3. Ambiguity in Language

3.1 Lexical Ambiguity

• Cause: A word has multiple meanings (polysemy/homophony).

• Example:

  • "The bank is steep." (financial institution vs. riverbank)

  • "He saw her duck." (animal vs. action)

3.2 Structural Ambiguity

• Cause: Multiple possible syntactic interpretations.

• Examples:

  • "Enraged cow injures farmer with axe."

    • Did the cow use an axe?

    • Was the farmer holding an axe?

  • "Visiting relatives can be boring."

    • Are the relatives visiting?

    • Are you visiting the relatives?