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Abstract:In our daily verbal communication, vague language is frequently used in people’s life. Based on the adaption theory, relevance theory and domestic research of pragmatic vagueness, this thesis illustrates some classical lines from movies and TV plays. To study pragmatic vagueness not only can help speakers to convey implied meaning by vague languages but also help listeners to get better understanding so that successful communication can be completed.
Key words:pragmatic vagueness; adaption theory; lines
1.Introduction
Nowadays, medias such as TV, movies and the Internet are remodeling the living space of mankind. In the context of globalization, the international spread of films and televisions have achieved to a very alarming extent.
Commonly in a movie or a TV play, language plays an important role. People are greatly impressed by some movies and TV plays because the dialogues are much more affecting, especially the dialogues in some famous movies. Some classical dialogues are even quoted by people in daily conversations and teases so that they become catchword at the present time. As we all know, most of the dialogues contain extended meaning and subaudition rather than literal meaning. Pragmatic scholars define it as illocutionary meaning. The thesis attempts to apply some pragmatic theories to analyze pragmatic vagueness in dialogues of films and TV series. The aims of the thesis are to help the filmmaker express the implicit meaning through a clever effort and help audiences better understand the exact intention of the dialogues.
2.Literature review
2.1 Adaptation theory
According to Verschueren, a new pragmatic theory — adaptation theory was put forward in his work Understanding Pragmatics (2000). He pointed out that the use of language is bound to include the constant choices. People make these choices both consciously or unconsciously, which is caused by the internal language structure as well as the outside language factors. In accordance with his theory, the use of language is a continuous process of selection; only if language selection adapts to the verbal communication features and responds to the context, the purpose of verbal communication is achieved. Speakers can follow or deliberately violate some of the pragmatic principles and select a specific language form, but on things they have to conduct is to adapt to the context at that time. Pragmatic vagueness in the language use not only adapts to the context but also meets the needs of communication. Therefore, language vagueness is the choice complied with the purpose of verbal communication made by speakers in line with the language features.
2.2 Relevance theory
In accordance with He Ziran and Ran Yongping(2001), people have to find the best relation between the other side of the conversation and contextual assumption and get the implied meaning through reasoning to achieve the contextual effect and successful communication. Thus, in spite of that there exist various and a large number of forms of vague language in daily conversation, the verbal communication can proceed smoothly, which is due to the relation between vague language and context.
1.3Research on pragmatic vagueness of domestic scholars
In verbal communication, speakers will regularly choose vague language as their communication strategy. In the article of Professor He Ziran (2000), he classified verbal communication into three types from the perspective of conversation analysis. The following chart will clearly demonstrate his research about pragmatic vagueness.
He (2000)
According to Professor He’s studies, these vague languages play an irreplaceable role in daily verbal communication, especially when speakers would like to express the meaning of vague or implied, or when they use some of the rhetorical skills. Pragmatic vagueness can be divided into different categories, and each type of vague language in verbal communication plays a certain role, which of course will also include film and TV series lines.
3.Pragmatic vagueness in films and TV series
In a narrow sense, Language composes a very important part in film, besides the performance of the actors and actresses, the settings and the like. In those classic lines, a lot of vague languages are used in order to create an atmosphere of ambiguity, which gives the audiences much imagination. Then, the following parts will provide concrete examples from some classic movies and TV plays.
3.1 Pragmatic vagueness in metaphorical utterances
Metaphor,meiosis, irony and exaggeration of metaphorical utterances are rhetorical devices frequently used in lines of films and TV series. Take the film Forrest Gump as an example. The lines of the film are typical examples of pragmatic vagueness of lines in the film. “My Momma always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.” This is an utterance by the main character Foster. His mother compared the future life to a box of chocolate. From his utterance, the audiences may feel that life is like a chocolate and the next box of chocolate in life are unpredictable. Foster’s mother just chooses to use such a kind of vague language to express her endless love and encouragement to her son. Besides, she expresses her beautiful wish that her son is to be brave enough to face the unknown future. It is just the words that made Foster always kept optimistic attitude towards life and faced various difficulties and challenges. Therefore, he deserved the success of life. The application of the vague language in the sentence enhances the expressive force and provides a broader room for audience imagination.
Another example is the movie Titanic. When Titanic is about to sink, a father said to his daughter, “It's goodbye for a little while. Only for a little while. Another boat is for Daddy. This boat is for Mummy and children. You hold Mummy’s hand and be a good little gir1.” This is a typical example of meiosis on pragmatic vagueness. At the time when Titanic is to sink, people who did not get on the lifeboat were destined to die. The words that the father said to his daughter may be the last words to his daughter, however, he was still able to say it so calmly and softly say that most audiences are deeply moved by the father’s love and feel sorry to his fate. The use of vague language in the movie highlights that the father is reluctant to separate from his family and the helplessness attitude towards death. Meanwhile, the vague language also creates a desolate atmosphere for the movie plot.
