268029848 03 01 01 JB John Benjamins Publishing Company 01 JB code P&bns 347 Eb 15 9789027246561 06 10.1075/pbns.347 13 2024026494 DG 002 02 01 P&bns 02 0922-842X Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 347 01 pbns.347 01 https://benjamins.com 02 https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.347 1 B01 Ilaria Fiorentini Fiorentini, Ilaria Ilaria Fiorentini University of Pavia 2 B01 Chiara Zanchi Zanchi, Chiara Chiara Zanchi University of Pavia 01 eng 287 vi 281 + index LAN009030 v.2006 CFG 2 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.DISC Discourse studies 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.HL Historical linguistics 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.PRAG Pragmatics 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.THEOR Theoretical linguistics 06 01 This book aims to address a gap in the existing literature on the relationship between vagueness and ambiguity, as well as on their differences and similarities, both in synchrony and diachrony, and taking into consideration their relation to language use. The book is divided into two parts, which address specific and broader research questions from different perspectives. The former part examines the differences between ambiguity and vagueness from a bird-eye perspective, with a particular focus on their respective functions and roles in language change. It also presents innovative linguistic resources and tools for the study of these phenomena. The second part contains case studies on vagueness and ambiguity in language change and use. It considers different strategies and languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Medieval Latin, and Old Italian. The readership for this volume is broad, encompassing scholars in a range of disciplines, including pragmatics, spoken discourse, conversation analysis, discourse genres (political, commercial, notarial discourse), corpus studies, language change, pragmaticalization, and language typology. 04 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/475/pbns.347.png 04 03 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/475_jpg/9789027215444.jpg 04 03 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/475_tif/9789027215444.tif 06 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/1200_front/pbns.347.hb.png 07 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/125/pbns.347.png 25 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/1200_back/pbns.347.hb.png 27 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/3d_web/pbns.347.hb.png 10 01 JB code pbns.347.toc v vi 2 Miscellaneous 1 10 01 JB code pbns.347.01fio 1 8 8 Chapter 2 1 A01 Ilaria Fiorentini Fiorentini, Ilaria Ilaria Fiorentini University of Pavia 2 A01 Chiara Zanchi Zanchi, Chiara Chiara Zanchi University of Pavia 20 ambiguity 20 fuzziness 20 generality 20 underspecification 20 vagueness 01 The relationship between ambiguity and vagueness is traditionally considered rather complex. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two phenomena, and the two concepts may seem to overlap. This introduction aims to clarify what is generally understood by ambiguity and vagueness in previous scholarship and to emphasize the purpose of the volume, also in relation to the questions that remain open about the two phenomena. In presenting the chapters that make up the volume, an overview is given of how each of them responds to these questions. Finally, an attempt is made to draw some conclusions about the novel aspects brought about by the volume and possible future developments. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.p1 9 1 Section header 3 10 01 JB code pbns.347.02mag 10 28 19 Chapter 4 1 A01 Elisabetta Magni Magni, Elisabetta Elisabetta Magni University of Bologna 20 ambiguity 20 generality 20 language change 20 pragmatics 20 semantics 20 vagueness 01 In linguistic research, the concepts of ambiguity and vagueness are often confused and frequently invoked to describe synchronic facts and explain diachronic processes. This article illustrates the differences and similarities between the two phenomena, defines their position within the domain of semantic indeterminacy, and discusses their role in linguistic change. The examples show that while ambiguity is intertwined with various mechanisms of change, acting as both a source and a product of innovation, vagueness plays a marginal role, being mainly a side effect of ongoing change or a tool of communicative strategies of vague language. Moreover, intentional vagueness usually promotes speaker-driven innovations, whereas ambiguity can trigger hearer-driven changes that unfold broader diachronic scenarios. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.03vog 29 50 22 Chapter 5 1 A01 Miriam Voghera Voghera, Miriam Miriam Voghera University of Salerno 20 ambiguity 20 intentional vagueness 20 spoken German 20 spoken Italian 20 systemic vagueness 01 In order to study the relationship between ambiguity and vagueness, it is necessary to distinguish Systemic Vagueness (SV), which is a property of any linguistic codes, from Intentional Vagueness (IntV), which emerges in messages produced by speakers in response to specific communicative needs. In fact, while ambiguity is one of the possible manifestations of SV, the expression of IntV tends to avoid ambiguous elements. This is confirmed empirically by an analysis carried out on Italian and German spoken corpora to investigate whether and how many ambiguous elements were used in Vagueness Expressions (VEs), which shows how the presence of ambiguous terms in VEs is exiguous in both languages. The almost complete absence of ambiguity and intentional vagueness co-occurring in this research seems to confirm the different nature and function of the two phenomena. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.04cop 51 83 33 Chapter 6 1 A01 Claudia Coppola Coppola, Claudia Claudia Coppola University Roma Tre | Università della Svizzera Italiana 2 A01 Giorgia Mannaioli Mannaioli, Giorgia Giorgia Mannaioli University Roma Tre 3 A01 Edoardo Lombardi Vallauri Lombardi Vallauri, Edoardo Edoardo Lombardi Vallauri University Roma Tre 20 ambiguity 20 cognitive linguistics 20 epistemic vigilance 20 experimental pragmatics 20 implicit meaning 20 persuasion 20 vagueness 01 Without taking a strong theoretical stance on the terminological boundary between ambiguity and vagueness, we suggest that, at least when considered as persuasion devices, they are quite different and almost opposite phenomena. We suggest that vagueness is effectively persuasive in that it can specifically <i>divert epistemic vigilance</i> from questionable or unpleasant contents. Ambiguity, conversely, encodes multiple meanings drawing <i>additional attention</i> to the message. We support such claims through examples from markedly persuasive texts and through the results of a self-paced reading experiment revealing differences between contextually precise vague expressions (VE), contextually non-precise VE, and precise expressions. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.05ach 84 108 25 Chapter 7 1 A01 Asya Achimova Achimova, Asya Asya Achimova 2 A01 Maren Ebert-Rohleder Ebert-Rohleder, Maren Maren Ebert-Rohleder 3 A01 Lorenz Geiger Geiger, Lorenz Lorenz Geiger 4 A01 Joel Klenk Klenk, Joel Joel Klenk 5 A01 Michael Reid Reid, Michael Michael Reid 6 A01 Thalia Vollstedt Vollstedt, Thalia Thalia Vollstedt 7 A01 Angelika Zirker Zirker, Angelika Angelika Zirker University of Tübingen 20 ambiguity 20 digital humanities 20 interdisciplinary corpus 20 perception 20 production 20 strategic ambiguity 01 Ambiguity in language and communication has recently come under increasing attention in a number of disciplines, such as linguistics, literary science, psychology, theology, and law. In this paper, we focus on ambiguity in discourse and present an online corpus which contains rich annotations for a variety of examples of ambiguity from different text genres and periods. The corpus features an annotation schema that allows users to specify the multiple attributes of an ambiguity, as well as its interaction with related but distinct phenomena, such as vagueness and underspecification. We discuss how this corpus might foster and enable the interdisciplinary study of ambiguity. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.p2 109 1 Section header 8 10 01 JB code pbns.347.06gio 110 147 38 Chapter 9 1 A01 Riccardo Giomi Giomi, Riccardo Riccardo Giomi University of Amsterdam 2 A01 Guglielmo Inglese Inglese, Guglielmo Guglielmo Inglese University of Amsterdam 20 ambiguity vs. underspecification 20 Functional Discourse Grammar 20 grammaticalization 20 typology 20 voice markers 01 Voice markers have a notorious cross-linguistic tendency towards multifunctionality, in that a given marker can encode more than one voice operation at a time, such as reflexive and passive. In addition, diachronic typological research has also shown that patterns of multifunctionality of voice markers historically come about following paths that are not necessarily unidirectional. Taking stock of these premises, in this paper we propose a new typology of voice markers grounded on the notion of underspecification and ambiguity, and, by adopting the perspective of Functional Discourse Grammar, we argue that the lack of unidirectionality in the grammaticalization of voice markers follows from their status as interface operators. