Structural ambiguity occurs when a phrase or sentence has more than one underlying structure . The phrase can be disambiguated by putting it in a sentence with some sort of formal signals which help the reader or hearer to recognize the sentence structure.
What are examples of ambiguity?
- The bark was painful. (Could mean a tree’s bark was rough or a dog’s bark communicated pain or hurt the listener’s ears).
- You should bring wine or beer and dessert. (Could mean that you must bring just wine, wine and dessert, or beer and dessert).
- Harry isn’t coming to the party.
What is ambiguity structure?
Structural or syntactic ambiguity is the potential of multiple interpretations for a piece of written or spoken language because of the way words or phrases are organized . ... Some structural ambiguity is the result of writing errors, such as misplaced modifiers.
What is a structurally ambiguous sentence?
STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY. Structural ambiguity is also referred to as syntactic ambiguity or grammatical ambiguity. Structural or syntactic ambiguity, occurs when a phrase, clause or sentence can be given two or more different interpretations as a result of the arrangement of words or lexical units .
What is the difference between lexical ambiguity and structural ambiguity?
Lexical ambiguity is caused when two words have the same form (homonymy or homophony) or when a word has more than one meaning (polysemy). ... Structural ambiguity results when an utterance might have more than one grammatical structure .
What is structural ambiguity example?
With structural ambiguity , it is the combinations of words that can be interpreted in more than one way or the structure of the sentence that allows for more than one meaning. ... Here is a more obvious example of structural ambiguity : She observed the man with the binoculars.
Is ambiguity good or bad?
It means you’re being unclear or inexact. Ambiguity is a funny thing . ... In speech and writing, however, ambiguity can be a useful tool. In your speech, you might want to use ambiguity to make your audience consider things for themselves.
What is an ambiguous person?
open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations; equivocal : an ambiguous answer. ... of doubtful or uncertain nature; difficult to comprehend, distinguish, or classify: a rock of ambiguous character. lacking clearness or definiteness; obscure; indistinct: an ambiguous shape;an ambiguous future.
What is ambiguity in grammar?
In English grammar, syntactic ambiguity (also called structural ambiguity or grammatical ambiguity) is the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single sentence or sequence of words , as opposed to lexical ambiguity, which is the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single word.
What is ambiguity in the workplace?
Ambiguity is an unclear statement, task or goal . When you encounter an ambiguous situation, you may be unsure of how to proceed because the goal is vague or you don’t have access to all of the information you need.
What are some ambiguous words?
Some common synonyms of ambiguous are cryptic, dark, enigmatic, equivocal, obscure, and vague . While all these words mean “not clearly understandable,” ambiguous applies to language capable of more than one interpretation.
What are the three types of ambiguity?
Three types of ambiguity are categorised as potential ambiguity: lexical, syntactical, and inflective .
What is a good sentence for ambiguous?
Ambiguous sentence example. Her songs are intentionally ambiguous . The ending was more ambiguous , one in which the future of the world was in question. There are a number of specific issues left somewhat ambiguous in the document.
What is Surface ambiguity?
In transformational terms, surface structure ambiguity refers to those sentences in which the surface string can be bracketed in two distinct ways , onc for each of the meanings. An example of surface structure amhiguity is thc sentence cited above, “Thc stout doctor’s wife stayed at home.”
What does ambiguity mean?
doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention : to speak with ambiguity; an ambiguity of manner. an unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, etc.: a contract free of ambiguities; the ambiguities of modern poetry.
What is scope ambiguity?
A scope ambiguity is an ambiguity that occurs when two quantifiers or similar expressions can take scope over each other in different ways in the meaning of a sentence.
