VaguenessinGovernmentReportonPeople’sWellbeingIssues

郭東曉

【Abstract】Vagueness in language has been studied for many years by many researchers and scholars at home and abroad.Little research on vagueness in the report on the work of the government has been found.Based on pragmatic vagueness，this thesis aims at the study of vagueness on peoples wellbeing issues.The analysis is mainly undertaken on three aspects： vagueness in morphology，vagueness in syntax，vagueness in discourse.Moreover，the functions of vagueness in the report will be discussed.

【Key words】vagueness； morphology； syntax； vagueness function

1.Introduction

The government report is a mouthpiece launched by the Premier at the National Peoples Congress.It shows a picture of government work plan，including all walks of life，from Chinas policies，guidelines and routines to political improvement，economic construction，the living level of the people.Vagueness is never in shortage in all kinds of literature works and academic journals.The case is the same in the governments document.

2.General Introduction of Vagueness

Research in vagueness has witnessed the great contribution of foreign scholars.Meaning in Interaction： An Introduction to Pragmatics Learning About Language by J.Thomas indicates that speakers meaning can be divided into two levels in verbal communication： utterance meaning and utterance force，the latter is the speakers communicative intention （Thomas 87）.And American linguist Scheffler supplemented with some semantic view that vagueness is a common feature of descriptive words，which conflict with standard logic in a basic sense and are closely connected with various indeterminacy （ Scheffler 41）.Meanwhile，Chinese scholars have done extensive research pertinent to the pragmatic vagueness.Researches on pragmatic vagueness are still on the initial stage，this kind of research include： Professor Yu Dongming，and Professor Lin Bo.

3.Vagueness on Peoples Wellbeing Issues in the Report

3.1 Vagueness in morphology.Most of the linguistic analyses in vagueness are confessed on lexical level，like those of Joanna Channell，Wu Tieping，etc.Specifically，in the government report，the vagueness at the phrase level can be realized into three different types： the noun phrases，the verb phrases and the modal verbs.And in this chapter the vagueness involves hedges，continuum，and evaluated nomination.

3.1.1 Vagueness in the nominal groups.English is a language that highly depends on the nominal groups，and thus lexical meaning is largely carried in nominal groups.As for the issue of wellbeing in this report，the noun phrases are mostly modified ones.And they can be regarded as nominal group，which acts like a whole unit in the sentence.For example：

（1） to help targeted groups obtain employment

（2）And aid for treating major and very serious diseases，and conduct a pilot project to insure against childhood leukemia and 20 other serious diseases.

The expression “targeted groups” is a vague expression in terms of its number.It arouses questions such as，which classes should be included into the masses，and how many people can be called masses？ Furthermore，the phrases “major and very serious diseases” and “other serious diseases” are both abstract concepts.Since everyone has his own standard maximum degree，plus there are local evaluation standards in China，we can only get a general sense through comparison and association.

3.1.2 Vagueness in the modal verbs.The modal verbs contain a wide range of semantic meanings.In the report，the policies proposed by the government may influence the profits of many communities.For example：

（3）We must make solving issues relating to agriculture.

（4）We must make ensuring and improving peoples well-being，

（5）Greater support should be given to developing child welfare agencies，

（6）We should reform and improve mechanisms.

The modal word “must” belongs to the dynamic modality.Premier stressed the importance of the rural development within an independent paragraph.On one hand，the current state condition requires the healthy development.On the other hand，once using the modal verb “must” the promise given by the government was perceived to be credible.Another modal verb that is worth to be noticed is “should” which covers different interpretation and semantic meanings.In the above case，“should” can be interpreted in two ways.First，it is the assumption of the government for the future.The intention to conduct the policy might be less intensive.

3.2 Vagueness in syntax.Syntax refers to the way that words，phrases and clauses are structured and formally grouped.When the same phrases behind the predicate meet one or two standards of the object，complement or adverbial at the same time，the “boundaries” between object，adverbial，complement are vague.For example：

（7）A new old-age insurance system for rural residents and an old-age insurance system for non-working urban residents were established.A total of 790 million people are now covered by different old-age insurance schemes.

In the government report，the subject is blur，which makes the meanings more complicated.The subject is the bearer of the action in passive voice，this sentence “The new old insurance system...were established” gives us the main idea that the undertakings have been done.However，we may wonder who did that for us，this sort of sentence left us a vast space for imagination.This is the very place where vagueness comes into being.These expressions may have different interpretations through guess and association，the art of vagueness in expression is reflected thoroughly.

3.3 Vagueness in discourse.Discourse vagueness describes the characteristic of vagueness in news language and lies in the vague tone of the whole discourse.

（8）to established a new type of rural cooperative medical care system and a basic medical insurance scheme .We improved community-level medical and health care services.

In this paragraph，several different expressions are mentioned，which are related to the same subject： the medical and health care services.These expressions refer to the same concept，which provides a semantic basis for discourse cohesion and rejects other criteria.Therefore，from the perspective of semantic，the hyponymy is the relationship which between general and specific lexical items.This is the same case in the report，when Premier used the word wellbeing，various citizens would have diverse interpretation.It is reasonable to assume that the accurate position of the central government is not to control the development.On the contrary，it is to make local government have a space to invest and develop.

4.Functions of Vagueness

For the purpose of clearing the public，the accurate number is capable of setting peoples mind at ease.For one thing it is difficult to point out the appropriate stage of prices and employment in detail.If the specific price was indicated in the report，there would be more explanation on the reason of the decision.Due to the length-limited report，it is impossible and unnecessary to point out the details and specific entity.

It has been widely realized that vagueness can avoid the extreme judgments or bias towards things and maxim the profit of the speaker.As the top leader of China，Premier should be responsible for his statements，let alone the government report.His speech must represent the collective consciousness of the central government.It can be inferred that Premier knows very well the situation we live in.Therefore，when peoples issues were involved，he tried to stress the governments determination and shift the emphasis of discourse.This excellently conveys the artistic charm of communication.

5.Conclusion

The discussion in this paper explores the reason why Premier tends to use vague language in the report on the work of governments.And it is assumed that vagueness can bring certain pragmatic functions.Moreover，its neither bad nor false to use the vague language in the report.As the top leader of the government，its necessary to take the vague language.Premier has to control the amount of information，in order to better state the report.Exploring the pragmatic vagueness in the report helps us to understand the relationship between discourse and social interaction，and better interpret political ideology.

Reference：

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