Is there a name for this ambiguity problem or for the construction that solves it?
I read a sentence,
John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and law.
The author meant John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and in academic journals of law. But one could take the sentence to mean John has published research in academic journals that cover both philosophy and law.
I remember reading an article about these sorts of 'and' constructions; I don't have any sufficiently specific keywords in mind to search for the answer.
Do you know what keywords relate to these sorts of constructions?
conjunctions ambiguity conjunction-reduction attachment-ambiguity
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
add a comment |
I read a sentence,
John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and law.
The author meant John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and in academic journals of law. But one could take the sentence to mean John has published research in academic journals that cover both philosophy and law.
I remember reading an article about these sorts of 'and' constructions; I don't have any sufficiently specific keywords in mind to search for the answer.
Do you know what keywords relate to these sorts of constructions?
conjunctions ambiguity conjunction-reduction attachment-ambiguity
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
I am sure this is a duplicate
– mplungjan
Jan 21 '14 at 16:54
2
The simplest way to resolve the ambiguity is to insert "of" before "law".
– David Schwartz
Jan 21 '14 at 17:11
You could look up 'syntactic ambiguity' and 'attachment ambiguity' and try to decide between them.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jan 21 '14 at 17:57
Probable duplicate of earlier question, [What is the name of the ambiguity in the phrase ”I want to visit clubs with attractive women’?((english.stackexchange.com/q/120300/2085).
– tchrist♦
47 mins ago
add a comment |
I read a sentence,
John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and law.
The author meant John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and in academic journals of law. But one could take the sentence to mean John has published research in academic journals that cover both philosophy and law.
I remember reading an article about these sorts of 'and' constructions; I don't have any sufficiently specific keywords in mind to search for the answer.
Do you know what keywords relate to these sorts of constructions?
conjunctions ambiguity conjunction-reduction attachment-ambiguity
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
I read a sentence,
John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and law.
The author meant John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and in academic journals of law. But one could take the sentence to mean John has published research in academic journals that cover both philosophy and law.
I remember reading an article about these sorts of 'and' constructions; I don't have any sufficiently specific keywords in mind to search for the answer.
Do you know what keywords relate to these sorts of constructions?
conjunctions ambiguity conjunction-reduction attachment-ambiguity
conjunctions ambiguity conjunction-reduction attachment-ambiguity
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
edited 50 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290464
108k28290464
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
asked Jan 21 '14 at 16:52
Hal
1,36331426
1,36331426
I am sure this is a duplicate
– mplungjan
Jan 21 '14 at 16:54
2
The simplest way to resolve the ambiguity is to insert "of" before "law".
– David Schwartz
Jan 21 '14 at 17:11
You could look up 'syntactic ambiguity' and 'attachment ambiguity' and try to decide between them.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jan 21 '14 at 17:57
Probable duplicate of earlier question, [What is the name of the ambiguity in the phrase ”I want to visit clubs with attractive women’?((english.stackexchange.com/q/120300/2085).
– tchrist♦
47 mins ago
add a comment |
I am sure this is a duplicate
– mplungjan
Jan 21 '14 at 16:54
2
The simplest way to resolve the ambiguity is to insert "of" before "law".
– David Schwartz
Jan 21 '14 at 17:11
You could look up 'syntactic ambiguity' and 'attachment ambiguity' and try to decide between them.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jan 21 '14 at 17:57
Probable duplicate of earlier question, [What is the name of the ambiguity in the phrase ”I want to visit clubs with attractive women’?((english.stackexchange.com/q/120300/2085).
– tchrist♦
47 mins ago
I am sure this is a duplicate
– mplungjan
Jan 21 '14 at 16:54
I am sure this is a duplicate
– mplungjan
Jan 21 '14 at 16:54
2
2
The simplest way to resolve the ambiguity is to insert "of" before "law".
– David Schwartz
Jan 21 '14 at 17:11
The simplest way to resolve the ambiguity is to insert "of" before "law".
– David Schwartz
Jan 21 '14 at 17:11
You could look up 'syntactic ambiguity' and 'attachment ambiguity' and try to decide between them.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jan 21 '14 at 17:57
You could look up 'syntactic ambiguity' and 'attachment ambiguity' and try to decide between them.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jan 21 '14 at 17:57
Probable duplicate of earlier question, [What is the name of the ambiguity in the phrase ”I want to visit clubs with attractive women’?((english.stackexchange.com/q/120300/2085).
– tchrist♦
47 mins ago
Probable duplicate of earlier question, [What is the name of the ambiguity in the phrase ”I want to visit clubs with attractive women’?((english.stackexchange.com/q/120300/2085).
– tchrist♦
47 mins ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
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This is an example of what's called an Attachment Ambiguity.
It's very common in English, especially at the end of a sentence, for two major reasons
- English is a right-branching language, and thus tends to add qualifications at the end
- English prepositional phrases and adverbs may occur in many different locations
Together this means that a final qualification may refer
either to the constituent it's closest to,
or to some earlier constituent in the sentence.
It's ambiguous about what it's attached to.
For example, the sentence below
- She saw a cat hissing at a dog on a fence.
can mean
- She saw [a cat on a fence] hissing at a dog.
or it can mean that the dog was on the fence,
or it can mean they both were;
or it can mean that she was on the fence,
or it can mean that they all were.
In speech this is not a problem, because intonation and rhythm always distinguish the sense.
But in writing, it's important to be aware of potential attachment ambiguities,
in case you don't want to be ambiguous. Though in fact most people don't notice, or care.
That's why it's also important to be aware of them in reading, too,
because people may not be intending to be understood the way you first suspect.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
1
+1 The Adamantine Law of Written English: Whatever can be misunderstood will be.
