Ambiguity is quite an interesting topic to look upon when it comes to small talk. The way you say the words usually carry more than two meaning. If I asked Professor Li, he would said it is the denotative meaning a sentence referred to that creates ambiguity in everyday dialogue between people.
Take the Spanish phrase ¿qué pasa? (In English meaning “what is the matter”) for example, it basically denotes two meanings: the core meaning and another name for semantic reference. Literally, it indexes what is the very thing. The embedded denotation would be various due to which condition you put the sentence in. If the sentence spoken at a friend’s gathering party, it refers to a greeting implication: what’s up. When using in such an interfere situation, say, a third person happens to interrupt a dialogue between two people, it implies a connotation that directs to ask the intention of such abrupt break-in. Namely, what the third person wants for or what is his or her intent of breaking in such a middle situation. Other implications would be various due to which condition you put the sentence in. If the sentence spoken at a friend’s gathering party, it refers to a greeting implication: what’s up. When using in such an interfere situation, say, a third person happens to interrupt a dialogue between two people, it implies a connotation that directs to ask the intention of such an abrupt break-in. Namely, what the third person wants for or what is his or her intent of breaking in such a middle situation. It may refer to what’s your problem when adding “with you” after the original sentence. For instance, when you feel ill and your friend ask you “what’s the matter with you” what he or she is concerning for you because the sentence carries an embedded implication, meaning “are you okay.” Another implication would be asking “what is the most important thing that matters.” The matter here used as uncountable noun, indicating the importance. When discussing something with your group members, you try to address a question, asking which part of the project matters the most.
To conclude with, ambiguity in words is indeed a rather intriguing topic to look upon. A simple sentence in fact compromises various meanings. Detouring from the initial definition, diverse implications await before you. For people originate from afar and that complicates our interpretation of the sentence. Diverse paraphrases account for one single sentence because people is usually subjective.
Interpretation is interesting for it generates multiplicity in comprehensibility.
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