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Deadline: June 10, 2022

FRIENDSHIP GOALS:

A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF VAGUE EXPRESSIONS IN AN AFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATION:

Annotated Bibliography

Ian Paul H. Daug

MAED English Language Teaching

College of Education, Caraga State University – Butuan

MALT 203: Problems of Conversational English

Myron T. Cubillan

April 30, 2021

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FRIENDSHIP GOALS: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF VAGUE EXPRESSIONS IN

AN AFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:

Annotated Bibliography

Yang, X. Y., & Wu, Y. A. (2008). Same Vague Expression, Different Conceptualizations.

Online Submission, 5(9), 50-54. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED503004.pdf

Vague languages, such as “quite a few”, are used as a major part of our daily

communication. We may have questions about how much “quite a few” really

means. Do people from different backgrounds or genders have the same

interpretation of the same vague words? Does the vague word have its own

meaning or does it depend on the context in which people use it? In this study,

the researchers carried out cross-cultural and gender comparisons measuring the

vague words in order to see if there are significantly different conceptualizations

between the groups.

Metsä-Ketelä, M. (2012). Frequencies of vague expressions in English as an academic

lingua franca. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 1(2), 263-285.

https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2012-0019

This article looks at how vague expressions are used in academic settings when English

is used as a lingua franca. This points on the frequencies of general extenders, vague

classifiers, metadiscourse particles, and indefinite prepositional phrases. The research

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also compares the frequency of ambiguous expressions in lingua franca and data from

native speakers. The results show that lingua franca speakers use vague expressions

almost twice as often as native speakers, despite the fact that the range of expressions in

the lingua franca data is narrower. This study could greatly contribute to my research

due to its classifications of the vague expressions. It also tackles the frequency of the use

of vague expressions in a conversation which will be part of my study.

Lin, Y. L. (2013). Vague language and interpersonal communication: An analysis of adolescent

intercultural conversation. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 1(2),

69-81. http://www.ijscl.net/article_2955_406bf5694d08ef491bb010fa81c24726.pdf

The researchers used a discourse methodological approach to look at vague

language in an intercultural sense among a community of British and Taiwanese

teenagers, focusing on three types of vague expressions (vague categories,

approximations, and hedging). The results of the study showed the pedagogical

value of analyzing naturally occurring discourse. This study will help expand

and categorize the types of vague expressions that will be incorporated to my

research along with the other types mentioned from the other sources

Alkhatnai, M. (2017). Vague language and its social role. Theory and Practice in

Language Studies, 7(2), 122. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0702.05

The use of vague vocabulary differs by culture, so it's critical for the speaker to

want to learn the language of the new culture he or she is visiting in order to
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understand how native speakers of that language use vague phrases. It would

therefore be wise for a consumer of a culture's obscure speech etiquette to do so.

Furthermore, it is becoming apparent that reporters and academics have begun

to use ambiguous vocabulary to convey their messages, and this technique has

been well received. This article impacts my study on the use of vague language

in an affective communication due to its discussions of the use of vague

expressions and its use in social context.

McConchie, J., Hite, B. J., Blackard, M. B., & Cheung, R. C. M. (2019). With a little help

from my friends: Development and validation of the positive peer influence

inventory. Applied Developmental Science, 1-20.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2019.1693272

A life full of well-being and flourishing involves not only avoiding or

overcoming negative outcomes, but also seeking and experiencing positive ones.

One main source of individual well-being is the existence of positive

relationships (Seligman, 2012). These relationships increase life satisfaction

simply through the connectedness and sense of belonging that accompanies

them. Close personal relationships can fulfill the basic psychological need for

connectedness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Further, positive relationships,

through the influence they can exert on others, may also contribute to optimal

functioning.
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Jarvinen, D. W., & Nicholls, J. G. (1996). Adolescents' social goals, beliefs about the

causes of social success, and satisfaction in peer relations. Developmental

psychology, 32(3), 435. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.32.3.435

266 9th grade students had their relational goals and views about peer

relationships tested. Adolescents pursue six targets in their interactions with

their peers, according to a factor study of questionnaire answers. These targets

include : Intimacy, Nurturance, Dominance, Leadership, Popularity, and

Avoidance. Six beliefs about behaviors or circumstances that lead to success in

peer relationships were also identified: Being Sincere, Having Status, Being

Responsible, Pretending to Care, Entertaining Others, and Being Tough. The

hypothesis that there should be meaningful relations between different sets of

priorities and values was shown to be correct. I included this research article to

my study because of the peer goals that is present in a group of best friends that

will be one of my subjects in this study. This could help me analyze the

responses of my respondents from their friendship goals and personal goals.

