What Does vagueness Mean
Vagueness is the property of vague . This term (vague), on the other hand, can refer to something that is empty, lacking in firmness or without precision .
For example: "The experts expressed their bewilderment at the vagueness of the communiqué released by the municipal government" , "I find it regrettable that a candidate for president expresses himself so vaguely when analyzing the most transcendental issues of the country" , "When having to explain how he had obtained the money, the man spoke vaguely and did not give details ” .
The notion of vagueness, therefore, is used to qualify statements that do not show support or that are not clear . Suppose a teacher asks a student why he did not do his homework. The young man, instead of giving a specific answer, answers vaguely: “I was willing to do my homework, but these days are somewhat difficult for me. I got home and looked for the notebook, but the phone rang and it was very hot; although I wanted to fulfill my obligations, in the end I could not ” . As can be seen, the student does not provide a coherent explanation and only responds with vague sentences.
Vagueness can be considered a serious fault in some contexts . If a public official cannot explain how they managed to increase their assets by 100% in just one year, that vagueness can be taken as an indication of a possible act of corruption. Otherwise, the official in question could clearly explain the origin of his sudden enrichment and refute any accusations or suspicions.
Difference between vagueness and ambiguity
These two terms are usually used synonymously, but they present clear differences, despite the fact that both allow the use of imprecise language. When we use an ambiguous expression or word , we want them to express more than one meaning, while vagueness focuses on only one but makes it difficult to decipher . Through ambiguous language, the sender offers a richness that can hide more than one message behind a phrase or even a single word, while vagueness invites the interlocutor to search for a single message.
To understand what was said in the previous paragraph, let's look at the following example: "The truth is that this movie is tremendous . " The adjective "tremendous" has several meanings, and only the first two that the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy shows us are practically opposite: "terrible, to be feared", "to be respected". Therefore, we can say that the example sentence is ambiguous, since it may well mean that the film is very bad or that it is a true masterpiece.
If, on the other hand, the broadcaster had said "Oh yeah, what a movie!" , the message does not provide us with clear information, but does not immerse ourselves in vagueness: we cannot know if the work is to the liking of the issuer or not, and for this we must investigate the subject . In this case there are no terms that can guide us, but a simple exclamation that is not enough to issue a possible verdict.
In ambiguity it is always possible to resolve meaning once the context is established, whereas vagueness often presents words that never provide a precise meaning. For example, the term "letter" has several meanings , since it can be an epistle or a book in which the dishes of a restaurant are listed; if it is used ambiguously, it is enough to find out the setting of the story to understand which of them it refers to. Words like "tall" or "big", on the other hand, never provide specific data, but are always vague, regardless of the context: tall can be someone who is 1.80 meters, but also a person who is 2.50 meters.