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Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
A Study in Vague Language - IntermediateDaniel Greene, MA, NIC Master
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Who am I?
Recently got my Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies, with an emphasis in Teaching Interpreting, from Western Oregon University, where I wrote my thesis “Keeping it vague: A study of vague language in an American Sign Language corpus and implications for interpreting between English and American Sign language.”
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Who are you?How many K–12 interpreters?
How many postsecondary?
How many community?
How many legal/judicial?
How many VRS/VRI?
Have you ever encountered vague language in your work?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
1 fifteen–minute break
Agenda3 CEUs3 hours =
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Questions?
Stop me, or
Wait-n-see, or
Pass me a note, or
Email [email protected]?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Workshop DescriptionParticipants will explore the forms of vague language (VL) in English and ASL; participants will categorize vague forms into parts of speech and learn how each part of speech fulfills its functions in language; participants will develop a vocabulary of VL in ASL and English.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Learning Objectives1.List the parts of speech (POS)
vague terms take.
2.Provide various vague signs for given parts of speech (e.g., various vague nouns).
3.Provide various vague words for given parts of speech (e.g., various vague nouns).
4.Demonstrate the use of several vague gestures and vocalizations.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Essential Questions
How do people express vagueness in English and ASL?
How can I incorporate vague language into my speaking and signing?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Categories of Vague Language
Approximators
Vague Category Markers VCMs)
ExaggerationVague
Quantifiers
Vague Determiners
Clausal Ellipsis Hedges
Metonymy
Vague Inflection / intonation
Detail dismissives / de-emphasis
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
ApproximatorsApproximators moderate the accuracy or certainty of words
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague adverbsVague adverbs broaden the definition of the action or description
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague adjectivesVague adjectives describe things vaguely
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague Category Markers (VCMs)VCMs mark the preceding words as exemplars of a vague category.AKA: general extenders, general list completers, tags, terminal tags, vague category identifiers
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague determinersPrecede a noun, refer to indefinite element of its class
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Detail dismissivesVocal intonations speakers use or NMMs signers use to de-emphasize or dismiss details as unimportant, unknown, or so well known that they are taken for granted.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Ellipsis
Speakers sharing knowledge claim in-group membership by omitting it when referring to it in casual conversation. In/exclusive.
Examples: “Did you get what I sent you?” “So, shall we do it?”
You, the interpreter, don’t usually claim in-group membership.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
ExaggerationBoosting the count for emphasis or humor
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague intonation / inflectionChanges in tone of voice, body language, facial expression, sign production
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague quantifiersVague quantifiers offer vague ideas of quantities
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague numbersVague clusters or versions of the numbers they are based on
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
HedgesWords that indicate a lack of commitment as to the truth of a matter. Hedges are often used for the sake of self-protection and face-saving.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
MetonymyThe substitution of the name for the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague English words in variousParts of Speech (POS)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Approximators
About, around, approximately, like, more-or-less, give or take, or so, or thereabout, ball park, estimate, guesstimate
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague category markers
or anything/something (like that)
and/or stuff/things like that
and/or that sort of thing
and such
and so on
and the list goes on
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague determiners
This restaurant (as in “we saw this restaurant on the side of the road”)
Some guy (as in “there’s some guy at the door for you”)
Do you sense a difference between “just a girl” and “just some girl”? Discuss.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Detail dismissives
“Eh, I wouldn’t put too much stock in reviews…” (high pitch, cadence, rising tone)
“So I’m doing my morning routine— brushing my teeth... taking a shower... doing my hair... when all of a sudden the lights go out!”
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Exaggeration
A fish as big as a whale
If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand time
A million trillion dollars
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Hedges
Really, actually
Maybe, may, might, perhaps, perchance
Think, imagine, suppose
Like
Well…
Rising tone, high pitch, ending with a question
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague intonation
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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Metonyms
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)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague quantifiers
A little bit, some, few, several, a lot, many, enough, and plenty
Heaps of, loads of, oodles of, lots of, tons of...
Many, plenty, myriad, innumerable, numberless
Choke! (Hawaiian Pidgin)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Mad Libs GamePair up: responder & scribe. Fill in the blanks as vaguely as possible; e.g., if it asks for a noun, fill in a vague noun.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Time for…
P.O.S.BOOT CAMP
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
POS Boot CampWhat are the vaguest words in each POS? Let’s go through them one by one…
Verb
Pronoun
NumberPlace
Occupation
Famous Person
Part of the Body
Color
Exclamation
Adjective
AdverbAnimal
Noun
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
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.
