Caught between professional requirements and interpersonal needs: Vague language in healthcare

Defining VL is a problematic endeavour, and VL is itself, arguably, a vague concept. A wide range of definitions exists, and the lexico-grammatical realizations and categories associated with VL vary considerably between researchers. For the purpose of this study, we adopt Channell’s (1994) framework for describing and analysing VL, since it provides a systematic and rigorous description of VL used in real and varied contexts of communication, detailing how it is employed by real speakers and writers. Her framework has been applied effectively to a variety of contexts of interaction, ranging from studies into intercultural communication (Drave 2000) to adolescent talk (Stenstrom and Hasund 2002).