An effective communicator conveys his/her message effectively and there is no ambiguity in his/her utterances. If the meaning intended is the same as the meaning conveyed by the writer/speaker and the meaning interpreted by the reader / listener, then communication is said to be effective. A word, phrase or sentence is said to be ambiguous if it has more than one meaning. Look at the following sentences:
• Prostitutes appeal to religious leaders. The word ‘appeal’ has two different meanings: i) to make an earnest request, and 2) to be especially attractive. So, the sentence can be interpreted in two ways: i) Prostitutes make a request to religious leaders, and ii) Religious leaders find prostitutes very attractive or enjoyable.
• Children make tasty food. The word ‘make’ has two meanings: i) to prepare, and ii) to prove to be. The intended meaning is that children prepare tasty food.
• Breast cancer in women mushrooms. The word ‘mushroom’ as a verb means ‘to spread’ or ‘to develop quickly’ and as a noun means ‘any of several edible species’. The intended meaning is that many women have breast cancer. It can also be interpreted that women mushrooms have breast cancer.
• Include your wife while baking cake. The intended meaning of this sentence is that the act baking cakes should be done by both the partners: husband and wife. The other interpretation is that a person should put the cake as well as his wife in the oven.
• Two ships collide, one dies. This headline is ambiguous because it can be interpreted as below: i) one person died, and ii) one of the ships died.
There are two types of ambiguity: i) lexical ambiguity, and ii) structural ambiguity. Many words in English have more than one meaning. For example, the word ‘light’ has many meanings — illumination from a source, an outstanding leader, daytime and spiritual enlightenment. For instance:
• The light of a candle.
• Kids should be allowed to play during the hours of light.
In all the five examples listed in the beginning, there is lexical ambiguity as the words ‘appeal’, ‘make’, ‘mushroom’, ‘include’ and ‘one’ has more than one meaning. If the intended meaning is not conveyed correctly, the message can be misinterpreted by the listener/reader.
When a phrase or sentence has more than one underlying structure, it is said to have structural ambiguity as in the examples below:
• Our professor lectured on the passenger ship. (Did the professor lecture about the passenger ship or did he lecture on board?)
• The puppy is ready to eat. (Is the reference to a hungry puppy or to a cooked puppy which is ready to be eaten?)
• Three short boys and girls are in the team. (Is the total of the boys and girls who are short is three or is the total six: three short boys and three short girls?)
• Aldeesh is an English teacher. (Is Aldeesh is a teacher of English or is he a teacher from England?)
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk