Ambiguity Definition

Ambiguity or fallacy of ambiguity is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning.

Ambiguous words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion, and shape the basis for instances of unintentional humor. For instance, it is ambiguous to say “I rode a black horse in red pajamas,” because it may lead us to think the horse was wearing red pajamas. The sentence becomes clear when it is restructured “Wearing red pajamas, I rode a black horse.”

Similarly, same words with different meanings can cause ambiguity e.g. “John took off his trousers by the bank.” It is funny if we confuse one meaning of “bank” which is a building, to another meaning, being “an edge of a river”. Context usually resolves any ambiguity in such cases.

Common Ambiguity Examples

Below are some common examples of ambiguity:

• A good life depends on a liver – Liver may be an organ or simply a living person.
• Foreigners are hunting dogs – It is unclear whether dogs were being hunted or foreigners are being spoken of as dogs.
• Each of us saw her duck – It is not clear whether the word “duck” refers to an action of ducking or a duck that is a bird.
• The passerby helps dog bite victim – Is the passerby helping a dog bite someone? Or is he helping a person bitten by a dog? It’s not clear.

Examples of Ambiguity in Literature

Although ambiguity is considered a flaw in writing, many writers use this technique to allow readers to understand their works in a variety of ways, giving them depth and complexity. Let us analyze some ambiguity examples in literature.

Example #1

Read the following excerpt from “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger:

“I ran all the way to the main gate, and then I waited a second till I got my breath. I have no wind, if you want to know the truth. I’m quite a heavy smoker, for one thing—that is, I used to be. They made me cut it out. Another thing, I grew six and a half inches last year. That’s also how I practically got t.b. and came out here for all these goddam checkups and stuff. I’m pretty healthy though.”

The words “they” and “here” used by the speaker are ambiguous. But the readers are allowed to presume from the context that “they” might be the professionals helping out Holden and “here” might be a rehabilitation center.

Example #2

“The Sick Rose”, a short lyric written by William Blake, is full of ambiguities:

“O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy;
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy”

Many of the words in the above lines show ambiguity. We cannot say for sure what “crimson bed of joy” means; neither can we be exact about the interpretation of “dark secret love”. The ambiguous nature of such phrases allows readers to explore for deeper meanings of the poem.

Some of those who have analyzed this poem believe that “Has found out thy bed, Of crimson joy” refers to making love.

Example #3

On a larger scale, ambiguity may develop in a character or in an entire story. For instance, Hamlet is a morally ambiguous character. He kills to avenge his father’s murder. He is good because he wants to protect his mother but he is bad because he is willing to kill whom he must to achieve this end.

The ambiguity in Hamlet’s character is seen when he is hurt by the death of “Ophelia” which is his personal loss, but he does not appreciate the effect that his actions are going to have on others.

Example #4

We find ambiguity in the first line of Keats’s “Ode to a Grecian Urn”:

“Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,”

The use of word “still” is ambiguous in nature. “Still” here may mean “an unmoving object” or it may be interpreted as “yet unchanged”.

Function of Ambiguity

Ambiguity in literature serves the purpose of lending a deeper meaning to a literary work. By introducing ambiguity in their works, writers give liberty to the readers to use their imagination to explore meanings. This active participation of the readers involves them in the prose or poetry they read.

Reference : http://literarydevices.net/ambiguity/  http://srirahayupku.blogspot.co.id/

Denotation and Connotation

In literary works, we find it a common practice with writers to deviate from the dictionary meanings of words to create fresher ideas and images. Such deviations from the literal meanings are called the use of figurative language or literary devices e.g. metaphors, similes, personifications, hyperboles, understatements, paradoxes, and puns etc. Even in our daily conversation, we diverge from the dictionary meanings of words and prefer connotative or associated meanings of words in order to accurately convey our message. Below is a list of some common deviations from denotative meanings of words that we experience in our day to day life:

• A dog is used to suggest shamelessness or an ugly face.
• A dove is used to suggest peace or gentility.
• Home is used to suggest family, comfort and security.
• Politician has a negative connotation of wicked and insincere person
• Pushy refers to someone loud-mouthed and irritating.
• Mom and Dad when used instead of mother and father suggest loving parents.

