the topic, far from an exhaustive review...” “still in its infancy...” “your mileage may vary ‘YMMV’...” “IMHO (in my humble opinion)” “Perhaps...”
Presenters at conferences do this (Trappes–Lomax, 2007).
Students giving reports might give such disclaimers to protect themselves as well.
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Passive voice
“The package will be picked up” rather than “He/She/They/Someone will pick up the package.”
“The results will be determined by a committee.”
“The check will be sent by overnight express.”
“Someone will be given an item to process.”
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Passive voice, a.k.a. agent-defocused constructions
“Just a dog being walked” rather than “Just someone walking their dog” (because the dog is more important than the person).
“I was bumped to the front of the line” (because the person who bumped you is not as important as that you were bumped).
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Approximators
about / approximately
around / AROUND…
sort of / SO-SO
...or so, give or take, more or less, EQUAL±
-ish (ASL shake vs. swipe; e.g., bluish, greenish, twoish, threeish vs. BLUE!, GREEN!, TWO!, THREE!)
Pretty good, pretty ugly, etc. (GOOD++ vs. GOOD!)
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Quantifiers
Some, few, several, a lot, many, enough, plenty
SOME, FEW, A-LOT, MANY, ENOUGH, PLENTY
one or two, ONE-TWO, a couple-three, TWO-THREE
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Modified quantifiers / NMM
Very few (FEW oo)
Quite a few (FEW puffedBlow)
Quite a bit (MUCH mm)
Quite a lot (MUCH puffedBlow)
Baker–Shenk and Cokely (1980), Struxness (1996), Bickford, J. & Fraychinaud, K. (2006). Phrases mine.
A tiny bit (“pinky-flick” boo)
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Vague Category Markers (VCMs)
VCMs, general extenders, general list completers, tags, terminal tags, vague category identifiers. These show that previous list items are just examples.
…or anything/something (like that)
…and/or stuff/things like that
…and/or that sort of thing
VARIOUS-THINGS, COUNT-ON-FINGERS, CL:5 COUNT-ON-FINGERS, LONG-LIST, part:indef
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Copyright Daniel Greene 2011
METONYMY
me•ton•y•my |məˈtänəmēnoun (pl. metonymies)
the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.
DERIVATIVESmetonymic |ˌmetəˈnimik| adjectivemetonymical |ˌmetəˈnimikəl| adjectivemetonymically |ˌmetəˈnimik(ə)lē| adverbORIGIN mid 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek metōnumia, literally ‘change of name’ (New Oxford American Dictionary).
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Metonymical Proper Nouns
How’s your Chomsky coming? (homework)
She ran off and married that suit. (executive)
House bid accepted, now to the bank! (financing)
I just pulled a Carol! (something Carol would do)
They went all KKK on my ass! (police brutality)
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Clausal ellipsis
“Did you get what I sent you?” “He liked what I gave him.” “So, shall we do it?”
Speakers sharing knowledge claim in-group membership by omitting it when referring to it in casual conversation. In/exclusive.
You, the interpreter, don’t usually claim in-group membership. How do you let them have their rapport?
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Where else do you see VL?
Intimate or casual conversations (street talk, slang)
Teachers talking shop (professional jargon)
Illicit or secretive exchanges (mischief, scheming)
Frozen texts such as literature, film, music, theater
What other kinds of VL do you interpret?
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Ethics & ModelsWhy and how to interpret VL vaguely
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VL and the CPCInterpreters:
“render the message faithfully by conveying the content and spirit of what is being communicated, using language most readily understood by consumers” (2.3).
“conduct and present themselves in an unobtrusive manner” (3.5).
“demonstrate respect for consumers” (4.0).
“facilitate consumer access and equality, and support the full interaction and independence of consumers” (4.4).
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Confusion is part of
communication“…if communication
depends on the construction of meaning
from cues, and if communicators do not have direct access to others’ meanings or
intentions, then what we should expect is partial
communication. Successful communication requires our attention and
explanation” (Wilcox & Shaffer, 2005, p. 45).
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“It is not that English is indirect and ASL is direct”
“The problem is not interpreting. It is not that English is indirect and that ASL is direct as Humphrey and Alcorn (2001) and others would have us view it. It is not that translation equivalents are hard to find (indeed, they are, but that pales in comparison to the real problem). It is not that ASL is direct and elaborative and relies on expansion techniques while English is indirect and non-elaborative (Lawrence 1995; Humphrey & Alcorn 2001). The problem is that our models of interpreting simply do not do justice to the act of communicating. In trivializing the cognitive work that is done whenever we communicate with another we fail to prepare interpreters for the awesome and mysterious task that they perform: speaking for another.” (Wilcox & Shaffer, 2005, p. 44)
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The Toolmakers Paradigm“Imagine…a huge compound, shaped like a wagon wheel. Each pie-
shaped sector of the wheel is an environment…at the hub of the wheel there is some machinery which can deliver small sheets of paper from
one environment to another…people in these environments have learned how to use this machinery to exchange crude sets of instructions with
one another— instructions for making things helpful to surviving…” (Reddy, 1993, pp. 171-172).
