Structural ambiguity
Let’s say we have two distinct deep structures. One expresses the idea that “Annie had
an umbrella and she bumped into a man with it.” The other expresses the idea that
“Annie bumped into a man and the man happened to be carrying an umbrella.” Now,
these two different versions of events can actually be expressed in the same surface
structure form: Annie bumped into a man with an umbrella. This sentence provides an
example of structural ambiguity. It has two distinct underlying interpretations that
have to be represented differently in deep structure.
The comedian Groucho Marx knew how to have fun with structural ambiguity. In the
filmAnimal Crackers, he first says I once shot an elephant inmy pajamas, then follows it
with How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know. In the non-funny interpretation, part of
the underlying structure of the first sentence could be something like: “I shot an elephant
(while I was) in my pajamas.” In the other (ho, ho) interpretation, part of the underlying
structure would be something like: “I shot an elephant (which was) in my pajamas.”
There are two different underlying structures with the same surface structure.
Phrases can also be structurally ambiguous, as in expressions like small boys and
girls. The underlying interpretation can be either “small boys and (small) girls” or
“small boys and (all) girls.” Our syntactic analysis will have to be capable of showing
the structural distinction between these underlying representations.
Recursion
The rules of the grammar will also need the crucial property of recursion. Recursive
(“repeatable any number of times”) rules have the capacity to be applied more than
98 The Study of Language
once in generating a structure. For example, we can have one prepositional phrase
describing location (on the table) in the sentence The gun was on the table. We can also
repeat this type of phrase, using different words (near the window), for as long as the
sentence still makes sense (in the bedroom). So, in order to generate a sentence such as
The gunwas on the table near the window in the bedroom, we must be able to repeat the
rule that creates a prepositional phrase over and over again.
We must also be able to put sentences inside other sentences. For example, when we
produce a sentence such as Cathy knew that Mary helped George, we do so with the
sentence Mary helped George inside it. And those two sentences can be generated
inside another sentence such as John believed that Cathy knew that Mary helped
George. In principle, there is no end to the recursion that would produce ever longer
versions of complex sentences with this structure.
Basically, the grammar will have to capture the fact that a sentence can have another
sentence inside it or that a phrase can be repeated as often as required. We should note
that recursion of this type is not only a feature of grammar, but can also be an essential
part of a theory of cosmic structure, as in the role of turtles in one little old lady’s view
of the universe (in the introductory quotation).
المادة المعروضة اعلاه هي مدخل الى المحاضرة المرفوعة بواسطة استاذ(ة) المادة . وقد تبدو لك غير متكاملة . حيث يضع استاذ المادة في بعض الاحيان فقط الجزء الاول من المحاضرة من اجل الاطلاع على ما ستقوم بتحميله لاحقا . في نظام التعليم الالكتروني نوفر هذه الخدمة لكي نبقيك على اطلاع حول محتوى الملف الذي ستقوم بتحميله .
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