Analysis of Ambiguities in Riddles.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..........………………….…………………………….i
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………...…………………………………..iii
ABSTRACT...……………………………………………………………………iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study.……….………………….….………………… 1
Statement of the Problem……………………………………………….…4
Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………....4
Methods of Research…….………………………………………………...4
Organization of the Thesis…………………………………………………4
CHAPTER TWO: THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK...............................……6
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF AMBIGUITIES IN RIDDLES……...11
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION.……………………………………….…26
BIBLIOGRAPHY.……………………………………………………………...31
iii
ABSTRACT
Tugas Akhir ini ditulis untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat kelulusan
program sarjana di Jurusan Sastra Inggris Universitas Kristen Maranatha. Tugas
Akhir ini berisikan analisis ketaksaan pada teka-teki. Dalam Tugas Akhir ini,
teka-teki yang dianalisis adalah teka-teki yang mengandung ketaksaan. Teka-teki
yang dianalisis dalam Tugas Akhir ini adalah teka-teki yang bermakna ganda yang
berhubungan dengan Semantik dan Sintaksis. Ketaksaan membuat teka-teki
menjadi lebih menarik. Karena itulah saya tertarik untuk menganalisis ketaksaan
yang terdapat dalam teka-teki.
Teka-teki adalah sebuah permainan yang mengandung pertanyaan, dapat
dijawab menggunakan logika, permainan bunyi ataupun struktur kalimatnya.
Ketaksaan dapat muncul karena persamaan bunyi, kata yang mempunyai arti lebih
dari satu, atau karena struktur kalimat itu sendiri. Jika teka-teki itu menggunakan
kata-kata yang mempunyai lebih dari satu arti dan dapat menimbulkan interpretasi
yang berbeda, maka teka-teki itu berhubungan dengan Semantik. Dan jika
ketaksaan muncul karena susunan kalimatnya, maka teka-teki itu berhubungan
dengan Sintaks. Teka-teki yang ada dalam Tugas Akhir ini diperoleh dari Internet.
iv
Kedua teori ini dipakai untuk mengelompokkan teka-teki sesuai dengan
jenis ketaksaannya dan menganalisisnya berdasarkan teori Dave Inman dan Kent
Bach dalam bidang Sematik dan Sintaksis. Teka-teki yang mengandung ketaksaan
yang berhubungan dengan Semantik dan Sintaksis dapat disampaikan dengan cara
lisan maupun tulisan. Ketaksaan adalah salah satu elemen yang membuat teka-teki
menjadi lebih menarik.
v
CHAP TER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
As human beings are social creatures, they need to have a conversation or
communication with one another so that they will not feel lonely. Having friends,
acquaintances or somebody who is close to us, is an absolute necessity for us as
human beings. People need others to ask for some help or just to share their
feelings. In order to have verbal communication, we have to master a particular
language. There are a great number of languages in the world and we must
definitely master at least one language. According to The Oxford Companion to
the English Language, language is “a human system communication which uses
structured vocal sounds and can be embodied in other media such as writing,
print, and physical sign.” (571). Through language people can communicate with
one another and they can also socialize with others. Without language, we cannot
have a conversation with others.
1
Maranatha Chri stian University
We sometimes find a sentence construction than can make us confused or
curious, or sometimes we can make those kinds of confusing or unusual sentences
ourselves. Riddle is “a statement or question that is intentionally worded in a
puzzling or misleading way” (870), according to The Oxford Companion to the
English Language. Riddle is one form of a game, “games can be played with the
sense, sounds, construction, or order of words,” (1125). A word can have more
than one meaning. If a word with more than one meaning is applied in a sentence,
then a sentence becomes interesting. It is also possible that maybe the
arrangement of phrases in the sentence makes the hearer confused about the
meaning.
In my thesis, I am going to analyze riddles using semantics and syntax.
The reason why I choose to analyze riddles through Semantics and Syntax is
because I am personally interested in the study of Semantics and Syntax and I also
like reading riddles. And when I read the riddles, I had noticed that there are a lot
of riddles that contain ambiguity. I come across riddles containing these
linguistics elements. Sometimes I find riddles which cause ambiguity and it
causes me to have a response of surprise when I see the answer of the riddle
because the answer does not always seem to be directly related at first. The topic
of my thesis is analysis of ambiguities in riddles.
