Vagueness, Ambiguity, and the Cost of Mutual Understanding

Abstract

We suggest that vague and ambiguous natural language is commonly used to serve the needs of the linguistic community. Specifically, some social dilemmas can he solved by variability in the participants’ behavior, which will occur among self-interested individuals only if they differentially interpret available information. Because imprecise communications are not understood identically by everyone, they benefit society in certain situations by facilitating heterogeneous choices. An experiment demonstrates that the frequency of vague communication increases in a controlled social setting when its use is beneficial for the group.