Ambiguity_anImportantPhenomenoninEnglish.kdh

科技信息 2009 年 第 29期SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION 0． Introduction According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the 500 words used most in the English language each have an average of 23 different meanings. The word “round,” for instance, has 70 distinctly different meanings. The variance of word meanings in natural language has always posed problems for those who attempt to construct an unambiguous and consistent statement. It is often the case that a written statement could be interpreted in several ways by different individuals, thus rendering the statement subjective rather than objective. Therefore, it is very important for English learners to have a deep understanding on ambiguity. In this article, the writer tries to make a complete analysis on ambiguity and help those English learners make progress both in English learning and communicating with others. 1． The definition of ambiguity According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the definition of ambiguity is: （1） [U] state of having more than one meaning； （2） [C] expression, etc that can have more than one meaning. And from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, we got a more specific definition: A large word, phrase, sentence, or other communication is called ambiguous if it can be reasonably interpreted in more than one way. To sum up, we can see ambigity or ambiguious structure means that one word, phrase or sentence has more than one meaning. 2． Ambiguous features of English 2.1 Phonetic ambiguity As we know, many English words especially monosyllabic ones have same or similar pronunciation, such as for / four, bear / bare, right / write, there / their and so on. In the following sentences, althought the spellings and meanings of pair, pear and pare are different, their pronunciations are the same: Top-of-the range training shoes now cost about 100 pounds a pair. They served pear and almond tarts as desserts. The luxury tax won’t really do much to pare down the budget deficit. So when we hear the three words, we may be confused by their prononciation.Besides, liaison, omission or reduction of certain sounds can cause ambiguity, too. 2.2 Lexical ambiguity Polysemy and homonymy are common phenomena in English. Wind can be a noun which means moving air and it can also be a verb which means to wrap (something) around a center or another object once or repeatedly. “Bear” in “he was scared by a bear” and “he can bear anything” has different meanings. The same as tear in “to shed tears” and “to tear a piece of paper” and “to bow a bow”. In “I found the table fascinating”, table may be an article of furniture or an abbreviated list, as of contents; a synopsis. If we look up English words in a dictionary, we will find that only a few words are not polysemic. 