Ambiguity

A . Definition  

Ambiguity is a term used in writing and math, and under conditions where information can be understood or interpreted in more than one way and is distinct from vagueness, which is a statement about the lack of precision contained or available in the information. A word, phrase, or sentence is ambiguous if it has more than one meaning. In psychology, the term "ambiguity" is used to indicate situations that involve uncertainty. An increasing amount of research is concentrating on how people react and respond to ambiguous situations.. There are two types of ambiguity, lexical and structural.

1. Lexical ambiguity 

is presence o two or more possible meanings within a single word.

Example   : - They passed the port at midnight

The word “port” is lexically ambiguous. However, it would normally be clear in a given context which of the two homonyms, 'port' ('harbor') or 'port' ('kind of fortified wine'), is being used.

 2. Structural ambiguity 

occurs when a phrase or sentence has more than one underlying structure.

Examples: - The phrases Tibetan history teacher

It can be 'Tibetan history teacher' and 'Tibetan history teacher'. Indeed, the existence of such ambiguities provides strong evidence for a level of underlying syntactic structure. Consider the structurally ambiguous sentence,

-'The chicken is ready to eat',

It could be used to describe either a hungry chicken or a broiled chicken. It is arguable that the operative reading depends on whether or not the implicit subject of the infinitive clause 'to eat' is tied anaphorically to the subject 'the chicken' of the main clause.

 3. Ambiguity Fonetik
Ambiguitas fonetik adalah keambiguan yang terjadi akibat dari kesamaan bunyi – bunyi yang diucapkan dan biasanya banyak terjadi dalam dialog atau percakapan sehari – hari.

Contoh:  Dia datang kemari memberi tahu.

Kalimat diatas menimbulkan keambiguan kareana memiliki banyak tafsir, yaitu:
Apakah dia datang memberi tahu yang terbuat dari kacang kedelai, atau
Apakah dia datang memberi suatu informasi.
Untuk mengetahui arti atau makna kalimat tersebut secara keseluruhan, maka harus mendengarkan pembicaraan secara utuh.

Faktor – faktor penyebab keambiguan:

1. Faktor Morfologi
Keambiguan yang terjadi akibat dari pembentukan kata itu sendiri:
Contoh: Permen itu tertelan olehku.
a. Permen itu sengaja tertelan, atau
b. Permen itu akhirnya dapat ditelan.

2. Faktor Sintaksis
Faktor ini terjadi karena susunan kata di dalam kalimat yang kurang jelas.
Contoh:  Gigit jari
Ani hanya bisa gigit jari melihat barang yang diinginkan tak bisa didapat.
Ani menggigit jarinya hingga berdarah.
Kata gigit jari di atas memiliki dua makna yaitu putus asa atau benar-benar menggigit jarinya.

C. conclusion

Kalimat Ambigu adalah suatu bentuk konstruksi yang ditafsirkan memiliki makna lebih dari satu. Oleh karena itu, kalimat ambigu adalah kalimat yang memilliki makna ganda.

kalimat ambigu dibagi menjadi 3,yaitu;

1. Ambiguitas Fonetik

Ambiguitas fonetik adalah keambiguan yang terjadi akibat dari kesamaan bunyi – bunyi yang diucapkan dan biasanya banyak terjadi dalam dialog atau percakapan sehari – hari.
Contoh:  Dia datang kemari memberi tahu.
Kalimat diatas menimbulkan keambiguan kareana memiliki banyak tafsir, yaitu:
Apakah dia datang memberi tahu yang terbuat dari kacang kedelai, atau
Apakah dia datang memberi suatu informasi.
Untuk mengetahui arti atau makna kalimat tersebut secara keseluruhan, maka harus mendengarkan pembicaraan secara utuh.

2. Ambiguitas Gramatikal

Ambiguitas gramatikal terjadi karena proses pembentukan suatu ketatabahasaan baik pembentukan kata, prasa, maupun kalimat. Kata – kata atau frasa yang memiliki keambiguitasan jenis ini akan hilang jika dimasukan ke dalam konteks kalimat.
Contoh:   Orang tua
Kata tersebut memiliki dua makna yaitu ibu dan bapak atau orang yang sudah tua. Oleh sebab itu untuk mengetahui makna yang sebenarnya perlu disatukan ke dalam satu kalimat.
a. Orang tua Deni tidak bisa hadir hari ini.
b. Aku bertemu dengan orang tua yang kemarin tersesat di jalanan.

3. Ambiguitas Leksikal

Keambiguan jenis ini terjadi karena faktor kata itu sendiri. Pada dasarnya setiap kata memiliki makna lebih dari satu tergantung dari kalimat yang menyertainya.

Contoh:  Kata “lari” memiliki makna yang berbeda yaitu mengerjar sesuatu atau menjauh dari sesuatu.

Dia berlari mengejar bus sekolahnya.

Aku lari dari kenyataan.

Denotation,Connotation and Implication

                                            

 • Denotation and Connotation

 Denotation and Connotation are two principal methods of describing the meanings of words.

