8. Ambiguity and vagueness: An overview
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Christopher Kennedy
Abstract
Ambiguity and vagueness are two varieties of interpretive uncertainty which are often discussed together, but are distinct both in their essential features and in their significance for semantic theory and the philosophy of language. Ambiguity involves uncertainty about mappings between levels of representation with different structural characteristics, while vagueness involves uncertainty about the actual meanings of particular terms. This article examines ambiguity and vagueness in turn, providing a detailed picture of their empirical characteristics and the diagnostics for identifying them, and explaining their significance for theories of meaning. Although this article continues the tradition of discussing ambiguity and vagueness together, one of its goals is to emphasize the ways that these phenomena are distinct in their empirical properties, in the factors that give rise to them, and in the analytical tools that can be brought to bear on them.
Abstract
Ambiguity and vagueness are two varieties of interpretive uncertainty which are often discussed together, but are distinct both in their essential features and in their significance for semantic theory and the philosophy of language. Ambiguity involves uncertainty about mappings between levels of representation with different structural characteristics, while vagueness involves uncertainty about the actual meanings of particular terms. This article examines ambiguity and vagueness in turn, providing a detailed picture of their empirical characteristics and the diagnostics for identifying them, and explaining their significance for theories of meaning. Although this article continues the tradition of discussing ambiguity and vagueness together, one of its goals is to emphasize the ways that these phenomena are distinct in their empirical properties, in the factors that give rise to them, and in the analytical tools that can be brought to bear on them.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Semantic features and primes 1
- 2. Frameworks of lexical decomposition of verbs 47
- 3. Thematic roles 99
- 4. Lexical Conceptual Structure 126
- 5. Idioms and collocations 152
- 6. Sense relations 172
- 7. Dual oppositions in lexical meaning 201
- 8. Ambiguity and vagueness: An overview 236
- 9. Semantic underspecification 272
- 10. Mismatches and coercion 321
- 11. Metaphors and metonymies 350
- 12. Adjectives 381
- 13. Comparison constructions 415
- 14. Adverbs and adverbials 477
- 15, Adverbial clauses 515
- 16. Secondary predicates 543
- Index 569
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Semantic features and primes 1
- 2. Frameworks of lexical decomposition of verbs 47
- 3. Thematic roles 99
- 4. Lexical Conceptual Structure 126
- 5. Idioms and collocations 152
- 6. Sense relations 172
- 7. Dual oppositions in lexical meaning 201
- 8. Ambiguity and vagueness: An overview 236
- 9. Semantic underspecification 272
- 10. Mismatches and coercion 321
- 11. Metaphors and metonymies 350
- 12. Adjectives 381
- 13. Comparison constructions 415
- 14. Adverbs and adverbials 477
- 15, Adverbial clauses 515
- 16. Secondary predicates 543
- Index 569