As nouns the difference between implication and connotation

is that implication is (uncountable) the act of implicating while connotation is a meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning a characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in.

 implication

English

Noun

(en-noun)

·  (uncountable) The act of implicating.

·  (uncountable) The state of being implicated.

·  (countable) An implying, or that which is implied, but not expressed; an inference, or something which may fairly be understood, though not expressed in words.

·  (logic) (countable ) The connective in propositional calculus that, when joining two predicates A and B in that order, has the meaning "if A is true, then B is true".

Derived terms

* material implication * strict implication

Related terms

* implicate * implicative * implicit * implicitness * imply

 connotation

English

Noun

(en-noun)

·  A meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning. A characteristic of words or phrases, or of the contexts that words and phrases are used in.

The connotations of the phrase "you are a dog" are that you are physically unattractive or morally reprehensible, not that you are a canine.

·  A technical term in logic used by J. S. Mill and later logicians to refer to the attribute or aggregate of attributes connoted by a term, and contrasted with denotation .

The two expressions "the morning star" and "the evening star" have different connotations but the same denotation (i.e. the planet Venus).

Denotation is the literal meaning of a word as defined by its context. Connotation is the suggestion or implication represented by a word which alludes to its social context.
The most common example to use is the red rose. Red is the denotation of a colour, and rose is the denotation of a flower. Together they present a description of a flower of a particular colour: a red rose. The connotation of red rose is a symbol for love. The words red and rose simply describe a noun in terms of its colour and define a type of flower. Social convention has meant that the red rose as an idea represents or symbolises love.

reference :  http://literarydevices.net/denotation/

Definition of Euphemism

A euphemism is a polite or mild word or expression used to refer to something embarrassing, taboo, or unpleasant. Euphemisms are especially common in reference to bodily functions and illegal behavior, and to substitute for curse words. For example, we use many words and phrases to refer to urination: “I have to use the little boys’ room,” “I have to go to the bathroom,” and “I have to see a man about a horse” are all evasive ways of referring to the same thing.

Types of Euphemisms

Within the definition of euphemism, there are many different sub-categories. Here are some of the different types of euphemisms:

• Phonetic modification: We modify strong swear words or words that are not meant to be spoken lightly (i.e., God or Jesus) so that the new phonetic euphemism sounds very similar to the original, but just different enough so that it’s inoffensive. Modifications may take the case of shortening the word or expression (Jeez, What the); intentional mispronunciations (shoot, shut the front door, dang, fudge); or using an acronym or one letter to represent the curse word (WTF, B-word, A-hole).
• Figures of speech: Many euphemisms come in the form of different figures of speech. These may be ambiguous statements (let’s do it, she’s a piece of work); metaphors (make the beast with two backs, a visit from the stork, kick the bucket); or other understatements or comparisons.
• Slang: Plenty of slang terms come to stand for taboo words or expressions. Since slang can vary greatly from one region or country to the next, at times some expressions have very different euphemistic meanings. For example, in the USA, “pissed” means angry, whereas in the UK it means drunk.

Common Examples of Euphemism

There are many hundreds or even thousands of examples of euphemisms that we use in everyday speech. Here is a short list of euphemistic expressions and the thing they refer to:

• In a better place; pass away; meet your maker—to die
• In a family way; with child; bun in the oven—to be pregnant
• Riding the crimson wave; visit from Aunt Flo; period—menstruation
• Gosh darn it; what the F; holy shiiii; beyotch—curse word modifications
• Three sheets to the wind; wasted; go on a bender—drunk

Significance of Euphemism in Literature

·         Authors generally use euphemisms to portray the natural way in which people speak. Writers do not usually feel the need to tiptoe around difficult, delicate, or embarrassing topics; indeed, part of the importance of poetry and prose is dealing with those issues head-on. However, euphemisms can be a good reflection of the setting, whether in time period, culture, or attitudes of the characters in the story. We will see this in different ways in the examples of euphemisms below.

 Reference : http://www.literarydevices.com/euphemism/