Scribd
Upload
14 views

Aspects of Sentential Meaning Activity

The document discusses various types of ambiguities that can occur in language including paraphrase, ambiguity, vagueness, tautology, presupposition, entailment, anomaly, contradiction, and analyticity. Examples are provided for each type of ambiguity.

Uploaded by

kierabebe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
14 views

Aspects of Sentential Meaning Activity

The document discusses various types of ambiguities that can occur in language including paraphrase, ambiguity, vagueness, tautology, presupposition, entailment, anomaly, contradiction, and analyticity. Examples are provided for each type of ambiguity.

Uploaded by

kierabebe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

John Benedict Merhan

ABEL II

Paraphrase
1. John ate the apple. / The apple was eaten by John
2. The president suspend classes due to extreme temperatures. / Due to extreme
temperatures, the president had to suspend classes
3. Drew gave Liz a bouquet of flowers. / Liz received a bouquet of flowers from
Drew.
Paraphrasing involves restating the same meaning in a sentence or a statement using
different words just like the examples above.
Ambiguity
In ambiguity, sentences can have more than one interpretation.
1. I saw her duck.
Can be interpreted as, I saw her pet duck or I saw her lower her head quickly
2. He found the match
Can be interpreted as, He found the “match”, as in a sport event or “match”, a type of fire
starter
3. Her Mom beats her because she came home drunk.
Can be interpreted as, she was beaten because the Mom was drunk when she(mom) came
home or She was beaten by her Mom because she(daughter) came home drunk
Vagueness
Vague sentence has no definite that can lead to open interpretation like:
1. See you later.
This sentence is vague because “later” does not specify precise time.
2. She gave me a certain feeling.
The sentence is vague because it is not specified what “feeling” she gives.
3. She is tall.
The sentence is vague because it is not specified how “tall” she is or what measurement
was used to know how tall she is.

Tautology
Is the unnecessary repetition of words without necessarily making meaning any clearer.
1. It is what it is.
The sentence is tautology because the idea was repeated without adding new information
or making thing clear.
2. A person must be human.
The sentence is tautology because being a person is being a human
3. She is single and unmarried
The sentence is tautology because being single meant being unmarried.

Presupposition
Is the assumption based on some shared background knowledge.
1. Have you heard the news?
The sentence is presupposition because it implies that the one being asked knows about
what the person is asking.
2. Why did you quit your job?
The sentence is presupposition because it presuppose that the person being asked had a
job but has quit
3. Do you want wine or gin?
The sentence is presupposition because it presuppose that the person asked consumes
alcohol.
Entailment
Usually a pair of sentences and the truth of one is the truth of the other, like:
1. All birds have feathers.
Crows have feathers.
2. Grace birthed a baby boy.
Grace is a woman.
3. She is a mother.
She had a kid.
Anomaly
1. The baby drove the car.
The sentence is anomalous because babies cannot drive.
2. The car laughed loudly.
The sentence is anomalous because cars cannot laugh.
3. Their house was four stories long.

2
The sentence is anomalous because long denotes horizontal items.
Contradiction
Present two opposing proposition at the same time.
1. He is taller than himself.
The statement is contradictory because logically no one is taller than himself
2. The ice is hot.
The statement is contradictory because ice are cold.
3. He is a married bachelor.
The statement is contradictory because bachelor means unmarried
Analyticity
The truth of the statement is contained within the meaning of the words itself
1. A bachelor is an unmarried man.
2. Rounded objects has no angles
3. Triangles have three sides.

You might also like