As my thesis is also concerned with ambiguity, I also use the theory of
ambiguity to support my thesis. Based on Oxford Companion to the English
Language, ambiguity is “actual or potential uncertainty of meaning, especially if a
word, phrase, or sentence can be understood in two ways” (32-33). Generally, the
definition of ambiguity is words or sentences that actually or potentially create
2
Maranatha Chri stian University
confusion or uncertainty of meaning, or in other words, words or sentences that
can be interpreted in more than just one way. By using these theories, I believe I
can analyze the riddles competently. I take the data from the Internet, while I take
the theory of ambiguity also from the Internet.
I am interested in finding out and analyzing riddles using Sema ntics and
Syntax theories in my thesis. “Semantics may be defined as the study of
meaning.” (Crane, Yeager and Whitman 129). “Syntax is the way word is put
together in form phrase or sentences.” (Crane, Yeager and Whitman 102). In
Syntax we study how words are arranged to form a phrase, a clause or a sentence.
I have read the other thesis with the same topic but I take from different
data. I decided to choose this topic because I think that riddles are quite fun to
guess the answers of them. People will wonder why the answer is such a way.
Analyzing ambiguity in riddles is important because there are many riddles which
contain ambiguity, and it proves that ambiguity is one necessary element in
riddles.
The reason why I choose riddles as my source of the da ta is because most
riddles contain ambiguity and I am interested to find out the answers, and because
communication is necessary. I get riddles from the Internet because it provides
unlimited data of riddles. After searching for the data, I will take a note or
highlight the riddles that contain the areas of linguistic study.
(705 words)
3
Maranatha Chri stian University
Statement of the Proble m
By analyzing ambiguity in riddles, I pose the following problems:
1.
What word or statement makes the riddles ambiguous?
2.
What kind of ambiguity occurs?
3.
Why is the riddle ambiguous?
Purpose of the Study
Having posed the problems above, I make a study which is intended:
1.
To show what word or statement makes the riddles ambiguous.
2.
To show what kind of ambiguity occurs.
3.
To show why the riddle ambiguous.
Method of Research
I gathered riddles which contained ambiguity from the Internet. Then, I
read and classified the riddles into some categories, depending on the causes of
the ambiguity, based on ambiguity of semantics or syntax. Afterwards, I analyzed
the data and I made a conclusion based on the analysis.
Organization of Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters, preceded by the Preface, Table of
Contents, and Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, containing the
Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Method of Research, and
Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the Theoretical Framework used in
analyzing the riddles. Chapter Three contains the analysis of ambiguity in the
4
Maranatha Chri stian University
riddles. And Chapter Four contains the conclusion of the analysis. At the end of
my thesis, there is Bibliography.
5
Maranatha Chri stian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Riddles that contain syntactic ambiguity appear because of the
arrangement of sentence. The arrangement of the sentence makes people who read
the sentence would have different interpretation. It can be happen because of the
placing of conjunction namely coordinate attachment, the placing of preposition
like data 9, namely prepositional attachment. In data 9, the riddle becomes
ambiguous because of the placing of preposition with. In this data, the statement
take a picture of an elf with a red shirt produces two interpretations because of the
placing preposition with. It means that the picture that will be taken is a picture of
an elf that wears a red shirt. The other meaning of the statement is that you, as the
person who takes a picture, use a red shirt to take a picture of an elf. I conclude
that changing the preposition with another word can make the riddle not be
ambiguous anymore. In addition, the riddles are ambiguous because of the placing
conjunction or preposition are including in structural ambiguity. Usually, riddles
that contain prepositional and co-ordinate attachment can be explained by using
tree diagram, to make the ambiguity clear. However, it is difficult to find riddles
that contain co-ordinate attachment.
26
Maranatha Christian University
Syntactic ambiguity is a kind of ambiguity that happens because there is
an omission of a word, namely ellipsis. For example, in data 6, there is an
omission of the word can at the end of the question of the riddle. Consequently, it
makes the meaning of the question in the riddle ambiguous. The other kind of
syntactic ambiguity is categorial ambiguity. This kind of ambiguity is similar with
lexical ambiguity in semantic ambiguity. Categorial ambiguity appears because a
word has more than one meaning but the word has a different part of speech. The
example of categorial ambiguity is data 5. The word flies has more than one
meaning but this word has different parts of speech: one is Noun and the other is
Verb. Because of this reason, this kind of ambiguity is included in syntactic
ambiguity. As a conclusion, this kind of ambiguity can be accepted if these
meanings can be understood logically. But it is difficult to find syntactic
ambiguity.
