Written
Assignment - Ambiguity
A.The
following sentences have lexical ambiguity. Identify the ambiguous
word(s) and define the two different meanings.
1.The
rabbi married my sister.
2.Jane
sits home while Tarzan swings.
3.The
chicken is too hot to eat.(Note:This
sentence is at least three ways ambiguous.)
Now
give an example of your own lexical ambiguity.
4.________________________________________________________________
B.
The following sentences are syntactically ambiguous. Show the ambiguity
by bracketing the sentence in two different ways. Note that punctuation
has been purposely omitted. The first example has been done for you.
5.The
old men and women stayed at home.
The
[old men] and women stayed at home.
The
old [men and women] stayed at home.
6.When
Charlie approaches the girls don't pay any attention to him.
7.Wherever
Doug goes racing is illegal.
8.They
fed her rat poison.
9.They
saw the woman with the telescope.
C.The
following sentences are syntactically ambiguous but do not necessarily
lend themselves to different bracketing.This
time illustrate the nature of the ambiguity by means of paraphrase. The
first example has been done for you.
10.
The old men and women stayed at home.
The
women and old men stayed at home.
The
old men and the old women stayed at home.
11.
Eleanor took Theodore's pants off.
12.
Visiting relatives can be boring.
13.
Harry loves his pet turtle more than his wife.
14.
George made Frank wash his face.
D.The
following examples are phonologically ambiguous when read aloud.
For each example write the sentence with the other meaning. (These all
involve homophonous words; that is, words that are pronounced the same
but are spelled differently.) The first one has been done for you.
15.
Bambi is a little deer.
Bambi
is a little dear.
16.
Mary's feat made the Guiness World Book of Records.
17.
At the annual 4-H fruit judging contest everyone admired Helen's pear.
18.
Frank tripped over the hoes lying on the ground.