Language in Use 113-114
I hate visiting relatives', written in isolation, could mean either 'I hate
to visit relatives' or 'I hate relatives visiting me'. Which of the two meanings
is intended, however, will probably not be left in doubt, because the rest of
the message is likely to provide a context for this sentence that will resolve
the ambivalence one way or the other. On the other hand, when Shakespeare has
Richard of Gloucester say to King Edward's assembled court "Tis death to me
to be at enmity' (Richard 111, 1, 3, 60), he ensures that the ambivalence is
not resolved by its context, because he wants the reader to respond to several
meanings at one and the same time. This deliberate provision for alternative
meanings is ambiguity. The aim of the unit is to show how it is that we
can remain unaware of what is ambivalent, and yet respond, as the -writer or
speaker desires, to what is ambiguous.
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[1] For this session, a set of phrases and sentences taken out of context is required: headlines such as 'GENERAL MACARTHUR FLIES BACK TO FRONT' or 'BRITISH PUSH BOTTLES UP GERMAN REAR'; or phrases such as 'Eating, people', 'I hate visiting relatives', 'Flying elephants can be dangerous' and 'It's too hot to eat'. Ask the class, working in groups, to write a short passage round each example to reveal what they think it means. Circulate the results and, in discussion, explore the different possibilities made available by the ambivalence of the examples. The focus of the discussion should be upon the degree to which we can remain unaware of alternative meanings once a phrase or sentence is in context.
[2] For this session, the class need to make a collection of puns of
all kinds. The aim of the session is to discover how ambiguities can be established
by a speaker or writer. Ask the class for the examples that they have collected
and build tip on the board a picture of what kinds of ambiguity are possible.
In discussion, examine the use made of:
(a) words spelt the same but used as different parts of speech
(b) words with the same sound and spelling but different in meaning
(c) different words with the same pronunciation
(d) the linguistic patterns of visual puns like 'Yuletide over with your (photograph
of a Barclaycard).'
The class should consider what kinds of ambiguity are only possible in speech and what in writing; and why someone can fail to see an ambiguity, as may occur with any member of the class during the course of the session. This unit readily leads into a discussion of how writers avoid ambivalence and create ambiguity when they are seeking to express a number of meanings in a single phrase or sentence.