Finn, A., & Powers, W. G. (2002). The value of instrumental and affective

communication skills in different relational stages. Communication Quarterly,

50(2), 192-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463370209385656

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The aim of this research was to determine how important instrumental and

affective communication skills are to college students in same-sex

relationships/friendships as they advance through the stages of relationship

development. Relational stages included non-unit (acquaintance), pre-unit

(testing friendship potential), unit (friend), and super-unit (special friend).

Participants in non-unit relationships rated certain affective communication

abilities lower than those in pre-unit, unit, and super-unit relationships,

according to the findings. Instrumental abilities were respected equally at all

contextual levels. There were some gender differences discovered. Since my

study focuses on a group of friends’ conversation, I also have to identify their

stage of relationship /friendship from the value of their affective communication.

Campos, J. J. (1983). The importance of affective communication in social referencing: A

commentary on Feinman. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly (1982-), 83-87.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23086193

This review of some of the similarities and differences in Feinman's and the

Denver collaboration group's conceptualizations of "social referencing"

acknowledges that social referencing is an important way of mitigating

confusion at all stages of growth, but it undervalues the significance of

recognizing action in its social context. The most significant point of

disagreement is over the significance of social referring. Although Feinman

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reflects on its role in the social development of reality, it is argued that its

significance lies in taking the communication of feeling to the forefront. This

article talks about the importance of affective communication that was used in

my study in identifying the use of vague expressions from the said context of

communication.

Jones, S. M. (2005). Attachment style differences and similarities in evaluations of

affective communication skills and person‐centered comforting messages.

Western Journal of Communication, 69(3), 233-249.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10570310500202405

Brown, B. M. (2020). Team goals – why having common goals is important, retrieved

from https://equanimityexecutive.com/team-goals-why-having-common-goals-

is-important/

Common goals are important not only because they develop creativity and

innovation but because they bring people together and encourage them to

communicate problems and results.

Dworkin, S. L. (2012). Sample size policy for qualitative studies using in-depth

interviews. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0016-6

While some experts in qualitative research avoid the topic of ‘‘how many’’

interviews ‘‘are enough,’’ there is indeed variability in what is suggested as a

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minimum. An extremely large number of articles, book chapters, and books

recommend guidance and suggest anywhere from 5 to 50 participants as

adequate.

Peter, M. (2018). Vague language as a means of avoiding controversy. Training,

Language and Culture, 2(2). doi: 10.29366/2018tlc.2.2.3 retrieved from

https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/vague-language-as-a-means-of-avoiding-

controversy/viewer

Following on from Gricean theory and pragmatics, there has been considerable

research into the use of vague language as a way of being polite. It has been

linked with the idea of maintaining harmony and cooperation within a social

group, avoiding any threat to the face of another member of that group (Brown

& Levinson, 1987). The idea here is that precise language gives too much

information or information that is not welcome or wanted by the addressee.

Locher, M. A., & Watts, R. J. (2005). Politeness theory and relational work.

https://doi.org/10.1515/jplr.2005.1.1.9

Human beings rely crucially on others to be able to realize their life goals and

aspirations, and as social beings they will naturally orient themselves towards

others in pursuing these goals.

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Universal Class, (2021) The Politeness Theory: A Guide for Everyone. Retrieved from

https://www.universalclass.com/articles/business/communication-studies/

politeness-theory.htm

Politeness theory relies, in part, on the idea that there are different kinds of face:

positive face and negative face. Positive face reflects an individual's need for his

or her wishes and desires to be appreciated in a social context. This is the

maintenance of a positive and consistent self-image. Negative face reflects an

individual's need for freedom of action, freedom from imposition, and the right

to make one's own decisions.