A Brief Discussion of eliminating Grammatical Ambiguity

2014-10-21张俊

校园英语·上旬 2014年10期

【Abstract】As we all know that one kind of language structure has more than one meaning， to be called ambiguity.Generally thought， the grammatical ambiguity is quite complex in English ，and this article pays attention to eliminating English grammatical ambiguity and making the shallow analysis on the three kinds of strategies of eliminating ambiguity.

【Key words】grammatical ambiguity； eliminate the ambiguity

The grammatical ambiguity refers to the identical form of the language and may express the different meanings.In the spoken language， we may eliminate ambiguity through the context and the scene of linguistic environment.However， if the linguistic environment is not enough， the possible different meanings to be able to turn the reality the different meanings， and may affect the communication.The strategies of dealing with grammatical ambiguity include as follows；

Avoiding the different meanings

Avoiding ambiguity， it is often called “disambiguiting”.Ambiguity is a universal phenomenon.We can see the different meanings of the language in the daily life.The context may help us to avoid the different meanings， therefore， the linguistic environment （contextualization） is an important method of disambiguiting.Because the differences of language and culture easily cause ambiguity， we should understand correctly.The correct understanding is the premise of.correct translation .If has the correct understanding， it would avoid ambiguity when we translate.For example， a word “balance”， it has two opposite meanings； “favorable balance”， namely （surplus） and unfavorable balance， namely deficit （loss）.

Maintenance different meanings

In the past， people had the understanding that different meanings were easy to create the misunderstanding， thus excessively considered the negative function of them.In spoken and written language， they always avoid different meanings.Actually， we must have the dialectical manner to regard the different meanings.Sometimes， speakers and writers， in order to achieve the effect of expectation of humorous， use the different meanings deliberately.When we translate， in order to maintain the original style of text， achieve the special literary style effect， we maintain ambiguity deliberately .This is the second strategy of treating the ambiguity.

By different meanings to different meanings

It is the third strategy， the original text has ambiguity， because of the syntax structure.It is not easy for people to understand the ambiguous effect.In English sentence， “I am going to have the car washed”（I wash the vehicle）.2.“I am going to have the bike repaired”.（I repair the bicycle）.“I am going to have the watch repaired”.（I repair the watch）.“I am going to have a key cut”.（I match the key）.Above sentences， these have the double meanings， This is the third strategy.

Ambiguity is a subtle but pervasive phenomenon in language.Ambiguity is a fundamental problem of language comprehension and an obstacle of communication.This indicates that it is a great necessity to resolve ambiguity.Efforts should be made into and attention should be paid to the resolution of ambiguity in the future linguistic research so as to achieve successful and effective communication， and help people to enhance understanding and utilizes the ability of language

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