Introduction 1
1. The Definition and Classifications of “Ambiguity” 1
1.1 The Definition of Ambiguity 1
1.2 The Classifications of “Ambiguity” 2
2. The Cause of Ambiguity 5
2.1 N. Chomsky and His Theory of Transformational-generative Grammar 5
2.2 Feng Zhiwei and PA (Potential Ambiguity) Theory 6
3. The Communicative Functions of Ambiguity 8
3.1 The Positive Functions of Ambiguity 8
3.2 The Negative Functions of Ambiguity 15
4. The Elimination Methods of Ambiguity 17
4.1 The Elimination Methods of Phonological Ambiguity 17
4.2 The Elimination Methods of Lexical Ambiguity 18
4.3 The Elimination Methods of Grammatical Ambiguity 18
4.4 Context Analysis is An Important Means in The Identification and Elimination of Ambiguity 18
Conclusion 19
Bibliography 22
Abstract: Ambiguity is an important feature of our language. And it is also an interesting topic and its study has a long tradition. Many scholars have been researching it from different points of view. The discussion about linguistic ambiguity is not new, so this paper will give a brief introduction of the definition of ambiguity. The classification of ambiguity has been divided into four parts: phonological ambiguity, lexical ambiguity, syntactic ambiguity and pragmatic ambiguity. Furthermore, the cause of ambiguity has been discussed from different studies in the field. At last, application of linguistic ambiguity is naturally talked about. Linguistic ambiguity can be seen as a sword that has two blades. The negative side should be avoided to make our writing or speech more accurate. The positive side should be studied to make use of it in literature words which will become more interesting and vivid. That is why we have to do our utmost to study ambiguity in English. The last part of this paper will give some methods to avoid the ambiguity and to appreciate the ambiguous “beauty”.
Key Words: ambiguity; classifications; cause; communicative functions; elimination methods
摘 要：任何語言都有歧義現象，英語也不例外。Kess 和koppe顯著在其專著Ambiguity in Psycholinguistics 一書中甚至提出“語言無處不歧義”的理論。 本文不僅僅局限于歧義類型的總結、歧義現象的描述，而且將其置于實際的交際使用中加以探討。本文首先在第一章簡單闡述了“歧義”的概念；同時簡單了歧義的四大類型 ，分別為語音歧義，詞匯歧義，句法歧義，和語用歧義。接著第二章從不同的角度分析了歧義形成的原因，其中喬姆斯機轉換生成語法的表層結構和深層結構理論以及馮志偉的潛在歧義結構理論對歧義的形成原因有很強的解釋力。然后在接下來的第三章著重研究歧義的兩種功能，積極功能和消極功能。最后在第四章中運用一些方法消除消極歧義，以達到歧義“美”的效果。
關鍵詞：歧義；類型；成因；交際功能；消歧
