Saturday, September 4, 2010
Vague and Ambiguous
Vague sentences are becoming more common in today's culture. This is because advertising is becoming a bigger part of life, and some people are apathetic. These sentences can be classified as vague if they create more questions than they answer. A sentence is vague if when perceived by others, can have many different meanings. A vague statement I heard the other day was when I was watching T.V. An advertisement I saw for an energy drink proclaimed that this drink "enhanced reflexes and stimulates your mind." I perceived this statement as vague due to the fact that it left me with more questions than it answered. I began questioning what reflexes it enhances and how your mind can become stimulated? What stimulates your mind and how is it making your mind better than before? I realized that vagues sentences are found throughout our culture because they are easy to listen to. People are so fast paced today that they just want the straight information, and don't really take the time to listen to what the messages may imply. These messages can be vague or ambiguous, meaning that they leave us with more questions, or can be completely unclear to the listener.
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Hey tonker, I also learned about what you mentioned recently in my Bio10 class. Basically manufacturers of products like energy drinks use purposely vague statements in order to make sales! They use these vague statements in order to get around laws that would otherwise prohibit their sales due to outrageous claims. Its good that you were able to recognize these claims and question them. We, as consumers should always be wary of any items with vague statements, especially when they claim to do the impossible. Millions of dollars a year are used on useless products! Thankfully you seem to be able to see through the marketing schemes! Keep it up.
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