Ambiguity in Sentences Quiz

Ambiguity

• Ambiguity is a language situation where a sentence or part of it has more than one meaning or can reasonably be given more than one interpretation.
• Example: "I met Mr. Anane at the court" can be interpreted in different ways depending on the meaning of "court" (e.g. legal court, sports court, official residence, etc.).

Intended and Unintended Ambiguity

• Intended Ambiguity: deliberate use of ambiguity for a specific purpose or effect, e.g. in literature, politics, or music.
• Example: "The law is not an empty barrel but the House of Lords (HoLs)" can have two meanings, and the speaker can use one to avoid criticism.
• Unintended Ambiguity: unintentional ambiguity in language, which is a feature of bad writing or speech and should be avoided for effective communication.

Types of Ambiguity

Lexical Ambiguity

• Occurs when a word can be assigned more than one meaning.
• Example: "I met Mr. Anane at the court" (as explained above).

Categorical Ambiguity

• Occurs when a word is used to function differently in different contexts.
• Examples:
  • "Go round the table" (adverb)
  • "I have a round table" (adjective)
  • "I forfeited the final round of the competition" (noun)

Conceptual Ambiguity

• Occurs when a word is used to refer to different concepts.
• Examples:
  • "The battery was fully charged" (electricity)
  • "He was charged with contempt" (legal)
  • "The Registrar was charged with students' affairs" (responsibility)

Structural Ambiguity

• Occurs due to the way words are structured together.
• Sources of structural ambiguity include:
  • Unclear modification
  • Wrong placement of adverbs of frequency
  • Making clauses nominal
  • Wrong placement of pronouns

Unclear Modification

• Occurs when the modification of a phrase is unclear.
• Example: "Visiting family members can be dangerous" (family members who visit or the act of visiting family members?)
• Possible interpretations:
  • Family members who visit can be dangerous.
  • To visit family members can be dangerous.

Wrong Placement of Adverbs of Frequency

• Occurs when the placement of adverbs of frequency is unclear.
• Example: "The lecturers who watched the movie frequently commended it" (frequently watched or commended it frequently?)
• Possible interpretations:
  • The lecturers who frequently watched the movie commended it.
  • The lecturers who watched the movie commended it frequently.

Making Clauses Nominal

• Occurs when the structure of a sentence makes it unclear who is performing the action.
• Example: "The killing of the director incited the staff to riot" (did the director do the killing or someone else?)
• Possible interpretations:
  • The killing (done) by the director incited the staff to riot.
  • The CEO's killing of the director incited the staff to riot.