Pragmatic Ambiguity From The Perspective Of Pragmatic Theories

This thesis explores the production and the functions of pragmatic ambiguity in communication within the framework of the influential pragmatic theories. The theories applied in the study are co-operative principle, speech act theory, face theory and relevance theory. From the perspective of these theories, language users are provided with a clear picture of how pragmatic ambiguity is produced. On this basis, the thesis further demonstrates that pragmatic ambiguity can perform the functions such as self-protection, avoidance of conflicts, realization of purposes, fulfillment of tasks, achievement of politeness, preservation of face and strengthening of rhetoric effects in terms of these theories. The study illustrates that language users with a better understanding of pragmatic ambiguity can use language more smoothly and more efficiently.The present study attempts to contribute to a better understanding of pragmatic ambiguity. The traditional classification of ambiguity was mainly done in the semantic field, in which ambiguity was grouped into three types: phonological ambiguity, lexical ambiguity and structural ambiguity. The current interest in pragmatic ambiguity concentrates on the topic of what pragmatic ambiguity is. Either of them is far from being complete in that they only deal with the abstract aspect of the analysis. Therefore, this thesis makes a study of how pragmatic ambiguity is produced and how it functions in communication. The main purpose of the study is to help to present a general picture of pragmatic ambiguity to language users, so that they can helpfully interact with each other more smoothly and more efficiently.The investigation carried out in this thesis, as an initial endeavor, at least offers some implications for the field of foreign language teaching and learning. It is also expected to be a spur to draw out a more detailed and more comprehensive research of pragmatic ambiguity.