Daniel Greene

Tag: English

  • Vague language workshops – beginning, intermediate, and advanced

    I’m teaching a new vague language training series comprising three three-hour workshops on an evening and the following morning and afternoon. My vague language workshops have been delivered since 2009  in various formats from three to six hours long. Two pieces of feedback I have received more than once are a) that the workshop should span two days and b) that the workshop should allow for more hands-on experience. Next Thursday, July 18, I will teach A Study of Vague Language – Beginning from 6–9pm, and the following day, Friday, July 19, I will teach A Study of Vague Language – Intermediate from 9am–noon and A Study of Vague Language – Advanced from 1–4pm. I designed the series in three parts so that each segment allows more time to explore the concepts involved in interpreting and translating vague language. In addition, since some people by now have attended one of my vague language workshops or read what I have written about vague language, if those people want to skip the beginning workshop, they are free to do so. Personally, I think we will explore the basic concepts of vagueness in life and in language more deeply than ever, so I think all three workshops together make for the best learning experience.

    UPDATE: You may take these workshops online using Adobe Connect. Email Amerigo.Berdeski@asdb.az.gov to register.

    Vague language curriculum divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced

    Here are the descriptions and learning objectives of the three workshops. I hope this helps potential workshop schedulers and participants understand what the workshops are about, and I hope this helps interpreter trainers understand how I teach interpreting vague language.

    A Study of Vague Language – Beginning

    Workshop description

    Participants will explore the phenomenon of vagueness and the expression of vagueness in language, study vague language (VL) theory, analyze the communicative purposes and social meanings of VL, and consider the variables involved in interpreting and translating VL.

    Learning objectives

    1. Define vagueness and give examples of vagueness in natural phenomena and social life.
    2. Define vague language (VL).
    3. Name at least five functions, or communicative purposes, of VL.
    4. Describe where interpreters and translators confront VL and how they tackle it.

    A Study of Vague Language – Intermediate

    Workshop description

    Participants 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 objectives

    1. 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.

    A Study of Vague Language – Advanced

    Workshop description

    Participants will search written, spoken, and signed texts for vague language (VL); participants will devise and perform translations for vague texts; participants will practice interpreting vague texts both consecutively and simultaneously; participants will analyze vague language in consumer interactions and make ethical decisions using critical thinking, including the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct and Demand-Control Schema.

    Learning objectives

    1. List tenets and exemplary behaviors from the NAD-RID CPC that pertain to interpreting vague language (VL).
    2. Name five ways an interpreter might interpret VL.
    3. Develop ethical and linguistic strategies for handling VL.
    4. Create an action plan for further study of VL and practice of interpreting VL.

    Related Articles

    Introductory vague language workshop for all interpreters, presented in English

  • 14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss

    14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss

  • Milestone: 250 downloads of my thesis on vague language so far

    Milestone: 250 downloads of my thesis on vague language so far

    Digital Commons tells me my thesis on vague language has been downloaded 250 times as of today. That’s a far cry from the handful of people who read a thesis that’s bound and shelved!

    You can read the abstract and get the PDF at no cost: Keeping it vague: A study of vague language in an American Sign Language corpus and implications for interpreting between American Sign Language and English

  • ASL is not a vague language

    Nor is any language “a vague language.” Rather, every language has vague language, just as every language has specific language. Vagueness is a natural phenomenon; not everything in life is certain, specific, accurate, or clear. Since things are sometimes vague, people must be able to use language to express this vagueness. ASL has ways of expressing vagueness; therefore, ASL has vague language in it — just as English and every other language has vague language it it. Any language is too complex to be labeled “a vague language.” Conversely, it is not reasonable to say that any language is “not a vague language” — except insofar as to say there is no such thing as “a vague language.”

    Until recently, people thought ASL was “a simple, concrete language incapable of expressing abstract thought.” Research has proved that wrong. My research into vague language (VL) in ASL dignifies ASL by proving that it is capable of expressing vagueness. Can you imagine if it were impossible for an ASL user to express vague or abstract thoughts? If that were the case, ASL would be a limited language. On the contrary, ASL is a healthy, natural language that affords its users the ability to express an infinite range of ideas. That is why I say ASL has vague language, and I support my point with the empirical research I conducted for my master’s thesis “Keeping it Vague: A Study of Vague Language in an American Sign Language Corpus and implications for interpreting between American Sign Language and English.”

    I welcome discussion on this topic! Please use the comments section below to respond with whatever thoughts or feelings you have about vague language in ASL and/or other languages.

  • Writing about language using italics

    When I wrote my master’s thesis on vague language, I often cited vague words and phrases. At first I put them in quotation marks, but the quotes cluttered the pages, and by the time I was ready to publish, I wondered if I should use italics instead. I used APA style*, so I consulted my APA Manual and I found that, indeed, you should use italics for “a letter, word or phrase cited as a linguistic example” (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 105). Some examples offered in the APA Manual are:

    words such as big and little
    the letter a
    the meaning of to fit tightly together
    a row of Xs

    Unfortunately, I didn’t learn this until the day before I submitted my thesis for publication, so I had to go through a hundred pages changing “sort of” to sort of, “threeish” to threeish, and so on. I hope this little blog post saves others the time I spent undoing my errors.

    * Chicago and MLA style manuals call for the use of italics for linguistic examples as well.

    References

    American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Greene, D. J. (2013). Keeping it vague: A study of vague language in an American Sign Language corpus and implications for interpreting between American Sign Language and English. (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.wou.edu/theses/2/

    Modern Language Association. (2008). MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Modern Language Association.

    University of Chicago. (2010). The Chicago manual of style (16th ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.