Riddles are included into semantic ambiguity if there is a word that has
more than one meaning. The words make riddle unclear, make people have to
think and decide which meaning that is meant and appropriate in the riddle. The
words, which are included in semantic ambiguity, are the words that have more
than one possible meaning according the dictionary, and the words should have
the same part of speech.
As my research, riddles which contain semantic ambiguity can be
delivered in spoken and written forms, because the ambiguous words have the
same pronunciation and spelling. The examples of semantic ambiguity in this
paper are data 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. It is easy to find riddles which
27
Maranatha Christian University
contain semantic ambiguity. In data 1, the word that has more than one meaning
and makes the riddle ambiguous is organs. According to the dictionary, organs has
more than one meaning and the word has the same part of speech, pronunciation
and spelling. Moreover, that reason happens to Pluto, letter, keys, honey, feet, bill,
fan and cool. To know which meaning of the word that is appropriate to the
riddles, we have to know the relationship of the word with the other word.
Therefore, we can know the meaning of that riddles.
In this thesis, the riddles that most often appear are riddles that contain
lexical ambiguity. This kind of riddles deals with semantic ambiguity. This kind
of riddles often appears because it is simple and interesting. Because of a word
that has more than one meaning, it can be produce different interpretations.
Usually in lexical ambiguity, there is a relation between the words or a clue that is
used to analyze the riddle, so that people can understand which meaning that is
appropriate in the riddle. In guessing riddles that contain referential ambiguity,
people should have knowledge around the riddle itself. Data 2 is about Mickey
Mouse and Pluto. Mickey Mouse is a character in Disney. People who do not
know about Disney story would not know the explanation why the answer to find
Pluto is. Pluto also is a character in Disney Story, it is Mickey’s dog. Maybe
people already knew about Mickey Mouse, but it is possible that people cannot
answer this riddle because they do not know Pluto. This kind of riddle cannot
interest people who do not know the background of the riddle.
Riddle contains question and answer. The ambiguities in riddles have
some roles. The ambiguous question is used to mislead people and to make people
28
Maranatha Christian University
puzzled in guessing riddles. As my research, the ambiguity often appears in the
question. They are data 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12. Usually, for lexical ambiguity,
exactly a clue word makes the answer like that. In data 3, there is statement only
has one letter makes the answer envelope because envelope consists of 8 letters.
Even though at the question there is the statement only has one letter, so logically,
the letter in this data will not mean a written or printed sign representing a sound
used in speech. In data 10, the word three is not a random number. Three here is
about the size of a yard. And if three is replaced by another number, the answer
would not be a yard. The statement legs or arms is put in order to mislead people
to think that the answer is about a creature, because a creature has feet, legs and
arms.
In guessing riddles, people usually use the ambiguous answer. It shows
that ambiguity is one of the elements that is creative, because the answer is
unpredictable but it can be accepted logically. In this thesis, five data contain
ambiguity in the answer. They are data 1, 2, 8, 11 and 12. In data 8, honey has
more than one meaning. The statement Hi Honey! I am home is often said by
husband to wife when he comes home. It could also happen to bees which come
home to their hive. According to the dictionary, honey can be meant a sweet
sticky yellow substance or a way of addressing somebody that you like or love.
In data 12, there are two lexical ambiguities. They are cool and fan. Those
words have more than one meaning, but they can be connected. The baseball
stadium is cool because there is a fan in every seat. It means that the baseball
stadium is fairly cold because there is a machine with blades that go around to
29
Maranatha Christian University
create a current of air. Or it can be meant that the baseball stadium is attractive
because there is someone who enjoys watching the game in every seat. For further
research, it is suspected that my analysis of ambiguity can be wider in terms of not
only riddles but also jokes or debate etc.
(1.167)
30
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Crane, L. Ben, Edward Yeager, Randal L. Whitman. An Introduction to
Linguistics. Canada: Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited, 1981.
Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Sixth Edition. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2000.
McArthur, Tom. The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1992.
Yule, George. The Study of Language. England: Cambridge University Press,
1985.
Inte rnet Websites
“Ambiguity” 23 May, 2009.
“Ambiguity” 30 May, 2008.
Bach, Kent. “Ambiguity” 15 June, 2008.
31
Maranatha Chri stian University
Inman, Dave. “Ambiguity”. 2005. 30 May, 2008.
Inman, Dave. “Ambiguity”. 2005. 30 May, 2008.
Jokes. 21 March 2009.
Jokes-Riddles. 17 October 2008.
Jokes. 27 October 2008.
