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ESL forum >
Ask for help > word functions
word functions
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t.javanshir
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word functions
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Hi there,
what are the functions that the word criminal can play in the following example?
I need a criminal lawyer.
As you know criminal can play two different functions in this sentence, resulting in structural ambiguity of the sentence.
Thanks |
16 Jul 2011
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ingrid10
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I would say that it only functions as an adjective meaning relating to crime as opposed to a civil lawyer. I do not know if you are considering the other as part of a compound noun, aren �t you?
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16 Jul 2011
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t.javanshir
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yes, I am in deed. this is an example of an ambiguous sentence. Of course, in everyday speech such an interpretation may seem quite awkward but this is an example of an ambiguous sentence often cited in linguistics books.
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16 Jul 2011
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Minka
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It is not ambiguous at all. Adjective. What kind of a lawyer? A good one. A criminal lawyer. Adjective. It cant be anything else.
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16 Jul 2011
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t.javanshir
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one interpretation is what you say: a criminal lawyer, i.e. a lawyer who specializes in criminal law another interpretation could be a lawyer who is criminal himself. |
16 Jul 2011
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Minka
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But even in that case it �s an adjective, isn �t it?
If you say he �s criminal, you answer yourself...
Okay, you could also say he �s A criminal ... but with an adjective you couldn �t go wrong here... Even if you put a noun in front of another noun it usually takes the function of an adjective...
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16 Jul 2011
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Apodo
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@t.j You are right. We depend a lot on context for meaning. This sentence alone could be ambiguous as you said. However, that being said, �criminal lawyer � is so frequently heard as the name of a profession, I believe that if a lawyer who was also a criminal were being described, other words would be used. He is a crooked lawyer. That lawyer is a criminal. The word �criminal� in your original sentence is an adjective.
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16 Jul 2011
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Minka
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So if you, for example say "school year" like one year at school (from September to June or whatever it is in a specific country) - are you saying that "school" which is a noun, does not take the function of an adjective in ithis case? What kind of a year?
I �m willing to listen (read) and learn.
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16 Jul 2011
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almaz
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Toofan, perhaps you �re confusing �function � with �semantic ambiguity � since, whichever way you look at it, criminal in your example functions as an adjective. The different meanings of the word can of course lead to misunderstanding if you �re not familiar with the legal specialism. I �ve known a few criminal lawyers who were very dodgy indeed, but I �ve also met a few civil lawyers who were far from polite.
Headlines are often a great source of syntactic ambiguity, garden-path sentences, crash-blossoms and general brainteasing. See here, for example. Or here. |
16 Jul 2011
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Minka
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Exactly, Almaz!
I think it can be defined on the level of a sentence or on
the word level.
As a word and a part of the phrase, criminal is an adjective
in a noun phrase, no matter if it�s a crooked lawyer or the one that practices
criminal law.
In a sentence �criminal
lawyer� � as a noun phrase - has
the function of a subject or object. And �criminal� is the subject or object
attribute.
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16 Jul 2011
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t.javanshir
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Yeah, you are right. I think I got the answer; in both cases the word criminal has the role of an adjective. It functions as an adjective, although it may be interpreted in different ways. Am I right? you know what made me think it may have different functions? It was because the name given to this type of ambiguity in linguistics book is exactly functional ambiguity, and I just wanted to know what does it have to do with the function of words. It is stated that ambiguity is caused either because of the words (e.g. she cannot bear children) or by structure. Structural ambiguity is further divided into grouping ambiguity (e.g. she saw a man with a telescope) and functional ambiguity (e.g. visiting professors can be boring) In the case of the last example, the sentence can have two meanings depending upon the role that the word professor can play; whether it is the subject of the word visit or its object. the example I said was another example cited for functional ambiguity, and I was just wondering how I could determine different functions that it could play just like the example of visiting professors.
Thank you all. |
16 Jul 2011
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