17%
17%
17% 17%
17%
17%
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Everyone is an Interpreter:Discuss!
1. “Speaking for another” does not minimize the “cognitive work that is done whenever [people] communicate with [each other].” They “work” at “interpreting” each other.
2. What kind of “work” do you do when you’re communicating with another in your first language? In your second language? Through an interpreter?
3. How much work should the consumers do, and how much work should the interpreter do? Why?
4. How do I know how much work they would do if they were speaking the same language in the same culture?
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I used to suggest people ask themselves, “What if I weren’t there?” Now I suggest asking “Would these people understand each other if they were members of the same culture speaking the same language? Would there still be confusion? Would things still be vague? Do I need to level the playing field as a mediator?”
What if I weren’t there? vs.What if they were speaking the same language?
“‘What if I weren’t there?’ is an abdication of responsibility” (Pollard, 2010) “ Robyn Dean said, “‘What happens there without interpreters?’” is a question for observation–supervision” (Dean, 2010). —Workshop presented by Dean & Pollard at the Conference of Interpreter Trainers, Oct 2010.
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Talk as Text andTalk as Activity
Talk as Text: “Utterances are viewed as units of meaning that consist of smaller units of meaning such as words and morphemes; each of them is equally meaningful.”
Talk as Activity: “Utterances are viewed as activities that are part of situated interactions, and make sense to those involved, depending on the type of situation at hand, on the number of people present, and their mutual alliances and mutual involvement” (Wadensjö, 1992, pp. 22–23).
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Consumer Collaboration Dynamic: a working title (Greene, 2011)
Some consumers are each other’s family, friends, classmates, coworkers, etc. They know each other better than the interpreter knows them.
Some consumers communicate fairly well without an interpreter— they use facial expressions, gesture, writing, home/name signs, speech & lipreading, etc. (Some even sign when they’re not on the phone!)
Some consumers know each other intimately and, naturally, use vague language with each other.
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Co-labor-ation
MODEL
Hearing Interpreter
Fluency inDeaf/Hearing
Culture/Language
Hearing Consumer
Deaf Consumer
Group Membership Shared Knowledge
Social Space Relationship
COLLABORATION Communication Tools
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Interpreters = Interrupters?
“Many teachers find the ‘lust’ to clarify and explain
irresistible” (Rowland, 2007, p. 81). Do interpreters share the
same ‘lust’ as teachers?
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Interpreters = Interrupters?Should you interrupting to clarify? Discuss:
1. Are they using VL? How can I tell?
2. How might I defeat the purpose of VL by clarifying?
3. What harm might I do by interrupting?
4. What good might I do by interrupting?
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Drawbacks to interrupting
Breaks flow of conversation, throws off train of thought
Shifts focus from consumers to interpreter
Assumes responsibility for communication
Deprives consumers of natural consequences, self-correction, and rapport
Defeats the purpose of VL
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Strategies for interpreting VL English–ASL w/o interrupting
Vague body language, facial expression, and mouth morphemes (adverbial and adjectival modifiers)
Vague signs such as ETC., WELL, LIKE, UH…, YA-DA, YA-DA, YA-DA (official gloss for that sign?)
Creative expressions that convey a message that is equivalently vague in ASL as the English message.
Passive voice or non-agent construction: “I was called” or TAP(me)–ON–SHOULDER
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Strategies for interpreting VL English–ASL w/o interrupting
Transliteration
Fingerspelling— (if you can’t make sense of what you’re hearing but you got the sounds of it).
Approximation— “Sounds like…” (good with f/s) “Something to the effect of…” “Something about…”
Check w/consumer: Hearing: “…and you know what that means…” You: “KNOW MEANS YOU?”
Make the implicit explicit if you have to.
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Strategies for interpreting VL ASL–English w/o interrupting
All the vague words we learned in MadLibs
Vague personal pronouns— one, they, someone, e.g., “When one is hungry, one will do anything to eat.” “They pushed it.” “Someone wanted something.”
Gerunds (verbs ending with –ing); e.g., “The flashing of the lights was distracting,” (who was flashing the lights?) or, “When the packing was done, it was time to go” (who was packing or going?). “There was a lot of fighting going on” (who was fighting?).
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Game:Interpret VL w/o interrupting
Pair up with someone you don’t know well.
Attend to the source language prompt.
Interpret the vague source message into an equally vague target message.
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VL examples to interpret
1. Open the container 2. Remove the seal 3. Procure the substance
“I think you should see the widgets arrive in a timely fashion.”
“All this Mexican food is going make for an interesting afternoon.”
Well, I think I’d kinda like if we tried to start sometime around two-ish.
