Graduation Examination in Linguistics 14 - ? at USSH

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Graduation Examination in Linguistics 14 - ? at USSH
Duration: 150 minutes

The sound of ambiguity © i am jenius

Part 1: SEMANTICS (6 marks) 

1.Lexical ambiguity: containing an ambiguous word.
Ex:
a) That robot is bright.
→Bright means shining
→Bright means intelligent

b) She can not bear children.
→Bear means give birth to.
→Bear means tolerate.

2. A semantics field ( also called a lexical field or a lexical set) is the organization of related words and expressions into a system which shows their relationship to one another.

Ex:
a) The semantic field of kinship terms includes father, brother, uncle, aunt, etc
b) The semantic field of animals includes dog, cat,...

3.
a) The cassette tape I borrowed from you is fascinating.
→I borrowed the cassette tape from you.
→You lent me a cassette tape.
→The hearer has a cassette tape.

b) He dreams of one day becoming a famous guitarist.
→He is not a famous guitarst.

4.
a) Her beloved father was laid to rest in this cemetery.
→Euphemism. "Was laid to rest" is equivalent to "was buried".

b) Don't live in such a sea of doubt.
→Hyperbole. Don't live with so many doubts.

5.
a) I'd buy this dress if I were you.

Situation:

A: "What do you think about this dress?"
B: "I'd buy this dress if I were you."
→B indirectly advises A to buy this dress.
→This is a directive

b) I hereby warn you that you'll be sacked tomorrow.

6.
a) Steve gave Jane a hug.
↔Steve hugged Jane.

b) This text is not easy enough to be translated into Vietnamese without a dictionary.
↔This text is too difficult to be translated into Vietnamese without a dictionary.

Part 2: WRITING (4 marks)

1. Some disadvantages of staying single is undeniable.

2. There always exists a generation gap between parents and offspring (children).