-esque, -ish, -like, -oid
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague adverbs
about, approximately, give or take, or so
sort of, kind of
someway, somehow, somewhat, sometimes, somewhere
apparently, ostensibly, presumably, supposedly, allegedly, seemingly
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague animals
Animal, organism, life form, microbe
Invertebrate
Mammal
Amphibian
Pet
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague body parts
organ, system
appendage, limb
upper body, lower body
torso, extremities
thingy, privates
scrabula (UrbanDictionary)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague colors
Pastel
Bright
Muted
Light
Dark
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague exclamations/silly wordsOh/Huh/Eh?
Really?!
You don’t say!
No shit!
Interesting!
Whatever!
Anyway!
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague nouns (singular)
Something, thing, thingie, thingamajig, it, hoodicky, whichamabobber, whosiwhatsis, watsit, truc (Fr), da kine (Hawaiian Pidgin from “that kind”), whatchamacallit, item, bit, article, parcel, package, widget, part, tool, product, garment, file, document, SKU, device, element, container…
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague nouns (plural)
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!)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague numbers
A hundred, hundreds, a thousand, thousands, a million, millions
One or two, a couple, a couple-three, a few, several, some-odd, umpteen, scores, hordes, thousands
Douzaine, centaine, millier
The other day, weeks, months, years, eons, ages
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague Numbers & RoundingBase 10 rounding: A hundred, hundreds, a thousand, thousands, a million, millions…
one or two, a couple-three,
Douzaine, centaine, millier
Umpteen, Juneteenth quinze-jours, fortnight
Scores of, by the score
TIME+TIME+SEVEN+FORTY+FIVE, TEN THOUSAND, MILLION
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
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?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague peopleSomeone, 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
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
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?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
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?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Mad Libs RebootPair up: responder & scribe. Fill in the blanks as vaguely as possible; e.g., if it asks for a noun, fill in a vague noun.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Critical Incident QuestionnaireStephen Brookfield, Teaching Critical Thinkingstephenbrookfield.com
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague ASL signs in variousParts of Speech (POS)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
National Center for Sign Language and Gesture Resources (NCSLGR)Corpus of ASL videos collected and transcribed by Boston University, Gallaudet University, and University of Texas, Arlington, along with some videos from Dawn Sign Press
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
ASLLRP DAIAmerican Sign Language Linguistics Research Project Database Access Interface to search NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Utterance & sign videos with glossesFrom NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Full gloss of ASL utteranceSample from NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague adjectives in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
OLD
OLD+MOST
YOUNG
SMALL
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague adverbs in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
ALL-NIGHT
RECENT-PAST
EVERYDAY+fs-DAY
SOMETIMES
SOON
AROUND
ALL-MORNING
GENERATIONS-AGO
ALL-AFTERNOON
ANY+WHERE
GOING-ALONG
ONCE-IN-A-WHILE
SOME+WHERE
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Approximators in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
AROUND
LIKE
MORE-THAN+LESS-THAN
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague determiners in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus — only one found)
SOMETHING/ONE
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Detail dismissives
NMMs: head movement: shake, eye aperture: squinted, and nose: tensed.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Exaggeration
TEN THOUSAND COW
THOUSANDS OF PLAYS (football)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Hedges in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
5"I don't know"
MAYBE
NOT-KNOW
THINK
5"reluctance"
SO-SO
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
5"everything in order"Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
(2h)5"I don't know"Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
(1h)5"hesitation" Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
5"hesitation"Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague nouns in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
THING
AREA
ANY+THING
EVERYTHING
EVERY+THING
FINGERSPELL [As K-something]
LCL:5"area of state"
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague numbers in ASL (p. 1 of 3)(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
FIFTEEN [rounding]
80[+ degrees Fahrenheit]
70+ [degrees Fahrenheit]
100 110 DEGREE
45 50 fs-MPH
50s [decade]
60s [decade]
75+ [degrees Fahrenheit]
75++ DEGREE
80 90 fs-MPH
85 88 90 fs-MPH
85+ [degrees Fahrenheit]
AGE-FOUR AGE-FIVE
AGE-THREE HALF AGE-FOUR
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague numbers in ASL (p. 2 of 3)(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
EIGHT [as approximation]
FOUR-DAY THREE-DAY FOUR-DAY
FOUR-THIRTY FIVE [as "4:30-5"]
