Definition and Examples of Syntactic Ambiguity

In English  grammar, syntactic ambiguity (also called structural ambiguity or  grammatical ambiguity) is  the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single sentence or sequence of words, as opposed to lexical ambiguity, which is the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single word. The intended meaning of a syntactically ambiguous phrase can generally—although not always—be determined by the context of its use. How Ambiguity Leads to Misunderstanding Syntactic ambiguity generally results from poor word choice. If care is not used when selecting phrases that taken in a connotative rather than a denotative context may have more than one meaning, or if the sentences in which theyre used are not properly constructed, the results can often be confusing for readers or listeners. Here are some examples: The professor said on Monday he would give an exam. This sentence means either that it was on Monday that the professor told the class about the exam or that the exam would be given on Monday.The chicken is ready to eat. This sentence either means the chicken is cooked and can be eaten now or the chicken is ready to be fed.The burglar threatened the student with the knife. This sentence either means that a knife-wielding burglar threatened a student or the student a burglar threatened was holding a knife.Visiting relatives can be boring. This sentence either means that the act of visiting ones relatives can lead to boredom or that visiting relatives can sometimes make for less than scintillating company. Using Speech Cues to Decipher Syntactic Ambiguity In Cognitive Psychology, authors M. Eysenck and M. Keane tell us that some syntactic ambiguity occurs at a global level, meaning entire sentences can be open to two or more possible interpretations, citing the sentence, They are cooking apples, as an example. The ambiguity is whether the word cooking is being used as an adjective or a verb. If its an adjective, they refers to the apples and cooking identifies the type of apples being discussed. If its a verb, they refers to the people who are cooking the apples. The authors go on to say that listeners can figure out which meaning is implied in spoken sentences by using prosodic cues in the form of stress, intonation, and so on. The example they cite here is the ambiguous sentence: The old men and women sat on the bench. The men are old, but are the women also old? They explain that if the women sitting on the bench are not elderly, when the word men is spoken it will be relatively long in duration, while the stressed syllable in women will have a steep rise in speech contour. If the women on the bench are also old, these cues will not be present. Syntactic Ambiguity in Humor Syntactic ambiguity is not usually something one strives for in clear communication, however, it does have its uses. One of the most entertaining is when double meanings are applied for comedic purposes. Ignoring the accepted context of a phrase and embracing an alternative meaning often ends in a laugh. One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I dont know.—Groucho Marx The ambiguity here is who was in the pajamas, Groucho or the elephant? Groucho, answering the question in the opposite way of expectation, gets his laugh. A lady with a clipboard stopped me in the street the other day. She said, Can you spare a few minutes for cancer research? I said, All right, but were not going to get much done.—English comedian Jimmy Carr The ambiguity here is does the woman mean she expects the comedian to actually conduct research, or is she looking for a donation? The context, of course, implies that shes hoping he will make a contribution. He, on the other hand, goes for the punch line instead, purposely misunderstanding her. Its a small world, but I wouldnt want to paint it.—American comedian Steven Wright The ambiguity here is lies within the phrase small world. While the adage, Its a small world is generally accepted to have one of several accepted figurative meanings (what a coincidence; were not so different from one another, etc.), Wright has chosen to take the phrase literally. Comparatively speaking, the world—as in the Earth—may not be as large as other planets, but it would still be a Herculean chore to paint it. Sources Eysenck, M.; M. Keane, M. Cognitive Psychology. Taylor Francis, 2005