Riddles. 25 March 2009.
32
Maranatha Chri stian University
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..........………………….…………………………….i
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………...…………………………………..iii
ABSTRACT...……………………………………………………………………iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study.……….………………….….………………… 1
Statement of the Problem……………………………………………….…4
Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………....4
Methods of Research…….………………………………………………...4
Organization of the Thesis…………………………………………………4
CHAPTER TWO: THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK...............................……6
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF AMBIGUITIES IN RIDDLES……...11
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION.……………………………………….…26
BIBLIOGRAPHY.……………………………………………………………...31
iii
ABSTRACT
Tugas Akhir ini ditulis untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat kelulusan
program sarjana di Jurusan Sastra Inggris Universitas Kristen Maranatha. Tugas
Akhir ini berisikan analisis ketaksaan pada teka-teki. Dalam Tugas Akhir ini,
teka-teki yang dianalisis adalah teka-teki yang mengandung ketaksaan. Teka-teki
yang dianalisis dalam Tugas Akhir ini adalah teka-teki yang bermakna ganda yang
berhubungan dengan Semantik dan Sintaksis. Ketaksaan membuat teka-teki
menjadi lebih menarik. Karena itulah saya tertarik untuk menganalisis ketaksaan
yang terdapat dalam teka-teki.
Teka-teki adalah sebuah permainan yang mengandung pertanyaan, dapat
dijawab menggunakan logika, permainan bunyi ataupun struktur kalimatnya.
Ketaksaan dapat muncul karena persamaan bunyi, kata yang mempunyai arti lebih
dari satu, atau karena struktur kalimat itu sendiri. Jika teka-teki itu menggunakan
kata-kata yang mempunyai lebih dari satu arti dan dapat menimbulkan interpretasi
yang berbeda, maka teka-teki itu berhubungan dengan Semantik. Dan jika
ketaksaan muncul karena susunan kalimatnya, maka teka-teki itu berhubungan
dengan Sintaks. Teka-teki yang ada dalam Tugas Akhir ini diperoleh dari Internet.
iv
Kedua teori ini dipakai untuk mengelompokkan teka-teki sesuai dengan
jenis ketaksaannya dan menganalisisnya berdasarkan teori Dave Inman dan Kent
Bach dalam bidang Sematik dan Sintaksis. Teka-teki yang mengandung ketaksaan
yang berhubungan dengan Semantik dan Sintaksis dapat disampaikan dengan cara
lisan maupun tulisan. Ketaksaan adalah salah satu elemen yang membuat teka-teki
menjadi lebih menarik.
v
CHAP TER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
As human beings are social creatures, they need to have a conversation or
communication with one another so that they will not feel lonely. Having friends,
acquaintances or somebody who is close to us, is an absolute necessity for us as
human beings. People need others to ask for some help or just to share their
feelings. In order to have verbal communication, we have to master a particular
language. There are a great number of languages in the world and we must
definitely master at least one language. According to The Oxford Companion to
the English Language, language is “a human system communication which uses
structured vocal sounds and can be embodied in other media such as writing,
print, and physical sign.” (571). Through language people can communicate with
one another and they can also socialize with others. Without language, we cannot
have a conversation with others.
1
Maranatha Chri stian University
We sometimes find a sentence construction than can make us confused or
curious, or sometimes we can make those kinds of confusing or unusual sentences
ourselves. Riddle is “a statement or question that is intentionally worded in a
puzzling or misleading way” (870), according to The Oxford Companion to the
English Language. Riddle is one form of a game, “games can be played with the
sense, sounds, construction, or order of words,” (1125). A word can have more
than one meaning. If a word with more than one meaning is applied in a sentence,
then a sentence becomes interesting. It is also possible that maybe the
arrangement of phrases in the sentence makes the hearer confused about the
meaning.
In my thesis, I am going to analyze riddles using semantics and syntax.
The reason why I choose to analyze riddles through Semantics and Syntax is
because I am personally interested in the study of Semantics and Syntax and I also
like reading riddles. And when I read the riddles, I had noticed that there are a lot
of riddles that contain ambiguity. I come across riddles containing these
linguistics elements. Sometimes I find riddles which cause ambiguity and it
causes me to have a response of surprise when I see the answer of the riddle
because the answer does not always seem to be directly related at first. The topic
of my thesis is analysis of ambiguities in riddles.
