With this said, the vagueness and ambiguity of language also has its negative aspects. If you tell someone that you are sad, they man not fully understand it because the word “sad” has many meanings. You could mean that you are sad in an angry way or maybe that you are depressed or even that you are crying. With words dealing with emotions, the vagueness makes it harder to communicate how you feel and for the person you are telling to understand. Emotions are also different for everyone, so what one person feels as being sad may not be how another person feels it.
Another negative aspects of the vagueness and ambiguity of language is that what is being said can not be very clear. If someone has stolen from their neighbor, if asked if they did it they may say “maybe I did”. The word “maybe” can make it seem that he might have stolen from his neighbor or he might not have stolen from his neighbor. Another example of where clarity can contribute to the vagueness of language is in the courtroom where a lawyer may leave out some information or phrase their sentences to be more vague to fool the jury.
A factor that contributes to vagueness and ambiguity of language is that not everyone speaks the same language. As seen in the video we watched the other day, when the U.S. ship was sinking and they were saying “We’re sinking!” (which is a very vague and simple phrase), the German coast guard did not understand them and could not help because he didn’t speak the same language as them.