Adverbs of Frequency Beginner English Lesson

Students can now talk about their daily habits. Introducing adverbs of frequency can help give them further expressive capabilities by allowing them to speak about how often they perform daily tasks. Write these adverbs of frequency on the board next to a list of the days of the week. For example: Always - Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / Saturday / SundayUsually - Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday / SaturdayOften - Monday / Tuesday / Thursday / SundaySometimes - Monday / ThursdaySeldom - SaturdayNever This list will help students associate the adverbs of frequency with the concept of relative repetition or frequency. Teacher: I always have breakfast. I usually get up at 7 oclock. I often watch television. I sometimes exercise. I seldom go shopping. I never cook fish. (Model each adverb of frequency by pointing to it on the board while slowly saying the phrases allowing students to take in the regularity associated with the adverb of frequency being used. Make sure to accent the various adverbs of frequency.) Teacher: Ken, how often do you come to class? I always come to class. How often do you watch TV? I sometimes watch TV. (Model how often and the adverb of frequency by accenting how often in the question and the adverb of frequency in the response.) Teacher: Paolo, how often do you come to class? Student(s): I always come to class. Teacher: Susan, how often do you watch TV? Student(s): I sometimes watch TV. Continue this exercise around the room with each of the students. Use very simple verbs that the students have already become used to using when talking about their daily routines so that they can focus on learning the adverbs of frequency. Pay special attention to the placement of the adverb of frequency. If a student makes a mistake, touch your ear to signal that the student should listen and then repeat his/her answer accenting what the student should have said. Part II: Expanding to Third Person Singular Teacher: Paolo, how often do you eat lunch? Student(s): I usually eat lunch. Teacher: Susan, does he usually eat lunch? Student(s): Yes, he usually eats lunch. (pay special attention to the s ending on the third person singular) Teacher: Susan, do you usually get up at ten oclock? Student(s): No, I never get up at ten oclock. Teacher: Olaf, does she usually get up at ten oclock? Student(s): No, she never gets up at ten oclock. etc. Continue this exercise around the room with each of the students. Use very simple verbs that the students have already become used to using when talking about their daily routines so that they can focus on learning the adverbs of frequency. Pay special attention to the placement of the adverb of frequency and the correct usage of the third person singular. If a student makes a mistake, touch your ear to signal that the student should listen and then repeat his/her answer accenting what the student should have said.

