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a. Types of Ambiguity
i. Lexical Ambiguity
Lexical ambiguity happens when a word or phrase has more than different referents which are nevertheless clearly noticeably similar in some respect Asher,
1994:90. If the ambiguity lies only in one single word, we call it lexical ambiguity Quiroga-Clare, 2003. The ambiguity where a single phonological
word correspond to distinct expressions that differ in meaning, syntactic properties, or both, is called lexical ambiguity Mihalicek and Wilson, 2011:226.
In a simple way, if a word has different meanings, it is lexically ambiguous. One example of it is in the sentence ‘I put a straw in my cup’. In this sentence, straw
has more than one reference. It can refer to wheat and a thin tube used for sucking up a drink. Thus, the sentence contains lexical ambiguity.
The meaning of a words can vary enormously given the context Jurafsky, 2009: 612. When a word has different meanings, it may lead to ambiguity. In
written language, when a word has different sensesmeaning, it may be considered as polysemy or homonymy.
1 Polysemy
Jurafsky 2009: 612 states that when a word has two senses and the two senses related semantically, it can be called polysemy. In many cases of
polysemy, the semantic relation between the senses is systematic and structured. It may be partially synonymous in that they share one or more meanings with other
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words. Get can mean ‘procecure’ as in ‘I’ll get the drinks’, ‘become’ she got scared, and ‘understand’ I get it.
Below is an example of ambiguity caused by polysemy: “Call me a taxi”
In the phrase above, call may means ‘to address’and ‘request something to come’. Because of the polysemy in the word call, the phrase can be interpreted as
‘address me a taxi’ and ‘request a taxi to come for me’
2 Homonymy
The senses of a word might not have any particular relation between them. It may be almost coincindental that they share an orthographic form. For example,
‘bank’ as a financial constitution and ‘bank’ as slouping mound seems relatively unrelated. The two senses are homonyms and the relations between the senses is
one of homonymy Jurafsky, 2009: 612. Homonymy in a phrase may lead into ambiguity.
Below is an example of ambiguity caused by homonymy: I’ll wait by the bank
www.literarydevices.net .
In the phrase above, bank may means ‘a building of a financial constitution’ and ‘a slouping mound’. Because of the homonymy in the word bank, the phrase can
be interpreted as ‘I’ll wait beside the financial constitution building’ and ‘I’ll wait in the edge of a river.
ii. Structural ambiguity
The theory of structural ambiguity claims that the ambiguity may happens in a sentencephrase because of its grammatical structure. It is in writing that
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grammatical ambiguity is particularly noticeable, where more than one structural interpretation is possible Asher, 1994:90-91.
3 Different ways of words grouping
In specifying the structure of a sentence, we specify 1 the linear order of words and 2 the possible grouping of the words. Although a phrase or a sentence
consists of a single set of unambiguous words, those words can be grouped in two different ways Akmajian 2001:155
In addition, in a theory of syntax using phrase markers to represent syntactic structure, the explanation of the phenomenon of structural ambiguity is
straightforward. An unambiguous sentence is associated with just one basic phrase marker, while a structurally ambiguous sentence is associated with more
than one basic phrase marker Akmajian 2001:183 An example of structural ambiguity caused by different ways of words
grouping is in the phrase The cop saw the man with binoculars Mihalicek and Wilson, 2011:227.
This form corresponds to two distinct sentences. The first sentence means that the man whom the cop saw had the binoculars. The second sentence means
that the cop used the binoculars to see the man. In this case, the ambiguity arises because the prepositional phrase with the binocular can be either a VP adjunct or
a noun adjunct. The sentence in which the prepositional phrase is a VP adjunct means that the cop was the one with binoculars. The sentence in which the PP is a
noun adjunct and modifies man means that the man whom the cop saw had the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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binoculars. This kind of ambiguity is called structural ambiguity Mihalicek and Wilson, 2011:227
C. Theoretical Framework
The related theories mentioned before are going to be used to solve the problem formulation of this study. The theory of English Phrase Structure
Grammar is used to identify the common phrases that cause ambiguity. The writer analyzes it with the theory of English Phrase Structure Grammar.
The theories of ambiguity and the theory of causes of ambiguity are used to identify and analyze the types of ambiguous phrases that are found in The
Jakarta Post Newspaper discussing the haze caused by forest fire in Indonesia. The writer identifies the possible interpretation of each ambiguous sentence
through the theories. As an example, when the writer finds an ambiguous phrase like “John marries Teressa.” The writer identifies the types of that ambiguous
sentence. Based on the theory that the writer uses, the phrase is lexically ambiguous. The sentence can be interpreted as ‘John performed a ceremony in
which Teressa and her lover get married’ or ‘John became the husband of Teressa’.
The explanation is different when the writer finds a structurally ambiguous sentence. When a sentence is identified as a structurally ambiguous sentence, the
writer explains the interpretations of the sentence through a tree diagram. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI