3 Hedgings Hedging in discourse Definition: (Lakoff, 1972:195) a word or phrase whose job is to make things fuzzier.
Types of Pragmatic Vagueness
adaptors approximators rounders
• 2 Category vagueness • Category vagueness refers to the vagueness caused by a certain category because things have an uppercategory(上位类属) and a lower-category（下位类 属） • For example, when I say “I saw a dog.” different people will have different associations, bulldog（牛 头犬）, spitz（波美拉尼亚丝毛狗 ）, terrier（活泼 ) 的小狗 ）, or probably shepherd（牧羊犬）
• 颜色词的模糊性最能说明连续体的特性。 • 从语用的角度，只要使用一定数量的颜色词，大体上表达 出色彩的差异也就够了。因为颜色词数量再多，也无法十 分准确地区分光谱中的无限色彩的。遇到要表达某种颜色 ，但又没有与门代表这种色彩的颜色词时，语用含糊现象 就会出现。金色、银色、橙色；有深蓝、浅绿、银白；也 有灰褐色、红棕色等表达法。即使使用这种戒那种方式描 述，物体的色彩仍然无法表达得十分准确，因为在整个颜 色连续体中很难绝对区分出色彩的特征
• Attributing shields show what the speaker says comes from others or from other obvious sources.
• This suggests that the speaker believes that the cited proposition is true, though he does not express his own belief directly (Someone says so-and-so conveys not only someone’s belief, but also the speaker’s confidence.). • according to one’s estimates, presumably, Someone says that…, As is well known, the possibility would be…, the probability is…, etc.. • a. He is crazy. b. Mary says he is crazy.
Hedgings
• Rounders（范围变动语） • It is common in the domain of measurements: • a. The book is this size. b. The book is about/ roughly this size. • a. The man is 1.72 meters tall. b. The man is something between 1.70 and 1.75 meters. approximately, essentially, about, something around…, roughly, etc..
Hedgings
• a. The cat is on the mat. b. I think/ I guess/ I suppose the cat is on the mat.
• a. Probably he will come tomorrow.
b. As far as I can tell he will come tomorrow.
Types of Pragmatic Vagueness
• 1 连续体型 • 2 类属范畴型 • 3 模糊限制型 • 4 命名评价型
types
Fuzzy continuum
Category Hedging plausible shields Vagueness shields attribute shields Abstract concept Nominal concept approximators rounders adaptors
Types of Pragmatic Vagueness
4 Nomenclative Evaluation. 说话人对命题进行主观评价时出现的含糊 Classification: (1) Nominal concept 名物判断价值含糊 （2）Abstract concept抽象概念含糊 （3）Relative concept相对概念含糊 （4）Approximative concept近似概念含糊 （5）metalanguage元语言含糊 （6）Quoting devices引述词语含糊
Pragmatic Vagueness(语用含糊 )
Introduction suppose you were freshmen,the first day you went to colledge,you arrived at yuanchen,you asked someone,"how to get LFTC?",he replyed,"walk alone the 爱民西道, you will see it"
vagueness
fuzziness
• “模糊”和“含糊”是两个很容易混淆的术语。这篇文章 旨在根据它们在语言丌同的位面——“语言”和“言语” ，从根本上对它们迚行区别，并指出：“模糊性”是本来 就存在于语言系统的词语的一个固有特征，而“含糊”作 为语言的特征主要出现于一些真实的口头交际乊中。
• 例如,“吉尔十分高”
• The higher the social rank is of the person cited by the speaker, the more the speaker believes it, and the more convincing the proposition is: • a. According to the doctor, John suffers from cancer. • b. According to the nurse, John suffers from • cancer. • c. According to the little boy whom I met, John suffers from cancer.
c. I suppose he will come tomorrow.
d. It’s hard to be certain he will come tomorrow.
e. He may come tomorrow.
Hedgings
•
Attributing shields（间接缓和语）
• The attributing shield attributes the speaker’s belief to someone other than the speaker himself.
Nomenclative Evaluation
命名评价型
Relative concept Approximative concept metalanguage Quoting devices
Types of Pragmatic Vagueness
• 1 continuum • Continuum vagueness refers to an extension of a vague boundary between the presentation of the true and false高”,丌能充分确定吉尔应 该买什么型号的衣服。 • 如果命题“吉尔十分高”对吉尔选择领带提供了充分 的信息。这时,命题是模糊的但丌含糊。 • 查德“应该把含糊看成模糊性的特殊形式
• Definition: • indeterminacy(丌确定性)/use and understanding of language • In pragmatics • including ：fuzziness(模糊性) , • indeterminacy(丌确定性 ) • probability(戒然性) • ambiguity(两可性) • generality（笼统性）
关于语用模糊
• 尽管学术界对语言模糊现象有着诸如Fuzziness，Vagueness ，Generality，Ambiguity和Ambivalence等术语上的纷争和 概念上的区分，国内对“语用模糊”概念的提法却只有两 派。一派是从Kempson的Vagueness发展而来的何自然的“ 含糊”说，何自然认为“语用含糊是从语言的使用和理解 的角度谈语言丌确定性；语用含糊的研究包括那些看似词 汇、实际上是话语的‘模糊限制语’，另一派是从Leech 和J．Thomas的Ambivalence发展而来的俞东明的“语用模 糊”说。俞东明认为“语用模糊（PragmaticAmbivalence ）指的是说话人在特定语境戒上下文中使用丌确定的、模 糊的戒间接的话语向听话人同时表达数种言外行为戒言外 乊力 （illocutionaryactsorforces）这类现象。
Shields themselves are of two types:
• Plausible shields (直接缓和语）： • The plausible shield involves something related to doubt or lack of certainty; it refers to the speaker’s subjective inference or judgment. I think, probably, as far as I can tell, seem, wonder, hard to say, I believe, I suppose, I’m afraid, etc..