부산대학교 도서관

The subject of the research is vague language in English. Vagueness is a universal category that characterises both spoken and written discourse of native speakers of English, in particular, their spontaneous informal speech. The author scrutinises various types of vague language, their features and functions, as well as limitations of their use. TEFL methodologists and course material developers question the necessity of including vague language in language curricula. The author maintains that vague language may help language learners to express ideas by closing a vocabulary gap, and that it makes their speech more natural and similar to that of native speakers of English. It may thus be beneficial to raise learners awareness of vague language and encourage them to use it in their productive speech.