Vague Language Explored

Vague language ('bags of time', 'doing stuff', 'and all that') is an aspect of communicative competence of considerable social importance. This book examines its function. It spans genre analysis, critical discourse analysis, psycholinguistics and cross-cultural sociolinguistics, and suggests applications in TEFL and directions for future research.

SVENJA ADOLPHS is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK SARAH ATKINS is a Postgraduate Student of Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK WINNIE CHENG is a Professor in the Department of English of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong GUY COOK is Professor of Language and Education at the Open University, UK JANET COTTERILL is Senior Lecturer in Language and Communication and Director of Studies of the MA in Forensic Linguistics at Cardiff University, UK JANE EVISON teaches TESOL at the School of Education and is Tutor in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching, School of English Studies, University of Nottingham, UK KEVIN HARVEY is a Postgraduate Research Student and Member of the Health Language Research Group at the University of Nottingham, UK JANET HOLMES is Professor of Linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand ALMUT KOESTER is Lecturer in English Language, Department of English, University of Birmingham, UK MICHAEL McCARTHY is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK, Adjunct Professor of Applied Linguistics, Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Adjunct Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Limerick, Ireland ANNE O'KEEFE is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Mary Immaculate College (MIC), University of Limerick, Ireland TIM ROWLAND is Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education, University of Cambridge, UK AGNES TERRASCHKE is currently enrolled in a PhD programme at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand HUGH TRAPPES-LOMAX is Deputy Director at the Institute for Applied Language Studies, University of Edinburgh UK MARTIN WARREN is Professor, Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors PART 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction to Vague Language Explored; J.Cutting PART 2: VAGUENESS AND GENRE 'This We Have Done': the Vagueness of Poetry and Public Relations; G.Cook 'About Twelve Thousand or so': Vagueness in North American and UK Offices; A.Koester Caught Between Professional Requirements and Interpersonal Needs: Vague Language in Health Care Contexts; S.Adolphs, S.Atkins & K.Harvey 'Well Maybe not Exactly, but it's Around Fifty Basically?': Vague Language in Mathematics Classrooms; T.Rowland 'I think he was Kind of Shouting or Something': Uses and Abuses of Vagueness in the British Courtroom; J.Cotterill PART 3: PSYCHOLOGY OF VAGUENESS Vague Language for Self-Protective Avoidance: Tension Management in Conference Talks; H.Trappes-Lomax 'Looking out for Love and all the Rest of It': Vague Category Markers As Shared Social Space; J.Evison, M.McCarthy & A.O'Keefe PART 4: CROSS-CULTURAL VAGUENESS The Use of Vague Language across Spoken Genres in an Intercultural Hong Kong Corpus; W.Cheng { / [ Oh ] Not A < ^ Lot > }: Discourse Intonation and Vague Language; M.Warren 'Und tralala': General Extenders in German and New Zealand English; J.Holmes & A.Terraschke PART 5: CONCLUSION 'Doing more stuff - where's it going?': Exploring Vague Language Further; J.Cutting Index