Ambiguity

Ambiguity

1. Structural Ambiguity

   • Is the type of ambiguiity present in the syntactic structure of a sentence. This type of sentences can be interpreted in two or more different ways.
     • For Instance, we have the sentence:
       • We want more honest politicians
         • Which can mean:
           • We want more politicians that are honest
           • We want politicians who are more honest

2. Lexical Ambiguity

   • This type of ambiguity occurs because of the different meanings a word can take
     • For example,
       • I saw bats
         • Can mean either
           • I noticed many of the winged mammals called bats
           • I cut bats (the mammals) with a saw
           • I looked at some bats (The generally wooden pole used to play baseball)
           • I cut some bats (the wooden pole used in baseball)

3. Metafórical Ambiguity

   • This type of ambiguity takes place when using idiomatic expressons that have dual meaning.
     • Example:
       • Clark got cold feet
         • Can mean both
           • His feet are cold Or...
             • He changed his mind about getting married. (Which is the common meaning for this idiomatic expression)