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Mad Libs, Take 2What are the vaguest words that can be used to fill in the blanks for different parts of speech required in Mad Libs? Let’s go through them one by one.
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Vague adjectives
considerable, sizable, nothing to sneeze at
indistinct, murky, uncertain, undecided, undetermined, unclear, unknown, unremarkable, unspecified, vague
certain— actually uncertain (vague), as in “of a certain age,” “a certain someone,” “a certain something,” “a certain time,” etc.
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Vague adverbs
sort of, kind of
someway, somehow
apparently, ostensibly, presumably, supposedly, allegedly, seemingly
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Vague animals
Animal, organism, life form, microbe
Invertebrate
Mammal
Amphibian
Pet
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Vague body parts
organ, system
appendage, limb
upper body, lower body
torso, extremities
thingy, privates
scrabula (UrbanDictionary)
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Vague colors
Pastel
Bright
Muted
Light
Dark
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Vague exclamations/silly words
Oh/Huh/Eh?
Really?!
You don’t say!
No shit!
Interesting!
Whatever!
Anyway!
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Vague single nouns
Something, thing, thingie, thingamajig, it, hoodicky, whichamabobber, whosiwhatsis, watsit, truc (Fr), whatchamacallit, item, bit, article, parcel, package, widget, part, tool, product, garment, file, document (CL:F “paper”), SKU, device, element, container (CL?!)...
Da kine (Hawaiian Pidgin from “that kind”)
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Vague plural nouns
Individual: Things, this & that (cosas), odds & ends, loose ends, gizmos, doo dads, widgets
Collective: collection, bunch, range, line, class, market, niche, array, assortment, selection, boatload
Mass: Stuff, crap, merchandise, stock, inventory, cargo, material (not always fabric!)
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Vague numbers
Heaps of, loads of, oodles of, lots of, tons of...
Many, plenty of, myriad, innumerable, numberless
A couple, a few, several, some-odd, umpteen, scores, hordes, thousands
HORDES, ONE–THOUSAND MINIMUM
The other day, weeks, months, years, eons, ages
Choke! (Hawaiian Pidgin)
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Vague occupations
“I work on computers.”
“I work in science.”
“I’m in the import/export business.”
“I work in the entertainment industry.”
Can you think of other vague occupations?
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Vague people
Someone, guy, gal, kid, old fart, mec (Fr), type, one, individual, troop, entity, party, body, resource
Agent, operator, actor, stakeholder
Whoever, you–know–who, , what’s–his/her–name
You know, that actor from that movie where they…
An anonymous source (donor, informant…)
Number, suit, skirt, hottie, babe, player, that one
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Vague places
Place, location, rendezvous, spot, venue, space, arena, area, coordinates, intersection, latitude
Stepped away, on the other line, in a meeting, in the field, out of the office, indisposed
Somewhere, someplace, wherever, who knows where, you-know-where, overseas
Can you think of other vague places?
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Vague pronouns
One, one’s
They, Them, Their
OK to use they/them/their as third person singular when you’re unsure of gender or don’t wish to specify. Shakespeare did this.
This helps when interpreting genderless indexing.
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Vague verbs
Go (went, etc.), come (came, etc.), do something/stuff, do a bit of this & that, etc., run errands (DO++), fool around, tool around, futz, fiddle-fart, putter, keep busy, take care of business, take care of some odds & ends, tie up loose ends, get all [my] ducks in a row, engage, take action…
Can you think of more vague verbs?
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Q & A and Review
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Limitations
Lack of keywords “VL” or “vague language” in literature about ASL; must search for many related terms and synthesize lit review.
Only one ASL corpus (NCSLGR), 19 narratives, 19 elicited utterance videos, 14 participants.
No unrehearsed monologues or dialogues.
Not all my observations from experience are reflected in the corpus.
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Implications forteaching and research
Study how deaf people use VL.
Study how interpreters interpret VL.
Publish more about VL in the interpreting field.
Teach VL in ASL / interpreting curricula.
Consider VL in self-assessment, professional discussions, case conferencing, mentoring, etc.
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Review:Workshop Description
Participants will study and explore the use of vague language (VL) in both English and ASL, the communicative purposes of VL, the importance of retaining ambiguity when conveying vague messages from one language to another, the benefits of leaving language vague instead of interrupting to request clarification, and specific strategies for conveying VL in both ASL and English. Participants will gain an elevated respect for when, why, and how we should say just what our consumers said.
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Review:Educational Objectives
By end of workshop, participants should be able to: Define VL and name at least 5 communicative purposes
that VL serves. Distinguish between language that needs to be clarified
and language that is better conveyed at uttered. Have strategies for conveying VL in English and ASL
without interrupting for clarification. Give a dozen examples of words, phrases, signs,
classifiers, and mouth morphemes used in VL in English & ASL.
Know where to look for more resources.
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Contact meGo to my Website:
www.danielgreene.com
From there, you will find links to my Email, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and more.
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