3.2Pragmatic vagueness in non-metaphorical utterances
Pragmatic vagueness also exists in the non-metaphorical sentences. This kind of vagueness is represented by ratherish, vague, general, ambiguous and confusing features. All these features create a sort of vague artistic conception.
Some TV series and movies tend to quote some classical lines of previous films to create another extended meaning based on the original meaning. Such as the Taiwan TV play They Kiss Again, when the two main characters — the newlywed Zhishu and Xiangqin are on their honeymoon on the sea of Indonesia, the bride Xiangqin imitated the plot of the film Titanic, she stood at the boat and shouted loudly with her arms open, “I’m the king of the world! You jump! I jump!” In the TV play, Xiangqin was a plain girl and her English was poor, however she quoted these classical words from the film, which shows her great happiness to be the bride of Zhishu.
Another case is the typical movie Da Hua Xi You (A Chinese Odyssey). There are a lot of classical lines in the film. For example, the hero said to the heroine “曾经有一份爱摆在我面前我没有珍惜,如果上天能再给我一次机会,我一定会珍惜,如真的要在这份爱上加上期限,我希望是 — 1万年”. The line is an example of irony of non-metaphorical utterance. Since that the film is a comedy, but the director chose to use such touching words to create a special mood for the film. The funny plot and other lines make a contrast to these moving words; therefore, audiences may feel the movie funnier. A Hong Kong TV plays Legend of the Demigods is new on television. The heroine Hao Caimei also quotes the words from the film A Chinese Odyssey which is mentioned above. In the TV plays, she said these words to show a comedy effect.
4.Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, pragmatic vagueness is widely used in verbal communication and can be observed everywhere. People always choose the appropriate form of specific language to achieve their communicative purposes. However, people have to comply with a series of words with the principle consciously or unconsciously to use the vague terms. Vague language can help speakers express the significant meaning through its implicit expression. In addition, listeners can have a better understanding of the speaker's intention by studying of pragmatic vagueness.
References:
[1]Leech, G. 1983. Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.
[2]Stephen C.Levinson. 2001. Pragmatics. Beijing:Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
[3]Verschueren.J. 2000. Understanding Pragmatics. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
[4]何自然.再论语用含糊.外国语[J],2000(3).
[5]何自然,冉永平.语用学概论[M].湖南教育出版社,2001.
[6]何自然,陈新仁.当代语用学[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2006.
[7]侯娇婴.对关联理论认知原则和交际原则的实证研究[C].语用学研究.北京:高等教育出版社.
[8]胡红辉.模糊语言与“合作原则”[J].广州市经济管理干部学院学报,2005(4).
[9]胡英奇.交际中的模糊语言运用[J].昌吉学院学报,2006(1).
[10]伍铁平.模糊语言学[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,1999.
Key words:pragmatic vagueness; adaption theory; lines
1.Introduction
Nowadays, medias such as TV, movies and the Internet are remodeling the living space of mankind. In the context of globalization, the international spread of films and televisions have achieved to a very alarming extent.
Commonly in a movie or a TV play, language plays an important role. People are greatly impressed by some movies and TV plays because the dialogues are much more affecting, especially the dialogues in some famous movies. Some classical dialogues are even quoted by people in daily conversations and teases so that they become catchword at the present time. As we all know, most of the dialogues contain extended meaning and subaudition rather than literal meaning. Pragmatic scholars define it as illocutionary meaning. The thesis attempts to apply some pragmatic theories to analyze pragmatic vagueness in dialogues of films and TV series. The aims of the thesis are to help the filmmaker express the implicit meaning through a clever effort and help audiences better understand the exact intention of the dialogues.
2.Literature review
2.1 Adaptation theory
According to Verschueren, a new pragmatic theory — adaptation theory was put forward in his work Understanding Pragmatics (2000). He pointed out that the use of language is bound to include the constant choices. People make these choices both consciously or unconsciously, which is caused by the internal language structure as well as the outside language factors. In accordance with his theory, the use of language is a continuous process of selection; only if language selection adapts to the verbal communication features and responds to the context, the purpose of verbal communication is achieved. Speakers can follow or deliberately violate some of the pragmatic principles and select a specific language form, but on things they have to conduct is to adapt to the context at that time. Pragmatic vagueness in the language use not only adapts to the context but also meets the needs of communication. Therefore, language vagueness is the choice complied with the purpose of verbal communication made by speakers in line with the language features.
2.2 Relevance theory
In accordance with He Ziran and Ran Yongping(2001), people have to find the best relation between the other side of the conversation and contextual assumption and get the implied meaning through reasoning to achieve the contextual effect and successful communication. Thus, in spite of that there exist various and a large number of forms of vague language in daily conversation, the verbal communication can proceed smoothly, which is due to the relation between vague language and context.
1.3Research on pragmatic vagueness of domestic scholars
In verbal communication, speakers will regularly choose vague language as their communication strategy. In the article of Professor He Ziran (2000), he classified verbal communication into three types from the perspective of conversation analysis. The following chart will clearly demonstrate his research about pragmatic vagueness.
He (2000)
According to Professor He’s studies, these vague languages play an irreplaceable role in daily verbal communication, especially when speakers would like to express the meaning of vague or implied, or when they use some of the rhetorical skills. Pragmatic vagueness can be divided into different categories, and each type of vague language in verbal communication plays a certain role, which of course will also include film and TV series lines.
3.Pragmatic vagueness in films and TV series
In a narrow sense, Language composes a very important part in film, besides the performance of the actors and actresses, the settings and the like. In those classic lines, a lot of vague languages are used in order to create an atmosphere of ambiguity, which gives the audiences much imagination. Then, the following parts will provide concrete examples from some classic movies and TV plays.
3.1 Pragmatic vagueness in metaphorical utterances
Metaphor,meiosis, irony and exaggeration of metaphorical utterances are rhetorical devices frequently used in lines of films and TV series. Take the film Forrest Gump as an example. The lines of the film are typical examples of pragmatic vagueness of lines in the film. “My Momma always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.” This is an utterance by the main character Foster. His mother compared the future life to a box of chocolate. From his utterance, the audiences may feel that life is like a chocolate and the next box of chocolate in life are unpredictable. Foster’s mother just chooses to use such a kind of vague language to express her endless love and encouragement to her son. Besides, she expresses her beautiful wish that her son is to be brave enough to face the unknown future. It is just the words that made Foster always kept optimistic attitude towards life and faced various difficulties and challenges. Therefore, he deserved the success of life. The application of the vague language in the sentence enhances the expressive force and provides a broader room for audience imagination.
Another example is the movie Titanic. When Titanic is about to sink, a father said to his daughter, “It's goodbye for a little while. Only for a little while. Another boat is for Daddy. This boat is for Mummy and children. You hold Mummy’s hand and be a good little gir1.” This is a typical example of meiosis on pragmatic vagueness. At the time when Titanic is to sink, people who did not get on the lifeboat were destined to die. The words that the father said to his daughter may be the last words to his daughter, however, he was still able to say it so calmly and softly say that most audiences are deeply moved by the father’s love and feel sorry to his fate. The use of vague language in the movie highlights that the father is reluctant to separate from his family and the helplessness attitude towards death. Meanwhile, the vague language also creates a desolate atmosphere for the movie plot.
3.2Pragmatic vagueness in non-metaphorical utterances
Pragmatic vagueness also exists in the non-metaphorical sentences. This kind of vagueness is represented by ratherish, vague, general, ambiguous and confusing features. All these features create a sort of vague artistic conception.
Some TV series and movies tend to quote some classical lines of previous films to create another extended meaning based on the original meaning. Such as the Taiwan TV play They Kiss Again, when the two main characters — the newlywed Zhishu and Xiangqin are on their honeymoon on the sea of Indonesia, the bride Xiangqin imitated the plot of the film Titanic, she stood at the boat and shouted loudly with her arms open, “I’m the king of the world! You jump! I jump!” In the TV play, Xiangqin was a plain girl and her English was poor, however she quoted these classical words from the film, which shows her great happiness to be the bride of Zhishu.
Another case is the typical movie Da Hua Xi You (A Chinese Odyssey). There are a lot of classical lines in the film. For example, the hero said to the heroine “曾经有一份爱摆在我面前我没有珍惜,如果上天能再给我一次机会,我一定会珍惜,如真的要在这份爱上加上期限,我希望是 — 1万年”. The line is an example of irony of non-metaphorical utterance. Since that the film is a comedy, but the director chose to use such touching words to create a special mood for the film. The funny plot and other lines make a contrast to these moving words; therefore, audiences may feel the movie funnier. A Hong Kong TV plays Legend of the Demigods is new on television. The heroine Hao Caimei also quotes the words from the film A Chinese Odyssey which is mentioned above. In the TV plays, she said these words to show a comedy effect.
4.Conclusion
To draw a conclusion, pragmatic vagueness is widely used in verbal communication and can be observed everywhere. People always choose the appropriate form of specific language to achieve their communicative purposes. However, people have to comply with a series of words with the principle consciously or unconsciously to use the vague terms. Vague language can help speakers express the significant meaning through its implicit expression. In addition, listeners can have a better understanding of the speaker's intention by studying of pragmatic vagueness.
References:
[1]Leech, G. 1983. Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.
[2]Stephen C.Levinson. 2001. Pragmatics. Beijing:Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
[3]Verschueren.J. 2000. Understanding Pragmatics. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
[4]何自然.再论语用含糊.外国语[J],2000(3).
[5]何自然,冉永平.语用学概论[M].湖南教育出版社,2001.
[6]何自然,陈新仁.当代语用学[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,2006.
[7]侯娇婴.对关联理论认知原则和交际原则的实证研究[C].语用学研究.北京:高等教育出版社.
[8]胡红辉.模糊语言与“合作原则”[J].广州市经济管理干部学院学报,2005(4).
[9]胡英奇.交际中的模糊语言运用[J].昌吉学院学报,2006(1).
[10]伍铁平.模糊语言学[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,1999.