Research Proposal on Database Usability Issues Free Essays

There are different types of database usability issues; you could talk about the problems that occur when a user views a database system . i. e. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Database Usability Issues or any similar topic only for you Order Now the user will see different from what the database contains. But with â€Å"the advance in design of highly interactive computer systems continues at an ever-increasing pace, with new developments in hardware and software being announced more frequently than ever before. † (Lawson, J. Yull, S. Anderson, H. Knott, G. Waites, N. 2005, pg 258) So with the increasing interactive computer systems, within this research proposal I am going to talk about the problems that a user may come across in the form of virtual reality VR, graphical user interface GUI and human computer interaction / interface HCI. The aim of this unit is to provide an understanding of the importance of VR, GUI and HCI in the development of user friendly computer software and to inform the reader about the components that may be involved in these features. The Objectives that I want to achieve is to define what is meant by the terms VR, GUI and HCI. I also want to show what applications use Virtual reality, Human Computer Interaction and Graphical User Interface. The motivation I had to pick the topic of database usability issues was that I have learned about it in the past and I felt confident that it is an area that I enjoyed. It is better to write about something that you enjoy, so then the reader can feel the confidence in the review. It was also a topic I wanted to look further into especially the HCI factor. Within this initial literature review I have looked at a number of books and websites that I feel would help me in findings definitions for all usability features. I also looked at what applications use Virtual Reality, Human Computer Interaction and Graphical User Interface. According to (http://searchcio-midmarket. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci213303,00. html# ) â€Å"Virtual reality is an artificial environment that is created with software and presented to the user in such a way that the user suspends belief and accepts it as a real environment. This means that the user will have a feeling of being able to enter a virtual world. Most of the current virtual reality environments are displayed either on a computer screen, and some simulations even include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphone. All the features make a pretend virtual reality world seem real. â€Å"The uses for virtual reality are infinite. It can be used for air tra ffic control, medicine, entertainment, office work and industrial design. However, along with the good comes the bad. Virtual Reality could also be used for destructive purposes, such as war and crime. † (http://library. thinkquest. org/26890/virtualrealityt. htm) So with having the brilliant feature of being submersed into an alternative world, there can also be downsides as well. For example I would say that gaming would be one of the most popular virtual realities, and in the news you also here about how games are taking over children’s life’s, and it is contributed to make kids obese. This is true, but if used in the correct manner a VR can cause feeling of excitement. GUI or Graphical User Interface would possibly be the graphics that may be used to help create a virtual world. Galitz, W. (2007) also made a good point in saying that â€Å"GUIs are looked at in terms of their components, characteristics, and advantages over the older text-based systems. † (Galitz, W. 2007) A brilliant quote I feel was found on (http://searchwindevelopment. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid8_gci213989,00. tml). â€Å"A GUI is a graphical (rather than purely textual) user interface to a computer. As you read this, you are looking at the GUI†. I love this quote because it’s true, I know that there are no images or graphics on this document, but if you were to open this document on a web browser this would be the graphical user interface you would see. I personally feel that graphics play a major role within a program whether it is a website, database or presenta tion. I feel as if people recognise images before text. For example if we look at YouTube, people automatically recognise videos before even reading its title or description. On a website your eye is drawn to an image. So by having a program that incorporates high quality images, and maybe even videos, you will be catching the audience’s attention. HCI or Human Computer Interaction is a process that evaluates the interaction between the user and a program. For example does the user take advantage of features a program may have, do they use headphones when using a program. Everything that is used to create a VR (virtual reality) or create GUI (graphical user interface) is put into play at HCI. According to (Dix, A. Finlay, J. Abowd, G. Beale, R. 2004) Human computer interaction â€Å"is the study of how people interact with computers and to what extent computers are or are not developed for successful interaction with human beings. † So HCI takes into account both sides of the computers users. It looks at things like the computer graphics, operating system, and programming language and on the human side according to (Cairns, P. Cox, A. 2008) â€Å"communication theory, graphic and industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social science, cognitive psychology, and human performance are relevant. † So for a program to incorporate good HCI, it could contain features such as movable interfaces with pull-down menus, dialog books, check boxes, scroll bars etc. By incorporating features like these to a program the user will feel they have mor e of a input on what they are doing, this mainly created by the fact that the user will get the feeling that they are controlling what they do. But according to (Preece, J. Rogers, Y. Sharp, H. Benyon, D. Holland, S. Carey, T. 1994) â€Å"A decade ago, when our understanding of HCI was more limited, many systems developers might have felt that good intentions were the major requirement for producing an effective HCI design. † However with the amount of changes that computers have gone through in the past decade, HCI is now better than it ever was. HCI nowadays is about giving a user the freedom to interact fully with a program whether it be a website, a game or a database etc. With the rapid increase in new technologies and computers now smaller than ever, with more applications available and more advanced virtual reality experiences; we can only wonder what else can the future hold. We have already switched to digital photographs, mobile phones with GPRS, something that 20 years ago would have been laughed at. In fact GUI has taken a major leap into high definition. HCI has improved with the aspect of touch screens and wireless keyboards etc, and Virtual Reality has even branched out into the ergonomics sector. It has produced a chair that will receive audio and vibrations from a program on a computer or TV. For example if you get shot at in a game, you will feel as if the bullet is just passing you ear and the vibrations captivate you so you feel like you in the actual game. But there is still some questions that need answered like: 1. Why hasn’t the changes in HCI and GUI have an effect on things like teletext? 2. I would also like to research into a device that has become available in the last year and find out why it hasn’t been available before. 3. I want to find out how far Virtual Reality can stretch. 4. I would also like to know if VR, HCI, GUI has had a major impact on the obese children of Brittan. 5. What elderly people think about the change in technology today? 6. Finally I would love to know how childhoods have changed over the years with more and more computer devices available. I would use the internet mainly to gather my findings, but I would also look towards books and journals. I would use search engines to help me answer question one, and two. By doing this I could visit different sites that might give me answers. I would probably use on-line forums for question three and four, to get a prospective on other people opinions. But for question four I would also use news websites to find statistics if any. For question five I would maybe visit an elderly / retirement home, or send out questionnaires hoping to find information that will help me answer my questions, I would also use questionnaires for question six but a little less complex maybe. As well as the questionnaires for question six I would probably go to a school and ask the kids myself, to get a real response. To obtain answers from my research I would plan question six before school ends for summer, I would ask the kids what they plan to do for the summer, and when they return in September I would ask the same kids what they actually did with the summer. I would use the same concept for question four, I would ask for permission to maybe take note of different kids weight and height before they left for summer, and after they return from there break I would weigh and measure the same kids to work out if the summer has been an active one. Everything else I feel has no major rush but maybe for question three I would take note of the highest quality Virtual Reality system there is available now and in six months I would check if it has been improved any. REFERNCES Cairns, P. Cox, A. (2008) Research Methods for Human-Computer Interaction Dix, A. Finlay, J. Abowd, G. Beale, R. (2004) Human-Computer Interaction Galitz, W. (2007) The essential guide to user interface design Lawson, J. Yull, S. Anderson, H. Knott, G. Waites, N. (2005) BTEC National Study Guide: IT Practitioners Preece, J. Rogers, Y. Sharp, H. Benvon, D. Holland, S. Carey, T. (1994) Human Computer Interaction Tech Target (2008) Virtual Reality [on-line]: http://searchcio-midmarket. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci213303,00. html# [Accessed: 22/04/09] Tech Target (2006) GUI [on-line]. (http://searchwindevelopment. techtarget. com/sDefinition/0,,sid8_gci213989,00. html). [Accessed: 26/04/09] Think Quest: Virtual Reality [on-line]. http://library. thinkquest. org/26890/virtualrealityt. htm [Accessed: 22/04/09] How to cite Research Proposal on Database Usability Issues, Essays

