Week 2, Post 2
Earlier today, a friend of mine stopped by my house to pick up some Chemistry material that I borrowed from him. He started telling me about his first semester at UC Berkeley and the cost of living in the dormitory is about $1,300 each month so he preferred to commute. He also mentioned that he works two jobs while going to school. Then he says, "Man, the commute everyday is so far." I just nodded my head but I did not know exactly what his definition of far was or where he was commuting to. My friend's remark is considered vague because he did not state a specific location nor did he tell me what he meant by far. Far could be 5 minutes away, more or less an hour away, he was unclear which leaves me clueless as to what "far" is to him. Far can also be interpreted by distance, how many miles or the number of steps it took him to walk. He tells me he commutes but was he traveling to school or to either of his jobs. My friend's statement is clearly ambiguous, it would have been helpful if he specified exactly where the far commute is. A broad statement like his only makes me ponder.
You made a very good example about vague and ambiguous sentences. I feel like these sentences are constantly used in every day language. You are right. What does far really mean? Far really could mean 5 minutes to an hour. Maybe your friend could be biking and some place that is five minutes away in a car could be considered far if he were biking. I have two managers at my work. One of them is a stickler for punctuality, and the other, not so much. If my shift started at 4PM and I was not ready to go on the sales floor by that time, he considered me late. My other manager based me being late on what time I came in through the store.
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