ambiguoususe

Ambiguoususe is a term used in linguistics to describe the use of a linguistic expression in a way that does not fix its reference or sense, leaving multiple possible interpretations for the listener or reader. The phenomenon can involve pronouns, deictic expressions, or polysemous words, and it may arise from the structure of the sentence, the surrounding discourse, or gaps in shared knowledge.

Ambiguoususe occurs when a referential expression lacks a clear antecedent or when a word bears more than one distinct sense within the same context. It can be intentional, as a rhetorical or stylistic device, or unintentional, stemming from poor phrasing, rapid speech, or insufficient context. In both cases, resolving the ambiguity requires additional information from context, discourse history, or world knowledge.

Examples

- Alex told Jamie that they would help. The pronoun they could refer to Alex or Jamie, depending on context.

- The bank near the river is a popular spot. Bank could mean a financial institution or the riverbank, depending on prior information.

- I saw the bat in the cave. Bat could refer to the animal or a baseball bat if the prior context mentions sports gear.

Implications

Ambiguoususe presents challenges for interpretation in everyday communication and for natural language processing, where coreference resolution, word sense disambiguation, and discourse analysis must infer the most likely reference. Scholars study ambiguoususe to understand how listeners use context to constrain meaning and how writers can either manage or exploit ambiguity for effect.

See also: ambiguity, coreference, deictics, polysemy.