2.3 Grammatical/structual ambiguity In recent years, the most frequently discussed kind of ambiguity is grammatical/structual ambiguity. According to the theory of structural linguists, a sentence does not only have a LINEAR structure, consisting of individual words one after another in a line，it also has a HIERARCHICAL structure, made up of layers of word groups. By using IC analysis we can have a better understanding of the internal structure of a sentence and amibiguities, if any, will be revealed. For instance, “Visiting speakers can be awful” can be transferred into：（a）It is awful to visit speakers,or （b）Speakers who visit are awful. In a word, if the structure of a word group or a sentence can be understood in more than one way, we call it multi ambiguous. And ambiguity in this word group or sentence is clearly not caused by the lexical meaning of the word in it but by different analysis of the structure. 3． People’s attitude towards ambiguity 3.1 Try to avoid ambiguity From the above we know ambiguity is very common in English. Our initial purpose of learning a lauguage is to communicate with people. But ambiguity disrupts communication. Therefore, in order to be understood better and more correctly, we’d better try to avoid ambiguity: （a）avoid using words of same or similar pronunciation in the same sentence；（b） avoid using a structure which can be interpreted in more than one way； （c）pay much attention to context. Provide a clear and definite context and let people understand what you are speaking and writing. 3.2 Make better use of ambiguity Although ambiguity may be harmful to communication, if we use it properly, it may produce surprisingly good effect. The following is a good example of using ambiguity: English is a Silly Language! Let’s face it, English is a stupid language. There is no egg in the eggplant. No ham in the hamburger. And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England. French fries were not invented in France. … That is why: When the stars are out they are visible But when the lights are out they are invisible And why it is that when I wind up my watch it starts but when I wind up this poem it ends? In literature and rhetoric, on the other hand, ambiguity can be a useful tool. Groucho Marx’s classic joke depends on a grammatical ambiguity for its humor, for example: Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What he was doing in my pajamas I’ll never know. Songs and poetry often rely on ambiguous words for artistic effect, as in the song titled “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” (where “blue” can refer to the color or to “sadness”). 4． Conclusion Through the above analysis on ambiguity, we understand that it exists in English words, word groups and sentences. Ambiguity is an important phenomenon in English. To have a better understanding of ambiguity can help us avoid it and make full use of it （下转第 267 页） Ambiguity—an Important Phenomenon in English LI Wei－dong LI Ying （Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao，Qinhuangdao Hebei，066004） 李卫东 李 英 （东北大学秦皇岛分校 河北 秦皇岛 066004） 【Abstract】In this article, the writer analyzes“ambiguity” from many different aspects: its definition, category, practical use and so on. By doing so, the writer thinks that ambiguity is an important phenomenon in English and English learners should pay enough attention to it. 【Key words】Ambiguity；Lexical ambiguity；Grammatical/Structural ambiguity ○外语论坛○ 258 科技信息 2009 年 第 29期SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION （上接第 258 页）in communication. But it is not very easy to do so. We need to have profound knowledge of English itself and linguistics as well. To avoid ambiguity and use it properly can break communicating barriers and improve understanding between people. 