Ambiguity

Ambiguity

1. There are some ways of classifying ambiguity. Hurford and Hesley (1983:128) group ambiguity into two, lexical and structural ambiguity.

2. Kess (1992:133), categorizes ambiguity into three levels: lexical ambiguity, surface structure ambiguity and deep or underlying structure ambiguity.

3. Types of Structural Ambiguity

   • Type 1 : VP + NP + PP
     • The girl hit the boy with a book
       • The sentence may mean ‘The girl hit the boy using a book’ or ‘The boy is holding a book when the girl hit him
         • This type of ambiguity occurs since the prepositional phrase ‘with a book’ can modify two nouns ‘the girl or the boy’, either of which can be treated as its antecedent
   • Type 2 : Gerund + VP
     • Visiting relatives can be boring
       • The second type of ambiguity has the construction a gerund followed by a verb
         • The example sentence is ambiguous because ‘visiting relatives’ can be understood in two ways: as a compound noun and as a noun phrase consisting of a modifier plus a noun.
   • Type 3 : VP + NP + more…than + NP
     • Jerry loves the fans more than Sally
       • This third type of ambiguity concerns comparative degree
         • It is ambiguous because the shortened version may function as the subject of the second (shortened) clause or as the object of the verb ‘love’ which is in comparative relation with ‘the fans’.
   • Type 4 : VP + NP + PP1 + PP2
     • Put the bottle on the table in the kitchen.
       • The sentence above is ambiguous since the first modifier ‘on the table’ can modify the closest NP or PP2
         • It is not clear whether ‘on the table’ modifies ‘the bottle’ or ‘in the kitchen’. If it modifies ‘the bottle’, it means that the bottle is already on the table and should be put in the kitchen
   • Type 5 : NP + Adj. Claus
     • The teacher thanked the students who had given her some flowers
       • This fifth sentence can be ambiguous because it can be written in two versions with absolutely different meaning
         • In spoken language, the first sentence is uttered without juncture, while the second with juncture between the antecedent (NP) and the Adjective clause.