As my thesis is also concerned with ambiguity, I also use the theory of
ambiguity to support my thesis. Based on Oxford Companion to the English
Language, ambiguity is “actual or potential uncertainty of meaning, especially if a
word, phrase, or sentence can be understood in two ways” (32-33). Generally, the
definition of ambiguity is words or sentences that actually or potentially create
2
Maranatha Chri stian University
confusion or uncertainty of meaning, or in other words, words or sentences that
can be interpreted in more than just one way. By using these theories, I believe I
can analyze the riddles competently. I take the data from the Internet, while I take
the theory of ambiguity also from the Internet.
I am interested in finding out and analyzing riddles using Sema ntics and
Syntax theories in my thesis. “Semantics may be defined as the study of
meaning.” (Crane, Yeager and Whitman 129). “Syntax is the way word is put
together in form phrase or sentences.” (Crane, Yeager and Whitman 102). In
Syntax we study how words are arranged to form a phrase, a clause or a sentence.
I have read the other thesis with the same topic but I take from different
data. I decided to choose this topic because I think that riddles are quite fun to
guess the answers of them. People will wonder why the answer is such a way.
Analyzing ambiguity in riddles is important because there are many riddles which
contain ambiguity, and it proves that ambiguity is one necessary element in
riddles.
The reason why I choose riddles as my source of the da ta is because most
riddles contain ambiguity and I am interested to find out the answers, and because
communication is necessary. I get riddles from the Internet because it provides
unlimited data of riddles. After searching for the data, I will take a note or
highlight the riddles that contain the areas of linguistic study.
(705 words)
3
Maranatha Chri stian University
Statement of the Proble m
By analyzing ambiguity in riddles, I pose the following problems:
1.
What word or statement makes the riddles ambiguous?
2.
What kind of ambiguity occurs?
3.
Why is the riddle ambiguous?
Purpose of the Study
Having posed the problems above, I make a study which is intended:
1.
To show what word or statement makes the riddles ambiguous.
2.
To show what kind of ambiguity occurs.
3.
To show why the riddle ambiguous.
Method of Research
I gathered riddles which contained ambiguity from the Internet. Then, I
read and classified the riddles into some categories, depending on the causes of
the ambiguity, based on ambiguity of semantics or syntax. Afterwards, I analyzed
the data and I made a conclusion based on the analysis.
Organization of Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters, preceded by the Preface, Table of
Contents, and Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, containing the
Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Method of Research, and
Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the Theoretical Framework used in
analyzing the riddles. Chapter Three contains the analysis of ambiguity in the
4
Maranatha Chri stian University
riddles. And Chapter Four contains the conclusion of the analysis. At the end of
my thesis, there is Bibliography.
5
Maranatha Chri stian University
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Riddles that contain syntactic ambiguity appear because of the
arrangement of sentence. The arrangement of the sentence makes people who read
the sentence would have different interpretation. It can be happen because of the
placing of conjunction namely coordinate attachment, the placing of preposition
like data 9, namely prepositional attachment. In data 9, the riddle becomes
ambiguous because of the placing of preposition with. In this data, the statement
take a picture of an elf with a red shirt produces two interpretations because of the
placing preposition with. It means that the picture that will be taken is a picture of
an elf that wears a red shirt. The other meaning of the statement is that you, as the
person who takes a picture, use a red shirt to take a picture of an elf. I conclude
that changing the preposition with another word can make the riddle not be
ambiguous anymore. In addition, the riddles are ambiguous because of the placing
conjunction or preposition are including in structural ambiguity. Usually, riddles
that contain prepositional and co-ordinate attachment can be explained by using
tree diagram, to make the ambiguity clear. However, it is difficult to find riddles
that contain co-ordinate attachment.
26
Maranatha Christian University
Syntactic ambiguity is a kind of ambiguity that happens because there is
an omission of a word, namely ellipsis. For example, in data 6, there is an
omission of the word can at the end of the question of the riddle. Consequently, it
makes the meaning of the question in the riddle ambiguous. The other kind of
syntactic ambiguity is categorial ambiguity. This kind of ambiguity is similar with
lexical ambiguity in semantic ambiguity. Categorial ambiguity appears because a
word has more than one meaning but the word has a different part of speech. The
example of categorial ambiguity is data 5. The word flies has more than one
meaning but this word has different parts of speech: one is Noun and the other is
Verb. Because of this reason, this kind of ambiguity is included in syntactic
ambiguity. As a conclusion, this kind of ambiguity can be accepted if these
meanings can be understood logically. But it is difficult to find syntactic
ambiguity.
