Interpreting Vague Language: Intermediate

Created by Daniel Greene in 2013

A Study in Vague Language - IntermediateDaniel Greene, MA, NIC Master


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.”


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?


1 fifteen–minute break

Agenda3 CEUs3 hours =


Questions?

Stop me, or

Wait-n-see, or

Pass me a note, or

Email [email protected]?


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.


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.


Essential Questions

How do people express vagueness in English and ASL?

How can I incorporate vague language into my speaking and signing?


Categories of Vague Language

Approximators

Vague Category Markers VCMs)

ExaggerationVague

Quantifiers

Vague Determiners

Clausal Ellipsis Hedges

Metonymy

Vague Inflection / intonation

Detail dismissives / de-emphasis


ApproximatorsApproximators moderate the accuracy or certainty of words


Vague adverbsVague adverbs broaden the definition of the action or description


Vague adjectivesVague adjectives describe things vaguely


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


Vague determinersPrecede a noun, refer to indefinite element of its class


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.


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.


ExaggerationBoosting the count for emphasis or humor


Vague intonation / inflectionChanges in tone of voice, body language, facial expression, sign production


Vague quantifiersVague quantifiers offer vague ideas of quantities


Vague numbersVague clusters or versions of the numbers they are based on


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.


MetonymyThe substitution of the name for the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.


Vague English words in variousParts of Speech (POS)


Approximators

About, around, approximately, like, more-or-less, give or take, or so, or thereabout, ball park, estimate, guesstimate


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


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.


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!”


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


Hedges

Really, actually

Maybe, may, might, perhaps, perchance

Think, imagine, suppose

Like

Well…

Rising tone, high pitch, ending with a question


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.


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)


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)


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.


Time for…

P.O.S.BOOT CAMP


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


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


Vague adverbs

about, approximately, give or take, or so

sort of, kind of

someway, somehow, somewhat, sometimes, somewhere

apparently, ostensibly, presumably, supposedly, allegedly, seemingly


Vague animals

Animal, organism, life form, microbe

Invertebrate

Mammal

Amphibian

Pet


Vague body parts

organ, system

appendage, limb

upper body, lower body

torso, extremities

thingy, privates

scrabula (UrbanDictionary)


Vague colors

Pastel

Bright

Muted

Light

Dark


Vague exclamations/silly wordsOh/Huh/Eh?

Really?!

You don’t say!

No shit!

Interesting!

Whatever!

Anyway!


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…


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!)


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


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


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?


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


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?


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.


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?


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.


Critical Incident QuestionnaireStephen Brookfield, Teaching Critical Thinkingstephenbrookfield.com


Vague ASL signs in variousParts of Speech (POS)


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


ASLLRP DAIAmerican Sign Language Linguistics Research Project Database Access Interface to search NCSLGR Corpus


Utterance & sign videos with glossesFrom NCSLGR Corpus


Full gloss of ASL utteranceSample from NCSLGR Corpus


Vague adjectives in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)

OLD

OLD+MOST

YOUNG

SMALL


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


Approximators in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)

AROUND

LIKE

MORE-THAN+LESS-THAN


Vague determiners in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus — only one found)

SOMETHING/ONE


Detail dismissives

NMMs: head movement: shake, eye aperture: squinted, and nose: tensed.


Exaggeration

TEN THOUSAND COW

THOUSANDS OF PLAYS (football)


Hedges in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)

5"I don't know"

MAYBE

NOT-KNOW

THINK

5"reluctance"

SO-SO


5"everything in order"Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus


(2h)5"I don't know"Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus


(1h)5"hesitation" Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus


5"hesitation"Gestures with “5” handshape in NCSLGR Corpus


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"


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++ DEGREE

80 90 fs-MPH

85 88 90 fs-MPH


AGE-FOUR AGE-FIVE

AGE-THREE HALF AGE-FOUR



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



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]


Vague pronouns in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)

SOMETHING/ONE

ANY+ONE

(indexing is vague, too, if it’s not topicalized)


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]


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"]


Vague verbs in ASL(From NSCLGR Corpus in order of prominence)

#DO

DO

STAY-AWAKE-ALL-NIGHT

TIME-PASSING


“Immigrants” NCSLGR CorpusSteven McCullough


“Accident” NCSLGR CorpusMichael Schlang


Wrinkled vs. Tensed NoseFrom NCSLGR Corpus


Politeness in ASL


It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign ItPoliteness in American Sign Language (Hoza, 2007)


Requests and denials in ASLVaried risk to face, rank of request difficulty, and power differential


ActivitySign responding to prompts Hoza assigned participants.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


“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.


“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])


“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)


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.


Example of 5HPU in Polite ASLCourtesy of Danny Roush. Deaf actor: Anthony Natale.


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).


“…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)


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?


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?


Contact me @ [email protected]

Interpreting Vague Language: Intermediate

Education

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