摘要

模糊语是指由于缺少语言的准确性使用者对某些本身带有模糊边界的词的理解含义不相同，从而产生不相同的意思。模糊语言在生活中广泛存在，本文主要研究英语新闻语言中的模糊语言。模糊和新闻这两个概念似乎是冲突的，因为新闻讲究准确性、及时性和客观性。大量的事实证明模糊语言确实存在英语新闻中，而且发挥着巨大的作用。本文借用语用学的环境顺应理论说明模糊语言在英语新闻这一特定的环境中所起的作用。从语用的角度通过分析英语新闻语特点，概括整理英语新闻中模糊语言存在的各种形式，发现单个模糊语表义固然是模糊的，但是在一定的语境中，它所起的作用不是模糊而是清晰准确。所以应正确恰当使用模糊语。

关键词：模糊语；新闻；环境顺应理论；语用功能

Abstract

Vagueness refers to “words with blurred edges, a recurrent feeling of inadequacy of language to express thought, particularly because of its lack of precision.” Vague language is common in our life. This paper mainly explores the vagueness in English news. There seems to be a conflict between vagueness and news, as the language of news needs to be correct, objective, clear and prompt. A lot of examples in this paper demonstrate that the vague language plays a key role in English news. The Theory of Adaptation in Pragmatics justifies the functions that vagueness plays in English News. From the perspective of pragmatics, this paper analyses features of English news and discusses different forms of vagueness in news. It’s concluded that words with blurred edges have precise and clear meanings when used in specific context. Therefore, vague words should be carefully selected and properly applied in consideration of contexts.

Key words: vagueness, adaptation, news, context

1. Introduction

“Ask for more” is the advertisement of Pepsi which is one of the largest companies specializing in drinks in the world. However, the same advertisement “ask for more” is used by Pepsi shoes companies. The situation changes, and the meaning of ad is different. In the first ad, “more” refers to drinks, while in the second ad, “more” refers to shoes. This phenomenon can be explained by a word : vagueness.
Many learners have made researches on vagueness for a long time. They have given a variety of the concept of vagueness.