Ambiguity in Language Essay - 2263 Words

Ambiguity in Language If everything we know is viewed as a transition from something else, every experience must have a double meaning or for every meaning there must be two aspects. All meaning is only meaningful in reference to, and in distinction from, other meanings; there is no meaning in any stable or absolute sense. Meanings are multiple, changing, and contextual. SIGMUND FREUD Language, being a system of communication, has a very delicate job to perform, particularly when it is being used by us humans. It does not merely communicate words as impersonal and isolated entities. Words, in their train bring a set of emotions, beliefs, customs, situations,†¦show more content†¦A brief explanation of these different types with examples is given below. (i) Lexical ambiguity: When homonyms can occur in the same position in utterances, the result is lexical ambiguity. In other words when the ambiguity is caused by a single word it is called the lexical ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity is by far the more common and its examples are found everywhere. For example, the word deep can mean profundity (What you have said is very deep.), or it can be used to describe physical depth (This hole is very deep†). In fact, 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. The word strikes can occur as either a verb meaning to hit or a noun meaning a refusal to work. Of course, the ambiguity is not likely to be sustained in a longer discourse. A following utterance explains whether a ‘bank’ means a place for depositing or withdrawing money or the side of a river. Quite often hom onyms belong to different lexical categories and do not create ambiguity e.g. ‘seen’ is a form of verb ‘see’ while ‘scene’ is an unrelated noun. We can take the very word ambiguity itself. 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