By Maureen Makwakwa
Ethics are the moral principles that guide human behavior and help people decide what is right or wrong in their actions (Day, 2006: 3-4). In communication, concepts of ambiguity and vagueness raise ethical questions. Ambiguous language refers to language that is open to two or more possible interpretations or meanings. Vague language, on the other hand, refers to language that lacks clarity, precision, or definite meaning (Gullvåg & Naess, 1996: 57-66). Usually, an ethical communicator is expected to express ideas clearly so that the message is understood as intended. However, there are times when being intentionally ambiguous or vague can serve a useful or even ethical purpose. Intentional ambiguity means that a communicator deliberately chooses words or expressions that have more than one possible meaning (Eisenberg, 1984: 2-5). The ethics of intentional ambiguity depend on the purpose behind its use.
Ambiguity and vagueness are similar but different aspects in persuasion. Ambiguity does not seem about meaning per se but rather about the very process of meaning retrieval to encode multiple meanings drawing attention to the message (Coppola & Mhttps://www.webcreationlab.com/services/annaoili et.al 2024). Ambiguity encourages engagement, discussion and interpretation, for instance, the phrase “things will be better” draws multiple interpretations from the audience. Whilst vagueness tones down contents, protecting them from critical challenging so that meaning is detected (Coppola& Mannaoili et.al 2024). Vagueness makes content less noticeable and relies on distraction from relevant content, for example, Joel Chigalu, one of Unima SRC presidential candidate uses a slogan “action centered leadership”. This slogan can mean different things to different people.
Ambiguity and vagueness are powerful linguistic tools that are often used as persuasive devices. For instance, ambiguity enhances persuasion by appealing to a broad audience thereby providing a chance to the audience to interpret the message in a way that fits their own personal beliefs, interest, desires among others. Mahmond (2014:1) argues that interpretation involves the act of explaining, framing or otherwise showing your own understanding of something. Therefore, ambiguous messages can be persuasive as individual attach their own meaning. For example, the University of Malawi slogan, “connect with excellence” can appeal to a broad number of audiences giving each individual a chance to interpret their own version of connecting with excellence.
Ambiguity and vagueness can be used in advertising intentionally to persuade the audience. A good example is the advert from Banja la mtsogolo which states “mwapita pachabe? Tili nanu”. The poster can be interpreted in different ways by the audience using the elaboration likelihood model which states that “ the first type of persuasion was that which likely resulted from a person’s careful thoughtful consideration of the true merit of the argument presented in support of an advocacy(central route) and the other type od persuasion, however was that which was more likely occurred as a result of some simple cue in the persuasion context that induced change without necessitating scrutiny of the true merits of the information presented.
Intentional Ambiguity and Vagueness can be used in international adverts as well to persuade the audience into taking a particular action. The advert by 84 Lumber super bowl commercial is a great way, narrative was used to persuade the audience. It is ambiguous as the adverts shows a mother and child emigrating to America and the child picks up small rugs of clothes and makes the American flag and presents it at the door and the door made of Lumber opens with the caption “the will to succeed is always welcome here” as America is the land of opportunity. In relation to persuasion, Fisher’s narrative approach states that a narrative story transcends and submerts arguments as a place in which arguments are made. Fisher’s narrative challenges traditional rational word by asserting that people are more influenced by stories than arguments.
In conclusion, intentional ambiguity and vagueness play a crucial role in persuasive communication. While they may sometimes create ethical concerns of confusion and misinterpretation of meaning, intentional ambiguity and vagueness can be ethically used to persuade the audience into taking a particular action as it encourages engagement. Therefore, persuaders need to balance creativity and clarity to enhance persuasion and understanding of a message without manipulating the audience
