LECTURE VII DEALING WITH SENTENCE (PART 3)
1 IMPLICATION
2 TYPES OF AMBIGUITY
3 WHAT THE WRITER MEANS BUT FOR SOME
REASONS PREFERS NOT TO SAY DIRECTLY
1.
IMPLICATION
9.1 By his
choice of words, his choice of language, a writer often implies more than is
actually printed on the page. What is the meaning implied by each of the
following quotations?
1. Women's intuition is the result of millions of
years of not thinking. (Rupert Hughes).
2. Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as
men to be thought half as good. Luckily that is not difficult. (Charlotte Whitton,
Mayor of Ottawa).
3.
I am glad that I am not a man as I should then be obliged to marry a woman.
(Madame de Staël).
4. Women are most fascinating between the ages of 35 and
40, after they have won a few races and know how to pace themselves. Since few
women ever pass 40, maximum fascination can continue indefinitely. (Christian
Dior).
5. There must be some women who are not liars. (W.
Somerset Maugham)
6. Women are like gods. They have one face for their
worshippers and one for their rivals. (source unknown)
2 TYPES OF
AMBIGUITY
1. Joe: «My hobby is sailing ships».
John: «Personally, I prefer flying kites».
Jack: «How about flying saucers?»
a. Can any of these speakers be sure that he knows
what the others are talking about?
b. What's the problem?
2. He dreamed of travelling constantly.
a. How often did he have this dream?
b. How often did he want to travel?
3. The lamb was too hot to eat.
What
are the three possible meanings of this statement?
a.
The weather was _____, so the lamb wouldn't eat.
b. The (cooked) lamb wasn't
edible because the cook used too much _______.
d. The
(cooked) lamb had to be ______ before it could be eaten.
4. SHIP SAILS TODAY
a.
Is this an order that someone has issued?
b. Is someone reporting an event?
5. The patriotic Americans have great respect for
their country's constitution.
a.
Do all Americans respect their constitution (because they are all patriotic)?
b.
Do only some (the patriotic ones) respect it?
6. The hungry workers went on strike.
a. Did all the workers participate in the strike
(because they were hungry)?
b.
Were some of the workers well-fed (and therefore not among the strikers)?
7. Criminal lawyers seldom die in bed.
a. Is the profession of defending people accused of
crimes a dangerous one?
b.
Is it particularly dangerous for a lawyer to commit a crime?
3 WHAT THE
WRITER MEANS BUT FOR SOME REASONS PREFERS NOT TO SAY DIRECTLY
Match each phrase in Column I with the phrase in
Column II that expresses what the writer probably meant (but preferred not to
say ditectly):
|
Column I |
Column II |
|
1. It has been said that... |
a. I can't be bothered to prove this but I expect
you to believe it |
|
2. ... a fact of unquestion-significance |
b. It suits my theory to able interpret these facts
as ... |
|
3. It is well known that ... |
c. I haven't been able to find information on ... |
|
4. By now it is clear that.. |
d. There are some idiots who belive that... |
|
5. There are those who claim that... |
e. ... something that strikes me as important,
though I haven't decided why |
|
6. Common sense will tell you that... |
f. I believe that... |
|
7. These facts can clearly be interpreted as
expressions of... |
g. I hope I've managed to convince you that... |
|
8. Little is known about... |
h. (I read this somewhere, but I can't remember
where). |
