Assignment paper

Ambiguity
2019

in
SemAnticS
English Department
Government Post Graduate College for Women
Haripur
 contentS
S.no. Title
1 Ambiguity
 Pronunciation
 Word History
 Definition
 Explanation
 Other terms
2 Types
a) Lexical ambiguity
b) Syntactic ambiguity
3 How ambiguity is created in a language?
4 Ambiguity in Natural Languages
5 Examples
 In language
 In literature & speech
6 Conclusion
7 References
Ambiguity:
Pronunciation:
Ambiguity is pronounced as “am-big-YOU-it-tee”.

Word History:
The word comes from a Latin term which means, "Wandering
about”.

The adjective form of the word is “ambiguous”.

Definition:
“Ambiguity is the presence of two or more possible meanings in a
single passage.”

“Ambiguity is the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or

more distinct ways”.

Explanation:
Something is ambiguous when it can be understood in two or more
possible senses or ways. In a language a word, phrase, or sentence is
ambiguous if it has more than one meaning.
Other Terms:
Other terms used for ambiguity are
 Amphibologia
 Amphibolia
 Semantic ambiguity
In addition, ambiguity is sometimes regarded as a
 Fallacy (commonly known as equivocation) in which the same
term is used in more than one way.
Types of Ambiguity in Language:

In speech and writing, Linguists have identified these two basic types
of ambiguity:

a) Lexical ambiguity
b) Syntactic ambiguity

a) Lexical ambiguity:
Definition:
“It is the presence of two or more possible meanings
within a single word”.

For Example:

Everyday examples include:

 Nouns like;
 Chip
 Pen
 Suit
  Verbs like;
 Call
 Draw
 Run

 Adjectives like;
 Deep
 Dry
 Hard

(There are various tests for ambiguity. One test is having two
unrelated antonyms, as with 'hard', which has both 'soft' and 'easy'
as opposites. Almost any word has more than one meaning.
"Note"= "A musical tone" or "A short written record."
"Lie" = "Statement that you know it is not true" or "present tense of
lay" (to be or put yourself in a flat position.)

b) Syntactic ambiguity:

Definition:
“It is the presence of two or more possible meanings within a
single sentence or sequence of words”.

Or

“If ambiguity is in a sentence or clause it is called as syntactic

ambiguity”.
For Example:
Consider the structurally ambiguous sentences:

 “The chicken is ready to eat”.

It could be used to describe either a hungry chicken or a broiled

chicken?

 "John enjoys painting his models nude."

Who is nude?

 "Visiting relatives can be so boring."

Who is doing the visiting?

“BECAUSE”:

Because can be ambiguous.

 “I didn't go to the party because Mary was there”

It may mean that Mary's presence dissuaded me from going or that I
went to sample the canapés.
How Ambiguity is created in a Language:
We tend to think of language as a clear and literal vehicle for
accurately communicating ideas. But even when we use language
literally, misunderstandings arise and meanings shift. People can be
intentionally or unintentionally ambiguous. Nevertheless, when
someone uses a potentially ambiguous sentence or expression,
usually the intention was to express only one meaning.

As we know, most words can have denotations, apparent meanings,

connotations and implied or hidden meanings. Also, we often use
words in a figurative way. Although ambiguity is fundamentally a
property of linguistic expressions, people are also said to be
ambiguous on occasion in how they use language. This can occur if,
even when their words are unambiguous, their words do not make
what they mean uniquely determinable. Strictly speaking, however,
ambiguity is a semantic phenomenon, involving linguistic meaning
rather than speaker meaning.

Generally when one uses ambiguous words or sentences, one does

not consciously entertain their unintended meanings, although there
is psycholinguistic evidence that when one hears ambiguous words
one momentarily accesses and then rules out their irrelevant senses.
When people use ambiguous language, generally its ambiguity is not
intended. Occasionally, however, ambiguity is deliberate.
Ambiguity in Natural Languages:
You would expect that since languages are constantly changing, they
would evolve to get rid of Ambiguity. But if you look at natural
languages, they are massively ambiguous: Words have multiple
meanings; there are multiple ways to parse strings of words.

To borrow a phrase from Geography:

"The map is not the land".

Language can be used to embody ideas, but not all ideas can be
pinned down in one word. Japanese has lot of words for cultural
concepts, but those words are more defined by each individual’s
experience upbringing and social circle than by some dictionary
entry. It is hard to have an efficient culling of ambiguity when
meaning can be dependent on one's circumstances.

If you look at most spoken English, the vast majority of the words
have one or maybe two syllables at most. Many of the words we use
are quite flexible, though, having many, many meanings.

Philosophers interest in ambiguity has largely stemmed from

concerns regarding the regimentation of natural language in formal
logic: arguments that may look good in virtue of their linguistic form
in fact can go very wrong if the words or phrases involved are
equivocal. Philosophers have often found ambiguity the sort of thing
one needs to avoid and eradicate, when they do their serious
Philosophical business. Frege worried about the phenomenon
enough to counsel against allowing any multiplicities of sense in a
perfect language. Authors, poets, lyricists and the like, on the other
hand, have often found ambiguity to be an extremely powerful tool.

Senior author of the study Ted Gibson, an MIT professor of

cognitive science says: "Various people have said that ambiguity is a
problem for communication. But once we understand that context
disambiguates, and then ambiguity is not a problem - it's something
you can take advantage of, because you can reuse easy [words] in
different contexts over and over again."

Examples:
 I promise I'll give you a ring tomorrow.
(Ring can simply mean calling them on phone but can also
mean a piece of jewelry).

 He gave her cat food.

(Is he giving cat food to her or is he giving her cat some food?)

 The lady hit the man with an umbrella.

(Is the lady using an umbrella to hit or is she hitting a man who
is carrying an umbrella?)

 '[Tibetan history] teacher' and 'Tibetan [history teacher]'.

 'Perot knows a richer man than Trump'.

(Perot knows a man who is richer than Trump or that Perot
knows man who is richer than any man Trump knows.)
Typically, it is best to avoid ambiguity in your writing. When you
make statements that are ambiguous, you confuse the reader and
hinder the meaning of the text.

However, sometimes ambiguity is used deliberately to add humor to

a text.

 Some examples of ambiguity in language are:

 Sarah gave a bath to her dog wearing a pink t-shirt.

Ambiguity: Is the dog wearing the pink t-shirt?

 I have never tasted a cake quite like that one before!

Ambiguity: Was the cake good or bad?

 Did you see her dress?

Ambiguity: Is she getting dressed or are they talking about her

clothes?

 Examples of Ambiguity in Literature and Speech:

o In the poem, "The Rose" by William Blake, there is enough

ambiguity about what is meant by

 "rose,"
 "sick,"
 "bed of joy," and
 "worm,"

that the poem is open to many interpretations:

"O Rose thou art sick.

The invisible worm,

That flies in the night

In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy;

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy"

o From Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare;

Mercutio is dying from his wound, but he attempts to remain

lighthearted.

The word "grave" has an ambiguous meaning;

“Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.”

Conclusion:
Language cannot exist without ambiguity; which has represented
both a curse and a blessing through the ages. Since there is no one
"truth" and no absolutes, we can only rely on relative truths arising
from groups of people who, within their particular cultural systems,
attempt to answer their own questions and meet their needs for
survival.
References:
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/

 KENT BACH, Rout ledge encyclopedia of philosophy entry.

http://online.sfsu.edu/kbach/
 Ambiguity (2011)

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/

 Language Ambiguity: A curse and a blessing, by CECILIA QUIROGA- CLARE