AS English Language
Induction
Aims:
 For you to appreciate how different AS English Language is from the English courses you
might have studied before.
Class work:
 Read the explanations of the ambiguous headlines we considered last lesson. Highlight all of
the linguistic terminology you are going to need to develop an understanding of in the
coming weeks.
 Now make a list of the range of linguistic issues covered by these examples. From class
discussion, add to these so that you have the complete set of 7 language frameworks that we
will be studying.
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
The ambiguity centres on the verb form to run down. It is created because the verb has
different meanings: to run someone over with a vehicle, and to chase something into nonexistence. This is an issue of semantics.
Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should be Belted
The ambiguity centres on the verb form belted. Again, it is created because the verb has
different meanings, here one that is clearly the product of 20 th century language change.
Taking a longer view, if one were belted, it would either mean that one was wearing a belt, or,
in more colloquial usage, that one had been physically beaten. However, the development
during the 20th century of cars, and then of traffic problems, and then of seatbelts and safety
awareness, has given the word the additional meaning intended here of wearing a seatbelt.
This process of language change is called widening. The example raises the issue of semantics.
Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
The ambiguity centres on the noun case. In the everyday register, this refers to the outer
covering of an object, but in the legal register it refers to a law suit; this double meaning
creates the ambiguity. This is an issue of lexis.
Farmer Bill Dies in House
This example is very similar to the one above. The ambiguity centres on the nouns Bill and
House. In the everyday register, Bill would be a person’s name (and a proper noun), and house
would be his dwelling (a common noun). However, in the political register, bill would be a
draft Act of Parliament (a common noun), and House would either be the House of Commons or
the House of Lords (the two parts of the Houses of Parliament, and a proper noun). Again, this
is an issue of lexis. In addition, the verb dies has a literal meaning (the real death of a living
organism) and a metaphorical one (the end of something). This is an issue of semantics.
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
This is another example of a lexical issue. In the everyday register, the nouns head and arms
refer to body parts. In the register of international war-mongering, however, they refer to a
head of state and weapons respectively.
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
The ambiguity in this examples centres of the proper noun Uranus. It is created by the
similarity in ordinary pronunciation of this word and your anus. This works because in real
connected speech we make use of a linguistic phenomenon called linking r. When the words
The nature of English Language study
AS English Language
Induction
are pronounced separately there is no r sound, but when we run the words together, as we do
in real connected speech, we do. This creates the similarity with Uranus. This is an issue of
phonology.
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
This ambiguity centres on the noun phrase Panda mating. In the first clause of this headline,
the emphasis is on the mating, clearly referring to the physical act of sexual intercourse. In
the second clause, one is expected to understand Panda mating as any process by which a
panda might become impregnated. This is an issue of semantics.
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
This ambiguity centres on how one interprets the word class of the words Left and Waffles. In
one interpretation left is a verb form and waffles is a noun; this creates the idea that the
British deposited a pile of Birds Eye potato waffles on a distant colony. In the other
interpretation, Left is a noun from the political register, referring to adherents of left wing
politics, whilst waffles is a verb, referring to a pointless style of speech. This is an issue of
grammar.
Lung cancer in women mushrooms
This example is similar in nature to the one above. In the first interpretation, women
mushrooms is a noun phrase, making the headline a rather absurd statement, suggesting both
that mushrooms have a gender and that they are capable of contracting lung cancer. In the
second interpretation, lung cancer in women is the noun phrase acting as the subject of the
sentence, with the verb form mushrooms completing it. This creates the meaning that the
incidence of lung cancer has seriously and dangerously increased amongst women. This is an
issue of grammar.
Eye Drops off Shelf
Another grammatical issue here. In the first interpretation, the noun eye is the subject of the
sentence and drops is its attendant verb form; this creates the surreal image of an eyeball
falling from a shelf. In the second interpretation, the noun phrase eye drops (the liquid you
put in your eyes for medicinal purposes) operates in relation to an omitted verb form such as
are taken.
Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
This is a trickier one, but also a grammatical issue. It all centres on which part of the headline
with Ax modifies. If it is interpreted as an adverbial phrase modifying the verb form injures,
the headline conjures an image of an axe-wielding bovine. If it is interpreted as an adjectival
phrase modifying the noun farmer, it conjures an image of an axe-wielding farmer. In
addition, the variant American spelling of the weapon in question raises an important issue of
language variety.
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
In this example, the ambiguity centres on to ground. This is another grammatical issue. In the
first interpretation, to ground is a verb form meaning to bring down to the ground, creating the
idea of the plane being too close to a building or a mountain for the pilot to land it safely.
