Purposely Ambiguous Language - Research Paper Example

Purposely Ambiguous Language Language is a beautiful gift wrapped in different kinds of interesting materials. No matter how diverse, language continues to shine with its uniqueness and practicality. A world without language is equal to chaos, severe misunderstanding, and regression. On the contrary, having a specific tool of communication facilitates agreement, harmony, and progress. However, the use of language can go beyond the transmission of messages from one person to the other. In particular, purposely ambiguous language serves to appeal to the critical and creative minds of highly intelligent human beings. Typically, verbal communication is expected to be clear and well-defined (Quiroga-Clare par. 23). As such, the tendency is to use the simplest of words and rely on literal meanings to attain maximum comprehension. But even the best of efforts cannot result in perfect communication that is devoid of misinterpretation and confusion. Meanings can inevitably change from one person to the next that language is equated o ambiguity (Quiroga-Clare par. 23). Consequently, the world is full of arguments that sometimes escalate to dreadful disputes. On the other hand, ambiguous language that is intentionally used in modern literature plays a very important role. Come to think of it, why will someone want to read a message that is vague or baffling? This essay intends to affirm the hypothesis that purposely ambiguous language serves to provide opportunities for mental development especially in the areas of analytical and inventive thinking. Ambiguous language is one which is difficult to understand given two or more meanings that can be associated with it (Quiroga-Clare par. 4). A word that is ambiguous is called lexical ambiguity while phrases or sentences are referred to as structural ambiguity. Meanwhile, even if most words have indeed more than one interpretation does not make it that hard to understand. Contextual clues are usually provided to facilitate understand of literary materials. Rusche adds that ambiguous language is related to any verbal tone that elicits varying reactions to the same linguistic piece (qtd. in Quiroga-Clare par. 8). Such a statement seems to imply something negative at first considering that language is supposed to unify people by having similar interpretations. But if one thinks very deeply about it, he or she will realize that it is but logical to get different kinds of reaction to the same material basically because no two people are the same in the first place. Take for example the sentence, “Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as is his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart” (Fitzgerald 15). Showing this statement to two or more individuals and asking them to interpret it would undoubtedly result in unique answers that have varying sparks of interest. However, it would be inappropriate to declare one person as correct in his or her analysis over the other because of their essential individuality. Each person has his or her own family background, education, past experiences, social interactions, and exposure to literature that these factors are going to certainly affect the way the person will give the meaning to this statement. In this way, purposely ambiguous language gives a wide room for all individuals to freely allow their thoughts to travel to places where they have never been. It likewise liberates one from any form of censorship and be able to enjoy a personal space for the imagination to grow. Traugott suggests that modernism is apparent in most text materials that contain denotations as well as figurative and hidden meanings that actually make the literary communication between the author and the reader more interactive and fun (qtd. in Quiroga-Clare par. 26). It is much like the evolution that has taken place in the role of the classroom teacher to take the backstage and let the learner direct his or her own intellectual development. Quiroga-Clare agrees that purposely ambiguous language is actually a means of stimulating the poetic ability in every individual (par. 24). Whatever association that a person may attach to various statements is his own right, dignity, and growth. Such an idea can be easily seen if a person comes across a sentence saying, “We came to the broken place and went through it” (Faulkner 4). The words broken place seem to be quite vague at first but in isolation, the person will try to associate something to the words that is based on previous experiences. As such, for somebody who may experience betrayal in a love relationship, the broken place can be attributed to an area in life that has caused much trauma and tragedy. Meanwhile, for another individual, broken place could mean a physical area that is rundown, old, and needs repair. But whatever the interpretation is, purposely ambiguous language in this sense is a personal journey that is to be respected and honored. Moreover, purposely ambiguous language is intended to reach out to a wider scope of readers by using street or slang words that anybody can relate to. This is especially true in the sentences, “He felt topping about it. Great friends we were” (Hemingway 11). Topping is a word that could be usually associated with something that is above a certain structure. But as a street language, topping could be interpreted as high and positive feeling. In this way, an ambiguous language in the first glance can actually become a good source of unity among other people who use this kind of creative language. On the other hand, reading extensive literary materials that contain purposely ambiguous language allows one to stay on track and actually read the whole material in order to get updated with the whole sense of the sentences. For example, the word balancing in the statement “She hinted in a murmur that the surname of the balancing girl was Baker” (Fitzgerald 8) could mean something else. But if the individual is able to read the story from the start up to this point, he or she will realize that the word balancing actually relates to the female character’s seemingly firm posture. The more exciting part of purposely ambiguous language could be found in statements like, “Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting” (Faulkner 3). At first glance, the reader will start to wonder, what the character is trying to hit and with what. As such, it will motivate him or to read some more and not to stop until he or she is able to understand what the statement really means. Thus, along the way, purposely ambiguous language excites the individual and provides impetus to read the material page after page. Furthermore, purposely ambiguous language incites certain amounts of curiosity for the reader that helps to prevent boredom in the materials. This can especially be understood in the sentence, “In two weeks it’ll be the longest day in the year” (Fitzgerald 10). Apparently, the phrase “longest day in the year” can spark an inquisitive mind and ask what this longest day could be. The individual then will start to think of his experience of longest day and could travel back in time while reading the literary piece. Then, as soon as her or she reaches that part of the story that explicitly explains what the longest day is all about, then he or she can either relate to the same experience or be able to add up something new to the vocabulary and insights. There is so much that purposely ambiguous language can do to a person and once again it pertains to the intellectual development. For example, reading the sentence, “You must keep your strength up. I’ll make you a toddy.” (Faulkner 5) will make one scratch his head. The word toddy is not something that can be heard in any ordinary household that it will motivate one to grab a dictionary and find out what it is really all about. Otherwise, he or she will miss out on the story and will be unable to understand the whole book. Consequently, in the research process, he or she will realize that toddy actually pertains to some tropical palm trees in the Asian region and that it is used as a beverage. Needless to say, purposely ambiguous language stimulates the resourcefulness in every individual and forces him or her to study other cultures and their language that could be typically done in everyday lifestyle. In the same way, the sentence, “Holding on to that ahun gate” (Faulkner 6) seems like a strange thing to hear but for someone who lives in a certain area, it would be a nice feeling to have the regional language featured in a literary piece. For the reader, the word ahun may just mean nothing but once again this will drive the person to go out of his or her way to find out the truth and end up appreciating other cultures. In this sense, purposely ambiguous language is another unifying factor that is least to be expected when this type of contemporary style is not deeply explored by the individual. For purposes of satisfaction the word ahun refers to a primary region in France. Having been able to study in great detail why ambiguous language is incorporated in literary works has now been clearly answered. Purposely ambiguous language stirs the mind in a very effective way that will not ordinarily take place when one is reading an easy material. This kind of language has proven to prevent spoon-feeding and thus facilitate critical thinking in most individuals. A sense of unity is also achieved by learning different cultures and language. The vocabulary is expanded and filled in with more useful information. Most significantly, unclear language allows the person to think outside of the box, arouse his or her curiosity for things, and make his or her resolutions for the various issues that are presented to him or her. Indeed, Quiroga-Clare is right in saying that ambiguous language is of utmost value (par. 1). The thesis that purposely ambiguous language is meant to develop the mind and the creative abilities is confirmed. Works Cited Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New York: Vintage, 1991. Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Hemingway, Ernest. In Our Time. : Amereon Limited, 1995. Quiroga-Clare, Cecilia. “Language Ambiguity: A Curse and a Blessing.” Translation Journal 7 (2003). 28 March 2009 . Read More