Lexical Ambiguity and Syntactic Ambiguity

​Lexical Ambiguity

"Lexical ambiguity is the potential for multiple interpretations of spoken or written language that renders it difficult or impossible to understand without some additional information.​"

Ivy Wigmore​

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/lexical-ambiguity#:~:text=Lexical%20ambiguity%20is%20the%20potential,understand%20without%20some%20additional%20information

Lexical ambiguity is what makes puns and other types of wordplay funny, and unintentional humor can occur when words aren’t considered carefully enough.

​A bunch of puns & Funny words?

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​Lexical ambiguity is often contrasted with structural or syntactic ambiguity, wich complicates the interpretation of written or spoken language because of the way in wich words are arranged.

​Lexycal Ambiguity X Syntactic Ambiguity

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​Speech: Use it to make your audience consider things for themselves;

Writing: Use it to create some sort of conflit, climax and resolution.​

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​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4r8mCwefc4

​Using ambiguity in speech & writing

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​"O Rose thou art sick / The invisible worm / That flies in the night / in the howling storm / Has found out thy bed / Of crimson joy / And his dark secret love / Does thy life destroy."

- "The Sick Rose," William Blake

Blake leaves this poem open to a wealth of varying opinions regarding the meaning of “rose,” “sick,” “worm,” and “bed of crimson joy.” Is this poem about the flower? Or is it about the loss of a loved one? Why was "Rose" capitalized?​

​Using ambiguity in speech & writing

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​Referências:

​https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/lexical-ambiguity#:~:text=Lexical%20ambiguity%20is%20the%20potential,understand%20without%20some%20additional%20information.

https://examples.yourdictionary.com/reference/examples/examples-of-ambiguity.html​

Multiple Choice

Call me a taxi, please.

-Is the speaker asking someone to hail them a taxi or to be called a taxi?

• Of course he wants to be called taxi.

• Not shure. Examples of ambiguity like that can carry double meanings.

• It's clear he's only asking for a taxi.