An Analysis On The Vagueness Of Language And The Power Relations In A Dream Of Red Mansions

Scholars at home and abroad have been studying a lot on the theories of the vagueness or fuzziness of language, which is an im portant part in language communication. However, how is the vagueness em bodied in detailed texts? What’s more, what’s the relation between the vagueness of language and its power in communicat ive occasions? This thesis, with these questions and incentives, tries to explore the text A Dream of Red Mansions, which is a masterpiece in Chinese literature.By using theories on different features of vagueness of language and theories on language and power from the critical study of conversations, this thesis hopes to carry out a rese arch on how t he characters express themselves with vague languages and try to hold their powers to maintain their social status in this big fe udal family. At the same tim e, this thesis attempts to prove the hypothesis that la nguage is a part of, as well as the result of society, and that memb ers of the society, may use vague language tactic to help them achieve their comm unicative intention. At macro level, the materials are select ed according to four social factors(social status, education, language skills and gender) that may influence one’s power. At micro level, the selected conversations are analyzed from morphological level and synt actic level. In the detailed analysis of t he texts, Fairclough’s three stages of discourse analysis enlightens this thesis a lot.In the first part, the significance, methodology and structure of this thesis are introduced. In the second part, studies of vagueness at home and abroad are introduced. The third part is the theoretical foundation, in which critical discourse analysis, som e important concepts of discourse and power, and Fairclough’s three stages of discourse analysis are pointed out. The next part is the main body of this thesis, in which detailed analysis on the relationship betw een vague language and the power behind the texts are presented. The final part is the conclusion.Through study in this thesis, its research purpose is generally achieved. The research outcome indicates that characters in different class have the tendency to a pply vagueness of language and that vagueness of language help them hold,m aintain or strengthen the comm unicative power and realize their communicative intention. Vagueness is a natural feature of language. In one’s choice of vague language, the social factors behind the language influence them a lot. Meanwhile, communicators’ social background may influence their way of thinking. In turn, their way of thinking may help or hinder thei r using of language to hold,m aintain or enforce their power. In order to get the im plied meanings of the speakers, their language should be an alyzed in specific social contexts and with t he social factors that ma y influence the speakers. Generally, people with m ore power, those w ho have high social status, high language competence, better education experience, are more capable of using vagueness to achieve comm unication purpose. Meanwhile, women are more incline to use vague langua ge in their communication. People that are less powerful tend to use vague language to save face or escape risks. To some extend, this thesis not only probes deeper in t he theories about vagueness of language, but also demonstrates and enriches them with typical examples and illustrations.