Comparing Holding Things Together and forty-five a month free essay sample

Both â€Å"Holding Things Together† by Anne Tyler and â€Å"forty-five a month† by R. K. Narayan are about the difficulties people face in maintaining close relationships. Venkat Rao, in â€Å"forty-five a month†, shows the greatest sense of responsibility towards a relationship. He works hard to earn very little money in order to provide for his wife and daughter. Lucy, in â€Å"Holding Things Together†, works to uphold her and her husband, Alfred’s, property without any help from him. Venkat Rao, from â€Å"forty-five a month†, regrets that he is unable to spend time with his family; especially his daughter Shanta. Due to his job, however, there is nothing he can do to remedy this because he needs the money in order to provide them with the necessities of life. Venkat Rao promises to take Shanta to the movies after work since he has not spent time with her in a long time. Shanta â€Å"insisted on wearing the thinnest frock and knickers, while her mother wanted to dress her in a long skirt and thick coat† (53) because she wanted to look her best for her father. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparing Holding Things Together and forty-five a month or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When his manager does not allow Venkat Rao to leave work on time to take Shanta to the movies, he is determined to quit, believing that [he wasn’t a slave who had sold himself for forty rupees† (55). When he goes to hand in his letter of resignation, however, his manager tells him that he will be getting a raise. Venkat Rao is distraught because he knows that this money will help his family, but he also knows that he will no longer have any time with his family. Lucy, from â€Å"Holding Things Together†, is resentful that she must complete all of the work around her and her husband’s house. She does not hold her husband in high esteem, believing that he is a â€Å"large, pale, tired-looking man going bald† (202). She despises the fact that Alfred was never taught how to â€Å"fix a leaky faucet† (202), â€Å"change the storm windows or put on tire chains† (202). She does not think highly of her relationship with her husband, and she complains constantly about how he does not help her with the work. When he does try to help, however, he does something wrong and she gets even angrier with him. Alfred feels as though â€Å"nothing [he does] will satisfy [her]† (212) because she â€Å"always [wants] everything perfect† (212). Lucy is so busy working around the house or complaining that Alfred will not help her, that she does not spend any time trying to mend her relationship with her husband. She acts annoyed and judgemental towards Alfred merely because he does not know how to help her. Both â€Å"Holding Things Together† and â€Å"forty-five a month† talk about the difficulties people face in maintaining close relationships. Venkat Rao, in â€Å"forty-five a month†, shows the greatest sense of responsibility towards a relationship because he is dedicated to his job in order to provide for his family. He feels awful that he is unable to spend time with his family, but he does what is best for them by continuing to work in order to bring enough money home. Lucy, in â€Å"Holding Things Together†, works to uphold her and her husband, Alfred’s, property without any help from him. She is bitter and angry that Alfred does not help her, yet also becomes angry when he does try to help her. She does not put time or effort into their relationship.