Turkish EFL learners' use of vague language in speaking

Vague Language – a less precise form of language we deliberately use - has been of interest to many researchers over the last two decades since it is highly significant in everyday language. This study sets out to determine how Turkish L2 learners' use of vague language differ from native English speakers (NESs) in terms of frequency, and to reveal correlation between the proficiency level and gender of Turkish L2 learners and their use of vague expressions. Data indicated the most and least frequently used vague expressions in the following five types of vague expressions: (i) placeholder words, (ii) vague category identifiers, (iii) vague quantifiers, (iv) approximators, and (v) hedging expressions. A careful scrutiny of the data illustrated differing frequencies of use of some of these vague expression categories. The participants of the study were 27 male students with a low and high level of English, 24 female students with a low and high level of English and Turkish L2 speakers of English and English L1 speakers. The current analysis provides significant insight into different patterns of vague expression use in terms of English learner's level of English and gender, and thus constitutes pioneering research in the subfield of VL use specific to Turkish learners of English. The results suggested that there are some certain sets of vague expressions, which are pervasive feature of the English L1 speakers' speech, employed by both female and male Turkish L2 learners with the aim of managing the fluency of conversation. Considerably, while VL is mostly used in conversations, ironically it is not thoroughly included in English course books and taught at schools. Key Words: Vague Language, Turkish L2 Learners, Turkish Male and Female L2 learners, Native Speakers of English.