Riddles are included into semantic ambiguity if there is a word that has
more than one meaning. The words make riddle unclear, make people have to
think and decide which meaning that is meant and appropriate in the riddle. The
words, which are included in semantic ambiguity, are the words that have more
than one possible meaning according the dictionary, and the words should have
the same part of speech.
As my research, riddles which contain semantic ambiguity can be
delivered in spoken and written forms, because the ambiguous words have the
same pronunciation and spelling. The examples of semantic ambiguity in this
paper are data 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. It is easy to find riddles which
27
Maranatha Christian University
contain semantic ambiguity. In data 1, the word that has more than one meaning
and makes the riddle ambiguous is organs. According to the dictionary, organs has
more than one meaning and the word has the same part of speech, pronunciation
and spelling. Moreover, that reason happens to Pluto, letter, keys, honey, feet, bill,
fan and cool. To know which meaning of the word that is appropriate to the
riddles, we have to know the relationship of the word with the other word.
Therefore, we can know the meaning of that riddles.
In this thesis, the riddles that most often appear are riddles that contain
lexical ambiguity. This kind of riddles deals with semantic ambiguity. This kind
of riddles often appears because it is simple and interesting. Because of a word
that has more than one meaning, it can be produce different interpretations.
Usually in lexical ambiguity, there is a relation between the words or a clue that is
used to analyze the riddle, so that people can understand which meaning that is
appropriate in the riddle. In guessing riddles that contain referential ambiguity,
people should have knowledge around the riddle itself. Data 2 is about Mickey
Mouse and Pluto. Mickey Mouse is a character in Disney. People who do not
know about Disney story would not know the explanation why the answer to find
Pluto is. Pluto also is a character in Disney Story, it is Mickey’s dog. Maybe
people already knew about Mickey Mouse, but it is possible that people cannot
answer this riddle because they do not know Pluto. This kind of riddle cannot
interest people who do not know the background of the riddle.
Riddle contains question and answer. The ambiguities in riddles have
some roles. The ambiguous question is used to mislead people and to make people
28
Maranatha Christian University
puzzled in guessing riddles. As my research, the ambiguity often appears in the
question. They are data 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12. Usually, for lexical ambiguity,
exactly a clue word makes the answer like that. In data 3, there is statement only
has one letter makes the answer envelope because envelope consists of 8 letters.
Even though at the question there is the statement only has one letter, so logically,
the letter in this data will not mean a written or printed sign representing a sound
used in speech. In data 10, the word three is not a random number. Three here is
about the size of a yard. And if three is replaced by another number, the answer
would not be a yard. The statement legs or arms is put in order to mislead people
to think that the answer is about a creature, because a creature has feet, legs and
arms.
In guessing riddles, people usually use the ambiguous answer. It shows
that ambiguity is one of the elements that is creative, because the answer is
unpredictable but it can be accepted logically. In this thesis, five data contain
ambiguity in the answer. They are data 1, 2, 8, 11 and 12. In data 8, honey has
more than one meaning. The statement Hi Honey! I am home is often said by
husband to wife when he comes home. It could also happen to bees which come
home to their hive. According to the dictionary, honey can be meant a sweet
sticky yellow substance or a way of addressing somebody that you like or love.
In data 12, there are two lexical ambiguities. They are cool and fan. Those
words have more than one meaning, but they can be connected. The baseball
stadium is cool because there is a fan in every seat. It means that the baseball
stadium is fairly cold because there is a machine with blades that go around to
29
Maranatha Christian University
create a current of air. Or it can be meant that the baseball stadium is attractive
because there is someone who enjoys watching the game in every seat. For further
research, it is suspected that my analysis of ambiguity can be wider in terms of not
only riddles but also jokes or debate etc.
(1.167)
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Crane, L. Ben, Edward Yeager, Randal L. Whitman. An Introduction to
Linguistics. Canada: Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited, 1981.
Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Sixth Edition. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2000.
McArthur, Tom. The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1992.
Yule, George. The Study of Language. England: Cambridge University Press,
1985.
Inte rnet Websites
“Ambiguity” 23 May, 2009.
“Ambiguity” 30 May, 2008.
Bach, Kent. “Ambiguity” 15 June, 2008.
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Inman, Dave. “Ambiguity”. 2005. 30 May, 2008.
Inman, Dave. “Ambiguity”. 2005. 30 May, 2008.
Jokes. 21 March 2009.
Jokes-Riddles. 17 October 2008.
Jokes. 27 October 2008.
Riddles. 25 March 2009.
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