VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN DIỆU LINH LEXICAL AND STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY IN “TREASURE ISLAND” BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON (Sự mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc truyện “Đảo giấu vàng” Robert Louis Stevenson) M.A Minor Programme Thesis English Linguistics 60.22.15 HANOI- 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN DIỆU LINH LEXICAL AND STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY IN “TREASURE ISLAND” BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON (Sự mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc truyện “Đảo giấu vàng” Robert Louis Stevenson) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field : English Linguistics Code : 60.22.15 Supervisor : Assoc Prof Dr Lê Hùng Tiến HANOI- 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv ABBREVIATION vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aim of the Study Scope and method of the study Organization of the study Part B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Basic Concepts of English Ambiguity 1.1.1 Definition of Ambiguity 1.1.2 Differences between Ambiguity and Vagueness 1.2 Cases of Ambiguity 1.2.1 Lexical Ambiguity 1.2.1.1 Ambiguity caused by Homonymy and Polysemy 1.2.1.2 Ambiguity caused by Obscure References 10 1.2.1.3 Ambiguity caused by Intensions and Extensions 11 1.2.2 Structural Ambiguity 12 1.2.3 Semantic scope ambiguity 13 1.2.4 Phonological Ambiguity 14 1.3 Ambiguity and Literature 14 1.4 Summary 16 CHAPTER 2: LEXICAL AND STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY IN “TREASURE ISLAND” 17 2.1 Lexical ambiguity 17 2.1.1 Metaphor 17 2.1.2 Metonymy 22 2.1.3 Idioms 27 2.2 Structural ambiguity 28 2.2.1 Comparative clause 28 2.2.2 Relative clause 29 2.2.3 Modification of adjective 30 2.2.4 Prepositional phrases 31 2.2.4.1 Adjectival phrase 31 2.2.4.2 Adverbial clause 32 2.3 Data analysis and findings 34 2.4 Summary 35 PART C: CONCLUSION 36 Summary of the study 36 Some implications for teaching foreign languages to Vietnamese learners 36 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 37 REFERENCES I : Nguyễn Diệu Linh Họ tên Sinh ngày : 21- 01- 1986 Học viên khóa : 18 Chun ngành : Ngơn Ngữ Anh Tên đề tài luận văn : Lexical and Structural ambiguity in “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson Giáo viên hướng dẫn: PGS TS Lê Hùng Tiến Số điện thoại : 091 508 6559 Mail : arrien_moon@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Ambiguity is one of the interesting aspects of language Not only can it make interlocutors or readers misunderstand but it is also an effective tool to make literature works attractive Therefore, it has received many concerns from linguists This study in Semantics attempts to investigate lexical and structural ambiguity in “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson This investigation is carried out to answer the question: “What are the roles of lexical and structural ambiguity in “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson?” The theoretical framework for the analysis is set out by reviewing lexical and structural ambiguity discussed by different linguists, and focusing on the point of view of Hurford, J.R & Heasley, B (1983) who share the same idea as Palmer, F R (1981) and Cann, R (1983) Each chapter is gone deeply inside to find out and analyzed its lexical and structural ambiguity, then, the data are grouped based on the literature review From the data analysis, the roles of lexical and structural ambiguity in the story are proposed The results show that lexical and structural ambiguity appears in most chapter and they play important roles in the attraction of the story The findings from the analysis are also aimed at helping readers to clarify ambiguity which they may have to face up with when reading the story BẢN TOÁT YẾU Sự mơ hồ khía cạnh đặc sắc ngơn ngữ Nó khơng khiến người tham gia đàm thoại hiểu lầm mà công cụ hữu hiệu để làm cho tác phẩm văn học hấp dẫn thế, nhận nhiều quan tâm từ nhà ngôn ngữ Bài nghiên cứu lĩnh vực Ngữ Nghĩa học điều tra mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc truyện “Đảo Giấu Vàng” Robert Louis Stevenson Bài nghiên cứu tiến hành để trả lời câu hỏi: “Sự mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc có vai trị truyện “Đảo Giấu Vàng” Robert Louis Stevenson?” Lý thuyết cho phần phân tích đặt cách xem xét lại mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc mà nhà ngôn ngữ khác đề cập tới, tập trung theo quan điểm Hurford, J.R & Heasley, B (1983) người có quan điểm với Palmer, F R (1981) Cann, R (1983) Mỗi chương sâu để tìm hiểu phân tích mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc, sau đó, số liệu nhóm lại dựa theo lý thuyết Từ việc phân tích số liệu, vai trị mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc truyện đưa Các kết mơ hồ nghĩa từ vựng cấu trúc xuất hầu hết chương có vai trị quan trọng việc tạo hấp dẫn truyện Kết thu từ việc phân tích nhằm giúp độc giả hiểu rõ mơ hồ mà họ gặp phải đọc truyện ... roles of lexical and structural ambiguity in ? ?Treasure Island? ?? by Robert Louis Stevenson? ” The theoretical framework for the analysis is set out by reviewing lexical and structural ambiguity. .. received many concerns from linguists This study in Semantics attempts to investigate lexical and structural ambiguity in ? ?Treasure Island? ?? by Robert Louis Stevenson This investigation is carried... UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN DIỆU LINH LEXICAL AND STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY IN ? ?TREASURE ISLAND? ?? BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON (Sự mơ hồ nghĩa