Vague Language that is Vague P in Both L1 and L2: A Comment on Gassner (2012)

Abstract

In one of the most recent studies exclusively devoted to referential vagueness, Gassner (2012) argues that there are occasions in which ‘L2 speakers of English’ display instances of what she calls vagueness P . Put more precisely, focusing on the noun “thing” as a case in point, Gassner (2012: 3) reports that while in her L1 data all instances of “thing” are interpreted normally in context, “some instances of ‘thing’ in the L2 data do seem to introduce the phenomenon of vagueness P ”. These instances, which according to Gassner (: 26) only occur “in L2 uses of the item ‘thing’”, make it too difficult for the hearer to understand what “thing” would refer to. Although Gassner’s findings have some serious implications for researchers working in the field, in what follows I shall argue that vagueness P is not necessarily a phenomenon confined to L2 discourse, but rather is found even in L1 data.