In:Vagueness as an Implicitating Persuasive Strategy:
Giorgia Mannaioli
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 350] 2025
► pp. vii–x
Published online: 16 January 2025
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.350.toc
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.350.toc
Table of contents
Chapter 1.Introduction1
Chapter 2.Linguistic vagueness: Its definitions and implementations3
2.1Vagueness as a semiotic phenomenon3
2.2Intentional vagueness9
2.3Physiological or systemic vagueness10
2.4Soritical vagueness: Logico-semantic accounts of linguistic vagueness18
2.5Contextualist and pragmatic accounts of vagueness23
2.6Vagueness and other underspecifying phenomena,
and the lexico-pragmatic approach35
and the lexico-pragmatic approach35
Chapter 3.Vagueness and underspecification as implicit, persuasive
and potentially manipulative strategies45
and potentially manipulative strategies45
3.1Evolutive and cognitive motivations for linguistic underspecification
and vagueness45
and vagueness45
3.2The discursive functions of intentional vagueness55
3.3Vagueness as an implicit strategy: Its persuasive and potentially manipulative functioning59
3.4Lexical vagueness69
3.5Syntactic vagueness86
3.6Vagueness by implicature93
3.6.1Vagueness by metaphor99
3.6.2Vagueness by hyperbole110
Chapter 4.Experimental study on reading times of vague expressions
in precising vs. non-precising contexts118
in precising vs. non-precising contexts118
4.1Experimental studies on meaning118
4.2Experimental studies on underspecification and vagueness120
4.3The experiment125
4.3.1Research questions125
4.3.2Materials127
4.3.3Procedure129
4.3.4Participants130
4.3.5Results131
4.3.6Discussion134
Chapter 5.Vagueness in political speeches138
5.1The historical and political context138
5.1.1The third republic139
5.2The corpus141
5.3Methodology146
5.4Quantitative analysis of lexical vagueness, syntactic vagueness
and vagueness by metaphor154
and vagueness by metaphor154
5.4.1Discussion157
5.5Linguistic anatomy of vagueness in the political corpus: Quali-quantitative cross-level analysis160
5.5.1Morphosyntactic level160
5.5.2Syntax-semantics interface163
5.5.2.1Lexical vagueness’ and vagueness by metaphor’s
thematic roles163
thematic roles163
5.5.2.2Thematic roles of syntactic vagueness’
omitted constituents167
omitted constituents167
5.5.3Semantic level168
5.5.4Semantics-pragmatics interface173
5.5.5Pragmatic level180
5.6Analysis summary182
Chapter 6.Vagueness in radio ads184
6.1The text genre of advertising184
6.2The medium186
6.3Methodology187
6.4Quali-quantitative analysis of radio ads189
6.4.1Lexical vagueness, syntactic vagueness and vagueness
by metaphor189
by metaphor189
6.4.2Linguistic anatomy of vagueness in the ads corpus: Cross-level linguistic tagging189
6.4.2.1Morphosyntactic level189
6.4.2.2Syntax-semantics interface191
6.4.2.2.1Lexical vagueness’ and vagueness by metaphor’s thematic roles191
6.4.2.2.2Thematic roles of syntactic vagueness’
omitted components191
omitted components191
6.4.2.3Semantic level192
6.4.2.4Semantics-pragmatics interface195
6.4.2.5Pragmatic level197
6.5Analysis summary201
Chapter 7.Vagueness in non-predominantly persuasive speeches204
7.1The corpus204
7.2Methodology207
7.3Quantitative analysis of lexical vagueness, syntactic vagueness
and vagueness by metaphor207
and vagueness by metaphor207
7.3.1Discussion209
7.4Linguistic anatomy of vagueness in the non-predominantly persuasive corpus: Quali-quantitative cross-level analysis210
7.4.1Morphosyntactic level210
7.4.2Syntax-semantics interface213
7.4.2.1Lexical vagueness’ and vagueness by metaphor’s
thematic roles213
thematic roles213
7.4.2.2Thematic roles of syntactic vagueness’
omitted constituents215
omitted constituents215
7.4.3Semantic level216
7.4.4Semantics-pragmatics interface216
7.4.5Pragmatic level219
7.5Analysis summary220
Chapter 8.Conclusion222
Appendixes
Appendix A.Stimuli set228
Appendix B.Heat map of vagueness’ absolute values in the political corpus237
Appendix C.Cross-level tagging database for the political corpus (sample)246
Appendix D.Links to corpora and sub-corpora anlyses250
References251
Index of proper names
Index
