The fuzzy complexity of language

Abstract

Fuzziness is understood here as one of the properties of complex systems. An epistemological reading of fuzzy set theory reveals that the general principles of classical logic become exceptional under fuzzy logic, and a reading of language as a fuzzy phenomenon uncovers new characteristics of the complexity of language systems. Using this approach, the current paper identifies strategies of intentional and unintentional language manipulation adopted to eliminate or at least to reduce this fuzziness. These strategies are explained in terms of indefiniteness, categorization, dichotomization and conceptualization, offering paradoxical examples and examining questions such as the indefiniteness of definitions and the resources used to reach supposedly crisp definitions. Nouns and adverbs are shown to be elements indicative of fuzziness, as elements of imprecise precision. The paper concludes with a consideration of the growth of fuzziness in the context of globalization and the emergence and development of hypertext. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.