 1. Denotation (literal meanings) is the strict dictionary meaning of a word. Denotation is when you mean what you say, literally. Makna Denotasi sering di temukan di karya ilmiah.

 2. Connotation (suggestive meanings) is the emotional and imaginative association surrounding a word.Connotation is created when you mean something else, something that might be initially hidden.

 Words may have positive or negative Connotation that depend upon the social, cultural and personal experiences of individuals. For example, the words childish, childlike and youthful hane the same denotative but different connotative meanings. Childish and childlike have a negative connotation as the they refer to immature behavior of e person. Whereas, youthful implies that a person is lively and energetic. Makna konotasi sering ditemukan di karya satra.

 For example:

 1. both "woman" and "chick" have the denotation "adult female" in North American society, but "chick" has somewhat negative connotations, while "woman" is neutral.

2. You may live in a house, but we live in a home. If you were to look up the words house and home in a dictionary, you would find that both words have approximately the same meaning- "a dwelling place." However, the speaker in the sentence above suggests that home has an additional meaning. Aside from the strict dictionary definition, or denotation, many people associate such things as comfort, love, security, or privacy with a home but do not necessarily make the same associations with a house. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a home? of a house? Why do you think that real-estate advertisers use the word home more frequently than house? The various feelings, images, and memories that surround a word make up its connotation. Although both house and home have the same denotation, or dictionary meaning, home also has many connotations.

 • Implication

This is meaning which a speaker or writer intends but does not communicate directly. Where a listener is able to deduce or infer the intended meaning from what has been uttered, this is known as (conversational) implicature. Example: Utterance: “A bus!” → Implicature (implicit meaning): “We must run.”

• Conclusion

Dalam bahan yang saya bahas, saya menyimpulkan bahwa makna Denotasi adalah makna sebenarnya. Sedangkan makna konotasi adalah makna kiasan. Contohnya , sebuah symbol yang berbentuk mawar merah ;kalau di makna denotasi, mawar merah dengan batang hijau.sedangkan di konotasi, bunga mawar ini mewakili rasa cinta terhadap seseorang. Connotasi terbagi menjadi dua,yaitu; positive (sopan) dan negative (kasar). Contoh nya; Gugur (positive), Mampus (negative) yang makna nya sama. Denotasi sering ditemukan di karya ilmiah sedangkan konotasi serin ditemukan di karya sastra. Implication adalah makna yang disampaikan secara tidak langsung ,dimana pendengar langsung mengerti tanpa dijelaskan. Contoh nya; Utterance:”minyak habis” (implicit meaning) “sesudah lampu merah” Maksudnya adalah, seseorang datang mendorong motor dan berkata “minyak saya habis”, lawan bicara menjawab “sesudah lampu merah”. Jadi, seseorang yang kehabisan minyak tadi tanpa bertanya dimana pom bensi, si lawan pembicara sudah mengerti. Implication sering di temui disebuah pecakapan.

Euphemism

Euphemism Definition

The term euphemism refers to polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant.

Euphemism is an idiomatic expression which loses its literal meanings and refers to something else in order to hide its unpleasantness. For example, “kick the bucket” is a euphemism that describes the death of a person. In addition, many organizations use the term “downsizing” for the distressing act of “firing” its employees.

Euphemism depends largely on the social context of the speakers and writers where they feel the need to replace certain words which may prove embarrassing for particular listeners or readers in a particular situation.

Techniques for Creating Euphemism

Euphemism masks a rude or impolite expression but conveys the concept clearly and politely. Several techniques are employed to create euphemism.

• It may be in the form of abbreviations e.g. B.O. (body odor), W.C. (toilet) etc.
• Foreign words may be used to replace an impolite expression e.g. faux (fake), or faux pas (foolish error) etc.
• Sometimes, they are abstractions e.g. before I go (before I die).
• They may also be indirect expressions replacing direct ones which may sound offensive e.g. rear-end, unmentionables etc.
• Using longer words or phrases can also mask unpleasant words e.g. flatulence for farting, perspiration for sweat, mentally challenged for stupid etc.
• Using technical terms may reduce the rudeness exhibited by words e.g. gluteus maximus.
• Deliberately mispronouncing an offensive word may reduce its severity e.g. darn, shoot etc.

Euphemism Examples in Everyday Life

Euphemism is frequently used in everyday life. Let us look at some common euphemism examples:

• You are becoming a little thin on top (bald).
• Our teacher is in the family way (pregnant).
• He is always tired and emotional (drunk).
• We do not hire mentally challenged (stupid) people.
• He is a special child (disabled or retarded).

Function of Euphemism

Euphemism helps writers to convey those ideas which have become a social taboo and are too embarrassing to mention directly. Writers skillfully choose appropriate words to refer to and discuss a subject indirectly which otherwise are not published due to strict social censorship e.g. religious fanaticism, political theories, sexuality, death etc. Thus, euphemism is a useful tool that allows writers to write figuratively about the libelous issues.