【References】 ［1］Jeff Gray, Collection of Ambiguous or Inconsistent/Incomplete Statements, www. gray-area.org． ［2］http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambiguity． ［3］陈东东.语言歧义结构刍议[J]. 语与外语教学,1996 年第 8期. ［4］戴维·克里斯特尔编,沈家煊译.现代语言学词典[M].北京：商务印书馆,2002. 作者简介：李卫东（1973．8—），河北邯郸人，讲师，任职于东北大学秦皇岛分 校外语系，研究方向为英语语言学、商务英语。 ［责任编辑：王静］ ● 科 该 方法 快递客服问题件处理详细方法山木方法pdf计算方法pdf华与华方法下载八字理论方法下载 适用于求不连续函数在不连续点处的极限，往往求分段函 数在其分段点处的极限或某函数在其间断点处的极限。 函数在某点处的极限存在的充要条件是：当且仅当函数在某点处 的左、右极限都存在且相等，且函数在该点处的极限值即为所求的左 右极限的值。 如 求① 设 f（x）＝ 1-x ， x≠0 0， x＝≠ 0 则limx→0 f（x）是否存在，若存在则求其极 限。 ② 设 f（x）= x-1x-1 ，则 f（x）在点 x=1 处的极限是否存在，若存在 则求其极限。 分析：所给函数在其定义域内不是连续函数，则可利用函数的左 右极限与极限的关系来求。 解：① 显然 x=0 是所给函数的分段点，且由于lim x→0+ f（x）=lim x→0- f（x）= 1-x=1，因此可知lim x→0 f（x）存在，并且lim x→0 f（x）=1。 ② 显然 x=1 是所给函数的间段点，由于 lim x→1+ f（x）=lim x→1+ x-1 x-1 =1 ， lim x→1- f（x）=lim x→1- x-1 x-1 =1 即lim x→1+ f（x）≠lim x→1- f（x），所以所求函数在点 x=1 处的极限不存在。 7．利用函数的极限存在定理 7.1 夹逼性准则 利用夹逼性准则可将某函数适当缩小和放大，使得缩小和放大后 得到的新函数的极限分别存在且相等，从而得到原函数的极限，即原 函数的极限就等于缩小或放大后的函数的极限。 如 求 lim x→+∞ x n a x （a＞1，n＞0） 解：当 x≥1 时,存在唯一的正整数 k，使得 k≤x≤k＋1，因此当 n＞0 时，有 x n a x ＜ （k＋1） n a k ； x n a x ＞ k n a k＋1 ＝ k n a k· 1 a 又因，当 x→∞ 时 x→∞，则有 lim k→+∞ （k＋1） n a k ＝ limk→+∞ （k＋1） n a k＋1 ·a＝0·a＝0 及 lim k→+∞ k n a k＋1 ＝ limk→+∞ k n a k· 1 a ＝0 ·1 a ＝0 所以得： lim x→+∞ x n a x =0。 7.2 单调有界准则（适用于求数列的极限） 该准则是指：单调有界数列必存在极限。 应用该准则求极限时,首 先可用数学归纳法或不等式的放缩法来讨论数列｛xn ｝的单调性和有 界性，之后再令 lim x→+∞ xn＝a，然后解关于 a 的方程,从而得出 limx→+∞ xn ， 如 设 x1 ＝10，xn＋1 ＝ 6＋xn姨 （n＝1，2，…），试证数列｛xn ｝极限存在并求 之。 解：由 x1 ＝10 及 x2 ＝ 6＋x1姨 ＝4 知 x1 ＞x2 ，若设 xk＞xk＋1 ，则有 xk＋1 ＝ 6＋xk姨 ＞ 6＋xk＋1姨 ＝xk＋2 也就是说，对一切自然数 n，式子 xn＞xn＋1都成立，即数列｛xn ｝单调 递减。 由 x1 ＝10 及 xn＋1 ＝ 6＋xn姨 ，可得 xn＞0（n＝1，2，…），即数列有下界。 根据极限存在的准则知 lim x→+∞ xn存在， 设其极限为 a， 然后对 xn＋1 ＝ 6＋xn姨 两边取极限，得 a＝ 6＋a姨 ，解之得 a＝3 或 a＝－2，由于 xn ＞0，故 可得 lim n→+∞ xn＝3。 上述介绍了求解极限的基本方法，然而，每一道题目并非只有一 种方法。 因此我们在解题中要注意各种方法的综合运用。 作者简介：韩利娜，女，郑州工业贸易学校，数学教师。 张若男，女，郑州工业贸易学校，数学教师。 ［责任编辑：王静］ 科 ● （上接第 252 页）似之处是都是学生用汉语思维来操练英语，不同点在 于这种 表 关于同志近三年现实表现材料材料类招标技术评分表图表与交易pdf视力表打印pdf用图表说话 pdf 述在语法结构上符合英语语法规则，但在英语文化背景下却 鲜少有这种句子出现。 [3]学生们在想提问时经常会用“I have a question …”（我有个问题……）作为开场白，这种句子在英语实际应用中很少 听到， 人们通常会用 “I’d like to ask if/why…”，“I was wondering if/ when…”，“Would you mind my asking…”来提问。 2.2 交际错误 在中国，人们打招呼通常会问“你吃了么？ ”“你去哪儿呀？ ”。其实 问话者并不是真正想知道确切答案，只是出于一种礼貌。 而西方人注 重自我，注重隐私，如果问他们“Have you eaten？ ”或者“Where are you going?”，在他们的观念中就不是问候了，他们很可能会认真考虑“问我 这句话是什么意思呢？是不是要请我吃饭？难道是有事有求于我？ ”或 者“我去哪儿是我的隐私，这不关你的事。 ” 还有一些大部分学生都能掌握、并且很喜欢在交谈中当作话题的 简单问句，其实在和西方人的实际交流中都是很忌讳的：“How old are you?”（你多大了？ ），“Do you have a girlfirend/boyfriend?”（你有女/男朋 友么？ ），“Are you married?”（你结婚了么？ ）或者“How much can you get from your job?”（你薪水是多少呀？ ）。在中国人看来，这些交谈增进 了彼此的了解，拉近了距离，但在西方人看来，如果不是关系十分亲密 的人，就侵犯了他们的隐私，可能会引起他们的不快甚至反感。 综上所述，在教学中导入文化差异意识是十分重要的，是教学中 不可或缺的一部分，也是社会发展的需要和全球化的大势所趋。 本着 提高学生英语应用能力的目标，应该在教学中坚持并深化文化差异意 识，培养学生的跨文化意识和实际操作能力，进一步提高大学英语教 学质量，努力使学生能够学以致用，达到与人交流的最终目的。 【参考文献】 ［1］王玉华,苗福光.从中西方的文化差异谈英语教学[J].山东省农业管理干部学 院学报,2004(2). ［2］樊英波,英汉思维模式及表意形式差异对英语写作的影响[J].北方经贸,2009 (3). ［3］周苏.语言文化差异与英语教学[J].东南大学学报,2006(8). ［4］胡文仲.文化与交流[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,1998. ［5］Claire Kramsch.Language and Culture[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2006. 作者简介：段珂（1982—），女，河南新乡人，文学学士，主要从事翻译理论与 实践及文化差异研究。 ［责任编辑：王静］ 科 ● ● ● ○职校论坛○ 267