Abstract
Ambiguity and its interpretation and utilization are three issues which are closely linked but also differ with each other. Ambiguity is a matter of language expression, in which the speaker expresses several messages by means of one single utterance. The interpretation of ambiguity concerns the language phenomenon that listener unconsciously misunderstands speaker’s linguistic message. The utilization of ambiguity refers to the pragmatic phenomenon that language users intentionally use some seemly ambiguous expressions in the speech so as to express deep, implicit meaning or to achieve humorous effect. Ambiguity is a cognitive fault in language express and the interpretation of ambiguity on language understanding, while the utilization of ambiguity is a creative behavior in language use.
| Keywords: | pragmatics; cognition; ambiguity; “qijie” (ª[¸Ñ); “yongqi” (¥Îª[) |
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