MILLION [as "millions"]
NINETY [as approximation]
NOONISH [technically an adverb]
ONE #OR TWO
ONE TWO 5"I don't know" FEW HOUR
ONE-DOLLAR FIFTY TWO-DOLLARS
ONE-THOUSAND fs-PLAYS
ONE+HUNDRED 150 (flat-O) DOLLAR
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague numbers in ASL (p. 3 of 3)(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
SIX SEVEN MORNING
TEN FIFTEEN DEGREE
TEN THOUSAND [rounding]
THREE-DAY FOUR-DAY
THREE-DOLLARS FOUR-DOLLARS
TIME THREE FOUR MORNING
TIME+FIVE [as approximation]
TIME+NINE [as approximation]
TIME+NINE+THIRTY [rounding]
TIME+SEVEN+FORTY-FIVE [rounding]
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague pronouns in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
SOMETHING/ONE
ANY+ONE
(indexing is vague, too, if it’s not topicalized)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague quantifiers in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
MANY
SOME
LITTLE-BIT
A-LOT
FEW
ANY
[ENOUGH & PLENTY are vague quantifiers, but did not appear in NCSLGR]
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague Category Markers VCMs in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
ETC [like TIME-PASSING]
FALL-INTO-PLACE
VARIOUS
EVERYTHING [like INCLUDE]
COUNT-ON-FINGERS
LONG-LIST
THAT [as "and that"]
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Vague verbs in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)
#DO
DO
STAY-AWAKE-ALL-NIGHT
TIME-PASSING
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
“Immigrants” NCSLGR CorpusSteven McCullough
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
“Accident” NCSLGR CorpusMichael Schlang
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Wrinkled vs. Tensed NoseFrom NCSLGR Corpus
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Politeness in ASL
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign ItPoliteness in American Sign Language (Hoza, 2007)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Requests and denials in ASLVaried risk to face, rank of request difficulty, and power differential
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
ActivitySign responding to prompts Hoza assigned participants.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Polite Pucker (pp)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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
DON’T MIND/ppFigures 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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
DON’T MIND/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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
DON’T MIND/pgFigures 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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
DON’T MIND/pg.-frownFigures 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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
“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.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
“WELL” is not always “well”“WELL”(one-hand; circular movement), FEEL A-LITTLE/pg-frown AWKWARD, I/tight lips, “WELL”/pg-frown. REALLY I TIGHT-BUDGET/pg. DON’T-MIND I BORROW FIFTY DOLLAR, “WELL”(two hands; circular movement)/pg-frown,q. #IF/cond, CHECK NEXT WEEK/t, I WILL PAY-YOU NEXT-WEEK, WILL, I/nod.
[translation: Well, um. This feels a little awkward, really. My budget’s really tight. Would you mind letting me borrow 50 dollars? Is there any way you could do that? If you can, I’ll pay you back on payday next week, really I will.] (Hoza, 2007, p. 177 [original emphasis])
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
“well/what/,” part:indef, 5HPU, WELL
Four different terms for the same vague gesture that can occur with hedges, vague determiners, or as vague category markers (VCMs).
“/well-what/” (Emmorey, 1999)
Part:indef = “indefinite particle” (Conlin, Hagstrom, & Neidle, 2003)
5HPU = “‘5’ Hand Palm Up” (Roush, 2007)
WELL (Hoza, 2007)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
SOMETHING/ONE (2h)part:indef BOAT SINK NEAR CAPECOD (2h)part:indef‘Some boat or other sank near Cape Cod (I think).’
Conlin, Hagstrom, & Needle, 2003, p. 9, example 25. Deaf signer: Norma Bowers-Tourangeau.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Example of 5HPU in Polite ASLCourtesy of Danny Roush. Deaf actor: Anthony Natale.
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
WELL (one-hand, movement forward)/browraise
Roush reports that the first type, 5HPU(1), is used to convey, “I’m done. Go ahead” or “The floor is yours,” and the second type, 5HPU(2), conveys that the speaker should “Keep talking” (Roush, 2007, as cited in Hoza, 2011).
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
“…or anything” as a VCM
“NHS Nurse: Er. any intense headache or mental confusion or anything?”
“In the first example given above, the patient is directed to understand this as a category of ‘symptoms of ill health relating to the head or mental awareness.’” (Adolphs, Atkins, & Harvey, 2007)
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Incorporating part:indef into ASL interpretations of English VCMs
“NHS Nurse: ‘Er. any intense headache or mental confusion or anything?’” (Adolphs, Atkins, & Harvey, 2007)
Interpreter: part:indef HEADACHE, CONFUSE, part:indef? (Greene, 2013)
Interpreter: part:indef HEADACHE, CONFUSE, OTHER part:indef?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Activity: Sign translations of questions quoted in Adolphs, Atkins, & Harvey
NHS Nurse: Er. any intense headache or mental confusion or anything?
NHS Nurse: No shortness of breath or gasping for breath or anything?
NHS Nurse: …so there’s no swelling anywhere near your face or anything?
Created by Daniel Greene in 2013
Contact me @ [email protected]