Key Difference – Lexical vs Structural Ambiguity
Ambiguity is a quality that allows for more than one interpretation. When a word, phrase, or sentence can be interpreted in multiple ways, it is considered ambiguous. There are two main categories of ambiguity: lexical and structural ambiguity. Lexical ambiguity occurs when a word has multiple possible meanings, while structural ambiguity arises when a sentence has multiple meanings due to its structure. This distinction is the main difference between lexical and structural ambiguity.
What is Lexical Ambiguity?
Also known as semantic ambiguity, lexical ambiguity happens when a sentence contains a word or phrase with more than one possible meaning. This is a result of polysemy, or the coexistence of multiple meanings for a single word. Lexical ambiguity is sometimes used intentionally to create puns and other wordplays. Some examples of lexical ambiguity include:
– We saw her duck.
– We saw her pet animal.
– We saw her bend to avoid something (verb “duck”).
– The minister married her sister.
– Her sister married a minister.
– The minister performed the wedding ceremony.
Although lexical ambiguity can cause confusion in meaning, it is often easy to understand the writer’s intended meaning by examining the context.
What is Structural Ambiguity?
Structural ambiguity, or syntactic ambiguity, occurs when a phrase or sentence has more than one underlying structure, allowing for multiple interpretations. Some examples of structural ambiguity include:
– Miriam hit the boy with a book.
– Miriam used the book to hit the boy.
– Miriam hit the boy who was holding a booking.
– The teacher said on Friday he would give a test.
– On Friday, the teacher said he would give a test.
– The test will be on Friday.
Key Takeaways
- Lexical ambiguity occurs when a word has more than one possible meaning, while structural ambiguity arises when a sentence has multiple meanings due to its structure.
- Lexical ambiguity is a result of polysemy, and structural ambiguity is caused by the structure of the sentence.
- Context can help clarify the intended meaning in cases of lexical ambiguity, while prosodic features such as stress and intonation can help clarify the intended meaning in cases of structural ambiguity.