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.07fio 148 176 29 Chapter 10 1 A01 Ilaria Fiorentini Fiorentini, Ilaria Ilaria Fiorentini University of Pavia 2 A01 Chiara Zanchi Zanchi, Chiara Chiara Zanchi University of Pavia 20 contemporary spoken Italian 20 cose 20 general extenders 20 non-exhaustivity 20 Old Italian 01 This paper investigates <i>cose</i> (pl. of <i>cosa</i> ‘thing’) as a general extender (GE) and marker of non-exhaustivity from Latin to contemporary Italian. The study employs three corpora: CODIT, LIP/VoLIP and KIParla. We show that the frequency of <i>cose</i>-GEs dropped in 16th c., when they started being perceived as colloquial. In Old Italian, <i>cose</i>-GEs already expressed non-exhaustivity in list constructions and, until late 17th c., were frequently specified by a nominal modifier, which however was uninformative to identify the category. Contemporary spoken Italian results confirm the role of spoken language in developing structures encoding non-exhaustivity, also in a dialogical sense. Moreover, recent data show an increase in frequencies of <i>cose</i>-GEs. Finally, we found more variability compared to the structure usually identified for GEs. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.08bai 177 207 31 Chapter 11 1 A01 Maria Cristina Lo Baido Lo Baido, Maria Cristina Maria Cristina Lo Baido University of Cagliari 20 comment clauses 20 commitment 20 emergent discourse 20 indexicality 20 Italian 20 meta-discourse 20 spoken discourse 20 subjectivity 20 vagueness 01 The paper sets out to explore the function of vagueness served by comment clauses in Italian, that is, (de-)verbal parentheticals performing various meta-discursive functions. Meta-discourse reflects the expression of speaker’s comment on discourse to different levels ranging from the communication of epistemic commitment to the encoding of an attitude of mirativity and emphasis. In this paper I address meta-discourse that is expressed by comment clauses that assist the speaker in the communication of informative, relational, and discursive vagueness. Specifically, the strategies here investigated indicate a relation of underspecification between the speaker and the formulation to different degrees pertaining to approximation, expression of epistemic stance, categorisation of reference <i>via</i> exemplification, attenuation of speaker’s force, and on-line planning. I argue that vagueness should be related to the expression of speaker’s subjectivity and indexicality, as the performing of this function helps the speaker contextualising the interpretation of various stretches of discourse. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.09bar 208 233 26 Chapter 12 1 A01 Alessandra Barotto Barotto, Alessandra Alessandra Barotto University of Insubria 20 abbastanza 20 discourse analysis 20 face-threatening questions 20 Italian 20 politeness 01 This paper focuses on the use of the Italian adverb <i>abbastanza</i> ‘enough, quite’ when it is used as a stand-alone reply to potentially problematic and face-threatening questions. Despite its positive semantics, in some contexts, this word can be perceived as vague or even ambiguous by speakers, in the sense that it is possible to interpret it both as a (vague) ‘yes’ and a (vague) ‘no’, thus functioning as an off-record politeness strategy. To verify in which contexts this word can be perceived as ambiguous and vague, we will examine data gathered from a questionnaire specifically created and from corpora of contemporary Italian (KIParla corpus and ItTenTen). The analysis will confirm a correlation between the level of ambiguity and contexts where the speaker is asked to evaluate something strongly related to the hearer. Finally, we will argue how the potential ambiguity of this adverb is linked to its core semantics of quantitative adequacy. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.10rad 234 258 25 Chapter 13 1 A01 Milica Radulović Radulović, Milica Milica Radulović University of Niš 20 ambiguity 20 argumentation 20 perlocutionary effects 20 Prime Minister’s Questions 20 vagueness 01 Prime Minister’s Question time sessions are speech events in which questions are not only requests for information, and answers do not only provide the requested information. Speakers also exchange argumentation, so the illocutionary act of advancing argumentation can be regarded as a constitutive component of these speech events. More specifically, argumentation can precede the MP’s question to the Prime Minister and it can be part of the Prime Minister’s response to the MP’s question. The research tested the assumption that both (1) questions with clear locution and illocution and (2) questions with unclear locution and/or illocution can produce vague and/or ambiguous perlocutionary effects or consequences. Perlocutionary effects or consequences were classified into illocutionary and non-illocutionary perlocutionary effects or consequences (van Eemeren &#38; Grootendorst 1984: 26–27). The analysis included 70 question-answer exchanges from two Question time sessions. The results demonstrate that disagreements can lead to non-answer responses. