Suggestions for In-Class Activities

"It may seem as though little need be said about ambiguity in that it is a clear-cut phenomenon: both words and sentences can have more than one meaning, and the semantic rules a linguist sets up must state correctly for each language which words and sentences can have more than one meaning - what more is there to it than that?" Kempson, Ruth M. 1977. Semantic Theory. Cambridge: CUP.: 123.

  1. Wy are the following sentences ambiguous? What linguistic aspects create the ambiguity?
    1. Every student thinks she is a genius.
    2. I hit a man with a wooden leg.
    3. Three linguists in this room attended two workshops.
    4. Have you seen the stranger in the light cloak?
    5. The thing that troubled Calvin was crouching under the table.

  2. What kinds of lexical ambiguity are represented by the pairs below?

    fan
    1. to direct a current of air with a piece of material
    2. a person enthusiastic about something
    chip
    1. to cut or chop with an axe
    2. a piece of potato cut and fried in deep fat
    bolt
    1. a flash of lightning
    2. a sudden dash or movement
    rail
    1. a bar of metal or wood
    2. to complain violently
    hook
    1. a bent piece of material for catching or holding things
    2. something that attracts or is intended to be an attraction (U.S.)

  3. Consider the following sentences involving different senses of 'bank'. Are the senses related in terms of homonymy or polysemy?

    1. The bank raised its interest rates yesterday.
    2. It's the second switch in the third bank.
    3. The store is next to the newly constructed bank.
    4. Mary walked along the bank of the river.
    5. The bank appeared first in Italy in the Renaissance.
    6. He tried to break the bank at Monte Carlo.
    7. The men in the third bank can't row any longer.