TECNICATURA SUPERIOR EN TRADUCCIÓN EN INGLÉS

CURSO INTRODUCTORIO 2024

AMBIGUITY, REDUNDANCY AND WORDINESS

AMBIGUITY

By Richard Nordquist

Ambiguity is the presence of two or more possible meanings in a single passage.

In speech and writing, there are two basic types of ambiguity:

Lexical ambiguity is the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single
word

Syntactic ambiguity is the presence of two or more possible meanings within a single
sentence or sequence of words

EXERCISES:

-For each case:

A. Identify the type of ambiguity

B. Describe the possible interpretations

 1- LOOK AT THE DOG WITH ONE EYE.
2- SARAH GAVE A BATH TO HER DOG WEARING A PINK T-SHIRT.
3- DID YOU SEE HER DRESS?
4- YOU SHOULD BRING WINE OR BEER AND DESSERT.
5- HARRY ISN’T COMING TO THE PARTY. TELL JOE THAT WE’LL SEE
HIM NEXT WEEK.
6- THE MURDERER KILLED THE STUDENT WITH A BOOK.
7- I FOUND A BAT IN THE FOREST.
8- PAT KISSED HIS WIFE, AND SO DID SAM.
9- CHRIS THOUGHT THAT ALEX WENT HOME AND PAT DID TOO.
10- CALL ME A TAXI.

C. Create your own cases of ambiguity. Illustrate them (as in the

example)

REDUNDANCY AND WORDINESS

REDUNDANCY: Unnecessary repetition of ideas

WORDINESS: the use of several words when a few can express the same idea more
clearly and concisely

EXERCISES:

1- Eliminate words

We often use two or more words that mean the same thing in the same sentence. By
eliminating these words, you would make the sentence more concise. Which words
could you eliminate in these sentences without changing the meaning?

1. What he says is a true fact.

2. There were dead corpses in the streets.
3. Let us collaborate together.
4. We are hopeful optimists.
5. The end result was good.
6. He was given a free gift at work.
7. They presented several new innovations.
8. She wrote an autobiography of her life

2- Revising a wordy paragraph

Underline the wordy parts of the following paragraph. Then, re-write the paragraph
on a separate page. Reduce the wordiness, but be sure you include all the information
from the original. Count how many words are in the revised version. Compare the word
counts of the original and revised versions.

CANADA IN SPACE

Canada in Space does not send space shuttles and rockets into space, so for that
reason people tend to forget that Canada has made very significant contributions to
space exploration. Because of its large size, Canada has specialized in satellite
communications technology. In 1962, Canada became the third country in the world to
have a satellite in orbit when it launched Alouette 1 in the early sixties. The Alouette
1 satellite was followed in 1972 by the Anik A-1 satellite which provided coast-to-
coast across Canada telephone services. Furthermore, Canada has developed
important tools for operating in space like the Canadarm. It was developed first in
1981. The Canadarm is a mechanical robotic arm used by astronauts on the American
space shuttle. Canada has also provided the space industry with people to go into
space. The first Canadian astronaut was Marc Garneau, who was an astronaut who did
research on the space shuttle. A more recent Canadian astronaut is Julie Payette who
went into space on the space shuttle in June of 1999. These contributions to the
world of the space industry are important ones and should not be forgotten.