– StoneyB
Jan 21 '14 at 20:56
add a comment |
I can only suggest that it is a kind of zeugma.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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This is an example of what's called an Attachment Ambiguity.
It's very common in English, especially at the end of a sentence, for two major reasons
- English is a right-branching language, and thus tends to add qualifications at the end
- English prepositional phrases and adverbs may occur in many different locations
Together this means that a final qualification may refer
either to the constituent it's closest to,
or to some earlier constituent in the sentence.
It's ambiguous about what it's attached to.
For example, the sentence below
- She saw a cat hissing at a dog on a fence.
can mean
- She saw [a cat on a fence] hissing at a dog.
or it can mean that the dog was on the fence,
or it can mean they both were;
or it can mean that she was on the fence,
or it can mean that they all were.
In speech this is not a problem, because intonation and rhythm always distinguish the sense.
But in writing, it's important to be aware of potential attachment ambiguities,
in case you don't want to be ambiguous. Though in fact most people don't notice, or care.
That's why it's also important to be aware of them in reading, too,
because people may not be intending to be understood the way you first suspect.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
1
+1 The Adamantine Law of Written English: Whatever can be misunderstood will be.
– StoneyB
Jan 21 '14 at 20:56
add a comment |
This is an example of what's called an Attachment Ambiguity.
It's very common in English, especially at the end of a sentence, for two major reasons
- English is a right-branching language, and thus tends to add qualifications at the end
- English prepositional phrases and adverbs may occur in many different locations
Together this means that a final qualification may refer
either to the constituent it's closest to,
or to some earlier constituent in the sentence.
It's ambiguous about what it's attached to.
For example, the sentence below
- She saw a cat hissing at a dog on a fence.
can mean
- She saw [a cat on a fence] hissing at a dog.
or it can mean that the dog was on the fence,
or it can mean they both were;
or it can mean that she was on the fence,
or it can mean that they all were.
In speech this is not a problem, because intonation and rhythm always distinguish the sense.
But in writing, it's important to be aware of potential attachment ambiguities,
in case you don't want to be ambiguous. Though in fact most people don't notice, or care.
That's why it's also important to be aware of them in reading, too,
because people may not be intending to be understood the way you first suspect.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
1
+1 The Adamantine Law of Written English: Whatever can be misunderstood will be.
– StoneyB
Jan 21 '14 at 20:56
add a comment |
This is an example of what's called an Attachment Ambiguity.
It's very common in English, especially at the end of a sentence, for two major reasons
- English is a right-branching language, and thus tends to add qualifications at the end
- English prepositional phrases and adverbs may occur in many different locations
Together this means that a final qualification may refer
either to the constituent it's closest to,
or to some earlier constituent in the sentence.
It's ambiguous about what it's attached to.
For example, the sentence below
- She saw a cat hissing at a dog on a fence.
can mean
- She saw [a cat on a fence] hissing at a dog.
or it can mean that the dog was on the fence,
or it can mean they both were;
or it can mean that she was on the fence,
or it can mean that they all were.
In speech this is not a problem, because intonation and rhythm always distinguish the sense.
But in writing, it's important to be aware of potential attachment ambiguities,
in case you don't want to be ambiguous. Though in fact most people don't notice, or care.
That's why it's also important to be aware of them in reading, too,
because people may not be intending to be understood the way you first suspect.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
This is an example of what's called an Attachment Ambiguity.
It's very common in English, especially at the end of a sentence, for two major reasons
- English is a right-branching language, and thus tends to add qualifications at the end
- English prepositional phrases and adverbs may occur in many different locations
Together this means that a final qualification may refer
either to the constituent it's closest to,
or to some earlier constituent in the sentence.
It's ambiguous about what it's attached to.
For example, the sentence below
- She saw a cat hissing at a dog on a fence.
can mean
- She saw [a cat on a fence] hissing at a dog.
or it can mean that the dog was on the fence,
or it can mean they both were;
or it can mean that she was on the fence,
or it can mean that they all were.
In speech this is not a problem, because intonation and rhythm always distinguish the sense.
But in writing, it's important to be aware of potential attachment ambiguities,
in case you don't want to be ambiguous. Though in fact most people don't notice, or care.
That's why it's also important to be aware of them in reading, too,
because people may not be intending to be understood the way you first suspect.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
answered Jan 21 '14 at 18:49
John Lawler
84.1k6116329
84.1k6116329
1
+1 The Adamantine Law of Written English: Whatever can be misunderstood will be.
– StoneyB
Jan 21 '14 at 20:56
add a comment |
1
+1 The Adamantine Law of Written English: Whatever can be misunderstood will be.
– StoneyB
Jan 21 '14 at 20:56
1
1
+1 The Adamantine Law of Written English: Whatever can be misunderstood will be.
– StoneyB
Jan 21 '14 at 20:56
+1 The Adamantine Law of Written English: Whatever can be misunderstood will be.
– StoneyB
Jan 21 '14 at 20:56
add a comment |
I can only suggest that it is a kind of zeugma.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
add a comment |
I can only suggest that it is a kind of zeugma.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
add a comment |
I can only suggest that it is a kind of zeugma.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
I can only suggest that it is a kind of zeugma.
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
answered Jan 21 '14 at 17:23
Barrie England
128k10203348
128k10203348
add a comment |
add a comment |
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I am sure this is a duplicate
– mplungjan
Jan 21 '14 at 16:54
2
The simplest way to resolve the ambiguity is to insert "of" before "law".
– David Schwartz
Jan 21 '14 at 17:11
You could look up 'syntactic ambiguity' and 'attachment ambiguity' and try to decide between them.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jan 21 '14 at 17:57
Probable duplicate of earlier question, [What is the name of the ambiguity in the phrase ”I want to visit clubs with attractive women’?((english.stackexchange.com/q/120300/2085).
– tchrist♦
47 mins ago