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.11dar 259 280 22 Chapter 14 1 A01 Elisa D’Argenio D’Argenio, Elisa Elisa D’Argenio Università di Napoli Federico II, Università di Bergamo 2 A01 Chiara Ghezzi Ghezzi, Chiara Chiara Ghezzi Università di Napoli Federico II, Università di Bergamo 20 ambiguity 20 Latin 20 legal texts 20 locus ubi dicitur 20 vagueness 01 This paper considers the role played by vagueness and ambiguity when applied to geographic referents. Through a corpus of Latin purchase and gift contracts, dating to the 8th-10th centuries and written in the Bergamo and Salerno areas during the Lombard kingdoms, the study focuses on the formula <i>locus ubi dicitur</i> lit. ‘place where it is called’, particularly productive and characteristic in the texts, with the aim of confronting strategies employed by Northern and Southern notaries. The analysis shows that notaries use the trigger phrase <i>locus ubi dicitur</i> as a strategy to highlight a difficulty in the attribution of a name to a place and, as such, can be described as a case of intentional vagueness. Relevant in the vague use of the phrase is the ambiguity of <i>locus</i> itself which in the documents is highly polysemous and whose meaning is characterised by an interpretative indeterminacy which is context-dependent. The analysis shows that vagueness, when applied to geographic referents, is semantic, rather than ontic, as it lies in the representation system and, thus in the representation process, not in its product. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.index 281 286 6 Miscellaneous 15 02 JBENJAMINS John Benjamins Publishing Company 01 John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam/Philadelphia NL 02 October 2024 20241015 2024 John Benjamins B.V. 02 WORLD 13 15 9789027215444 01 JB 3 John Benjamins e-Platform 03 jbe-platform.com 09 WORLD 10 20241015 01 00 115.00 EUR R 01 00 97.00 GBP Z 01 gen 00 149.00 USD S 201029847 03 01 01 JB John Benjamins Publishing Company 01 JB code P&bns 347 Hb 15 9789027215444 13 2024026493 BB 01 P&bns 02 0922-842X Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 347 01 pbns.347 01 https://benjamins.com 02 https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.347 1 B01 Ilaria Fiorentini Fiorentini, Ilaria Ilaria Fiorentini University of Pavia 2 B01 Chiara Zanchi Zanchi, Chiara Chiara Zanchi University of Pavia 01 eng 287 vi 281 + index LAN009030 v.2006 CFG 2 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.DISC Discourse studies 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.HL Historical linguistics 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.PRAG Pragmatics 24 JB Subject Scheme LIN.THEOR Theoretical linguistics 06 01 This book aims to address a gap in the existing literature on the relationship between vagueness and ambiguity, as well as on their differences and similarities, both in synchrony and diachrony, and taking into consideration their relation to language use. The book is divided into two parts, which address specific and broader research questions from different perspectives. The former part examines the differences between ambiguity and vagueness from a bird-eye perspective, with a particular focus on their respective functions and roles in language change. It also presents innovative linguistic resources and tools for the study of these phenomena. The second part contains case studies on vagueness and ambiguity in language change and use. It considers different strategies and languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Medieval Latin, and Old Italian. The readership for this volume is broad, encompassing scholars in a range of disciplines, including pragmatics, spoken discourse, conversation analysis, discourse genres (political, commercial, notarial discourse), corpus studies, language change, pragmaticalization, and language typology. 04 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/475/pbns.347.png 04 03 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/475_jpg/9789027215444.jpg 04 03 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/475_tif/9789027215444.tif 06 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/1200_front/pbns.347.hb.png 07 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/125/pbns.347.png 25 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/1200_back/pbns.347.hb.png 27 09 01 https://benjamins.com/covers/3d_web/pbns.347.hb.png 10 01 JB code pbns.347.toc v vi 2 Miscellaneous 1 10 01 JB code pbns.347.01fio 1 8 8 Chapter 2 1 A01 Ilaria Fiorentini Fiorentini, Ilaria Ilaria Fiorentini University of Pavia 2 A01 Chiara Zanchi Zanchi, Chiara Chiara Zanchi University of Pavia 20 ambiguity 20 fuzziness 20 generality 20 underspecification 20 vagueness 01 The relationship between ambiguity and vagueness is traditionally considered rather complex. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two phenomena, and the two concepts may seem to overlap. This introduction aims to clarify what is generally understood by ambiguity and vagueness in previous scholarship and to emphasize the purpose of the volume, also in relation to the questions that remain open about the two phenomena. In presenting the chapters that make up the volume, an overview is given of how each of them responds to these questions. Finally, an attempt is made to draw some conclusions about the novel aspects brought about by the volume and possible future developments. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.p1 9 1 Section header 3 10 01 JB code pbns.347.02mag 10 28 19 Chapter 4 1 A01 Elisabetta Magni Magni, Elisabetta Elisabetta Magni University of Bologna 20 ambiguity 20 generality 20 language change 20 pragmatics 20 semantics 20 vagueness 01 In linguistic research, the concepts of ambiguity and vagueness are often confused and frequently invoked to describe synchronic facts and explain diachronic processes. This article illustrates the differences and similarities between the two phenomena, defines their position within the domain of semantic indeterminacy, and discusses their role in linguistic change. The examples show that while ambiguity is intertwined with various mechanisms of change, acting as both a source and a product of innovation, vagueness plays a marginal role, being mainly a side effect of ongoing change or a tool of communicative strategies of vague language. Moreover, intentional vagueness usually promotes speaker-driven innovations, whereas ambiguity can trigger hearer-driven changes that unfold broader diachronic scenarios. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.03vog 29 50 22 Chapter 5 1 A01 Miriam Voghera Voghera, Miriam Miriam Voghera University of Salerno 20 ambiguity 20 intentional vagueness 20 spoken German 20 spoken Italian 20 systemic vagueness 01 In order to study the relationship between ambiguity and vagueness, it is necessary to distinguish Systemic Vagueness (SV), which is a property of any linguistic codes, from Intentional Vagueness (IntV), which emerges in messages produced by speakers in response to specific communicative needs. In fact, while ambiguity is one of the possible manifestations of SV, the expression of IntV tends to avoid ambiguous elements. This is confirmed empirically by an analysis carried out on Italian and German spoken corpora to investigate whether and how many ambiguous elements were used in Vagueness Expressions (VEs), which shows how the presence of ambiguous terms in VEs is exiguous in both languages. The almost complete absence of ambiguity and intentional vagueness co-occurring in this research seems to confirm the different nature and function of the two phenomena. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.04cop 51 83 33 Chapter 6 1 A01 Claudia Coppola Coppola, Claudia Claudia Coppola University Roma Tre | Università della Svizzera Italiana 2 A01 Giorgia Mannaioli Mannaioli, Giorgia Giorgia Mannaioli University Roma Tre 3 A01 Edoardo Lombardi Vallauri Lombardi Vallauri, Edoardo Edoardo Lombardi Vallauri University Roma Tre 20 ambiguity 20 cognitive linguistics 20 epistemic vigilance 20 experimental pragmatics 20 implicit meaning 20 persuasion 20 vagueness 01 Without taking a strong theoretical stance on the terminological boundary between ambiguity and vagueness, we suggest that, at least when considered as persuasion devices, they are quite different and almost opposite phenomena. We suggest that vagueness is effectively persuasive in that it can specifically <i>divert epistemic vigilance</i> from questionable or unpleasant contents. Ambiguity, conversely, encodes multiple meanings drawing <i>additional attention</i> to the message. We support such claims through examples from markedly persuasive texts and through the results of a self-paced reading experiment revealing differences between contextually precise vague expressions (VE), contextually non-precise VE, and precise expressions. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.05ach 84 108 25 Chapter 7 1 A01 Asya Achimova Achimova, Asya Asya Achimova 2 A01 Maren Ebert-Rohleder Ebert-Rohleder, Maren Maren Ebert-Rohleder 3 A01 Lorenz Geiger Geiger, Lorenz Lorenz Geiger 4 A01 Joel Klenk Klenk, Joel Joel Klenk 5 A01 Michael Reid Reid, Michael Michael Reid 6 A01 Thalia Vollstedt Vollstedt, Thalia Thalia Vollstedt 7 A01 Angelika Zirker Zirker, Angelika Angelika Zirker University of Tübingen 20 ambiguity 20 digital humanities 20 interdisciplinary corpus 20 perception 20 production 20 strategic ambiguity 01 Ambiguity in language and communication has recently come under increasing attention in a number of disciplines, such as linguistics, literary science, psychology, theology, and law. In this paper, we focus on ambiguity in discourse and present an online corpus which contains rich annotations for a variety of examples of ambiguity from different text genres and periods. The corpus features an annotation schema that allows users to specify the multiple attributes of an ambiguity, as well as its interaction with related but distinct phenomena, such as vagueness and underspecification. We discuss how this corpus might foster and enable the interdisciplinary study of ambiguity. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.p2 109 1 Section header 8 10 01 JB code pbns.347.06gio 110 147 38 Chapter 9 1 A01 Riccardo Giomi Giomi, Riccardo Riccardo Giomi University of Amsterdam 2 A01 Guglielmo Inglese Inglese, Guglielmo Guglielmo Inglese University of Amsterdam 20 ambiguity vs. underspecification 20 Functional Discourse Grammar 20 grammaticalization 20 typology 20 voice markers 01 Voice markers have a notorious cross-linguistic tendency towards multifunctionality, in that a given marker can encode more than one voice operation at a time, such as reflexive and passive. In addition, diachronic typological research has also shown that patterns of multifunctionality of voice markers historically come about following paths that are not necessarily unidirectional. Taking stock of these premises, in this paper we propose a new typology of voice markers grounded on the notion of underspecification and ambiguity, and, by adopting the perspective of Functional Discourse Grammar, we argue that the lack of unidirectionality in the grammaticalization of voice markers follows from their status as interface operators. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.07fio 148 176 29 Chapter 10 1 A01 Ilaria Fiorentini Fiorentini, Ilaria Ilaria Fiorentini University of Pavia 2 A01 Chiara Zanchi Zanchi, Chiara Chiara Zanchi University of Pavia 20 contemporary spoken Italian 20 cose 20 general extenders 20 non-exhaustivity 20 Old Italian 01 This paper investigates <i>cose</i> (pl. of <i>cosa</i> ‘thing’) as a general extender (GE) and marker of non-exhaustivity from Latin to contemporary Italian. The study employs three corpora: CODIT, LIP/VoLIP and KIParla. We show that the frequency of <i>cose</i>-GEs dropped in 16th c., when they started being perceived as colloquial. In Old Italian, <i>cose</i>-GEs already expressed non-exhaustivity in list constructions and, until late 17th c., were frequently specified by a nominal modifier, which however was uninformative to identify the category. Contemporary spoken Italian results confirm the role of spoken language in developing structures encoding non-exhaustivity, also in a dialogical sense. Moreover, recent data show an increase in frequencies of <i>cose</i>-GEs. Finally, we found more variability compared to the structure usually identified for GEs. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.08bai 177 207 31 Chapter 11 1 A01 Maria Cristina Lo Baido Lo Baido, Maria Cristina Maria Cristina Lo Baido University of Cagliari 20 comment clauses 20 commitment 20 emergent discourse 20 indexicality 20 Italian 20 meta-discourse 20 spoken discourse 20 subjectivity 20 vagueness 01 The paper sets out to explore the function of vagueness served by comment clauses in Italian, that is, (de-)verbal parentheticals performing various meta-discursive functions. Meta-discourse reflects the expression of speaker’s comment on discourse to different levels ranging from the communication of epistemic commitment to the encoding of an attitude of mirativity and emphasis. In this paper I address meta-discourse that is expressed by comment clauses that assist the speaker in the communication of informative, relational, and discursive vagueness. Specifically, the strategies here investigated indicate a relation of underspecification between the speaker and the formulation to different degrees pertaining to approximation, expression of epistemic stance, categorisation of reference <i>via</i> exemplification, attenuation of speaker’s force, and on-line planning. I argue that vagueness should be related to the expression of speaker’s subjectivity and indexicality, as the performing of this function helps the speaker contextualising the interpretation of various stretches of discourse. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.09bar 208 233 26 Chapter 12 1 A01 Alessandra Barotto Barotto, Alessandra Alessandra Barotto University of Insubria 20 abbastanza 20 discourse analysis 20 face-threatening questions 20 Italian 20 politeness 01 This paper focuses on the use of the Italian adverb <i>abbastanza</i> ‘enough, quite’ when it is used as a stand-alone reply to potentially problematic and face-threatening questions. Despite its positive semantics, in some contexts, this word can be perceived as vague or even ambiguous by speakers, in the sense that it is possible to interpret it both as a (vague) ‘yes’ and a (vague) ‘no’, thus functioning as an off-record politeness strategy. To verify in which contexts this word can be perceived as ambiguous and vague, we will examine data gathered from a questionnaire specifically created and from corpora of contemporary Italian (KIParla corpus and ItTenTen). The analysis will confirm a correlation between the level of ambiguity and contexts where the speaker is asked to evaluate something strongly related to the hearer. Finally, we will argue how the potential ambiguity of this adverb is linked to its core semantics of quantitative adequacy. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.10rad 234 258 25 Chapter 13 1 A01 Milica Radulović Radulović, Milica Milica Radulović University of Niš 20 ambiguity 20 argumentation 20 perlocutionary effects 20 Prime Minister’s Questions 20 vagueness 01 Prime Minister’s Question time sessions are speech events in which questions are not only requests for information, and answers do not only provide the requested information. Speakers also exchange argumentation, so the illocutionary act of advancing argumentation can be regarded as a constitutive component of these speech events. More specifically, argumentation can precede the MP’s question to the Prime Minister and it can be part of the Prime Minister’s response to the MP’s question. The research tested the assumption that both (1) questions with clear locution and illocution and (2) questions with unclear locution and/or illocution can produce vague and/or ambiguous perlocutionary effects or consequences. Perlocutionary effects or consequences were classified into illocutionary and non-illocutionary perlocutionary effects or consequences (van Eemeren &#38; Grootendorst 1984: 26–27). The analysis included 70 question-answer exchanges from two Question time sessions. The results demonstrate that disagreements can lead to non-answer responses. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.11dar 259 280 22 Chapter 14 1 A01 Elisa D’Argenio D’Argenio, Elisa Elisa D’Argenio Università di Napoli Federico II, Università di Bergamo 2 A01 Chiara Ghezzi Ghezzi, Chiara Chiara Ghezzi Università di Napoli Federico II, Università di Bergamo 20 ambiguity 20 Latin 20 legal texts 20 locus ubi dicitur 20 vagueness 01 This paper considers the role played by vagueness and ambiguity when applied to geographic referents. Through a corpus of Latin purchase and gift contracts, dating to the 8th-10th centuries and written in the Bergamo and Salerno areas during the Lombard kingdoms, the study focuses on the formula <i>locus ubi dicitur</i> lit. ‘place where it is called’, particularly productive and characteristic in the texts, with the aim of confronting strategies employed by Northern and Southern notaries. The analysis shows that notaries use the trigger phrase <i>locus ubi dicitur</i> as a strategy to highlight a difficulty in the attribution of a name to a place and, as such, can be described as a case of intentional vagueness. Relevant in the vague use of the phrase is the ambiguity of <i>locus</i> itself which in the documents is highly polysemous and whose meaning is characterised by an interpretative indeterminacy which is context-dependent. The analysis shows that vagueness, when applied to geographic referents, is semantic, rather than ontic, as it lies in the representation system and, thus in the representation process, not in its product. 10 01 JB code pbns.347.index 281 286 6 Miscellaneous 15 02 JBENJAMINS John Benjamins Publishing Company 01 John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam/Philadelphia NL 02 October 2024 20241015 2024 John Benjamins B.V. 02 WORLD 01 JB 1 John Benjamins Publishing Company +31 20 6304747 +31 20 6739773 bookorder@benjamins.nl 01 https://benjamins.com 01 WORLD US CA MX 10 20241015 01 02 JB 1 00 115.00 EUR R 02 02 JB 1 00 121.90 EUR R 01 JB 10 bebc +44 1202 712 934 +44 1202 712 913 sales@bebc.co.uk 03 GB 10 20241015 02 02 JB 1 00 97.00 GBP Z 01 JB 2 John Benjamins North America +1 800 562-5666 +1 703 661-1501 benjamins@presswarehouse.com 01 https://benjamins.com 01 US CA MX 10 20241015 01 gen 02 JB 1 00 149.00 USD