Nahorna O. Ambiguity of Utterances in English Dialogical Discourse: Strategies and Tactics of Use

This thesis focuses on semantic and pragmatic specificities of utterance ambiguity, as well as speech strategies and tactics of its use and elimination. The paper defines «ambiguity» as the capability of an utterance to actualise at least two meanings in communication due to the discrepancy between interlocutors’ pragmatic presuppositions. The study proves that ambiguity is an umbrella term, under which fall a number of other terms denoting multiplicity of meanings, namely ambivalence, indeterminacy and vagueness. Ambiguity is classified into genuine and strategic by the criterion of intentionality. In the dialogical discourse ambiguity may be represented by constative, quesitive and directive speech acts. Functionally, ambiguity may be intentionally used and eliminated. The two ambiguity types lay the foundations for two speech strategies which interlocutors may potentially adopt when communicating, more specifically, strategies of use or elimination of utterance ambiguity.