Alternatively, this headline is an absurd statement of the completely obvious, to ground being
a shortened form of the noun phrase to the ground.
The nature of English Language study
AS English Language
Induction
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
This ambiguity centres on a different issue. In the first interpretation, the adverbial phrase
after Death refers to the miners’ own deaths, creating an impression of zombie miners having a
contretemps at the Job Centre. In the second, it refers to the death of a colleague in service,
presumably the consequence of some appalling health and safety issue. This is a semantic
issue. If the headline was used in a spoken context, for example as part of a radio news
broadcast, an additional ambiguity would exist because of the identical pronunciation of the
two different words, miner and minor. This is a phonological issue.
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
We’re back to grammatical issues here, centring on the word shooting. In the first
interpretation, shooting forms part of the noun phrase shooting defendant (someone who is
defending themselves against a charge of shotgun crime), creating a perfectly sensible headline
about a court case. In the second, it forms part of the verb phrase to try shooting, creating
the more alarming impression of lawyers lining up to pop shots at the person in the dock.
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
This ambiguity is created by the use of numbers in the two parts of the headline. (In fact, this
is carelessly punctuated – the comma should be a full stop or a semi colon.) In the first
interpretation two ships have collided and one of the ships has died. This meaning is created
by the apparent syntactic parallelism of the two statements, and the omission of the noun in
the subject position of the second sentence. This leads the reader to believe that the One in
the second statement refers back to the Two Soviet Ships in the first. However, the second
interpretation recognizes that the two statements are, in fact, unconnected, the first referring
to ships, and the second to the people who were on it when it collided. This is another
grammatical issue.
Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
Another tricky grammatical issue here, centring on what part of the headline the adverbial
phrase for Second Time is modifying. If it is modifying the verb phrase Sentenced to Die, then
this is perfectly straightforward with the killer receiving his/her second death sentence. If it is
modifying the verb to die, the headline implies that the killer has already died once.
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
Phew, that’s enough grammar for a moment… This ambiguity centres on the noun phrase Red
Tape. In the everyday register, this means some kind of red strip of fabric, sticky or otherwise,
which is bizarrely preventing a bridge from impending disaster. In the bureaucratic register, it
means some legal complication that is preventing the bridge from being built. This is a lexical
issue.
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Another nice easy one (relatively speaking!). This ambiguity centres on the comparative
adjective Larger. This can either mean that the test group has more members, or that those
members of the test group are larger in size. This is a semantic issue.
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
The nature of English Language study
AS English Language
Induction
This ambiguity centres on the noun Gas. The straightforward meaning is of a substance that is
neither liquid or solid; in this headline the astronaut has made some kind of scientific mistake.
However, in the second interpretation, the astronaut is suffering the effect of eating beans for
a month, and Gas is a euphemism. This is a semantic issue.
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
There is more than one ambiguity here. The first centres on the verb Make. Either the
children are busy in the kitchen and the verb is dynamic; or the children constitute a nutritious
snack and the verb is stative. The second ambiguity centres on the noun Kids. Either small
children are connected in some way to nutritious snacks; or small goats are. Both are semantic
issues.
Chef Throws his Heart into Helping Feed Needy
This ambiguity all depends upon whether you interpret the noun Heart in a literal or a
metaphorical sense. If taken literally, the headline is rather gruesome, with the chef hacking
out his chief organ and feeding it to the hungry. If taken metaphorically, the headline is an
expression of the chef’s compassion. This is an issue of semantics.
Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff
This is a straightforward matter of the noun probe having two different, though related,
meanings. In the first interpretation, it is a medical instrument for investigating a wound
which makes one feel quite sorry for the poor Undersheriff who turned up at court simply
expecting to give evidence. In the second, it has the more general meaning of an
investigation, in which case the Undersheriff would appear to have done something dastardly.
This is an issue of semantics.
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
This ambiguity centres on the noun Foot. If it is modifying the noun Doctors all by itself, the
headline is quite ordinary in meaning, with 7 chiropodists suing their hospitals. If, however, it
combines with 7 to modify Doctors then we have a bizarre scenario involving people who could
also have pursued a career in international basketball. This is a grammatical issue.
Include your Children when Baking Cookies
This ambiguity depends upon the verb include having two meanings. In the first interpretation,
it means involve and creates an image of a warm hearth and a happy family. In the second, it
means incorporate into the mixture, giving a much more sinister impression of American life.
This is an issue of semantics.
Homework:
 Start an A-Z glossary of linguistic terminology, either in your file or in a separate notebook.
Enter all the terms you highlighted in class today so that you are ready to note their
meanings as we work through them in class in the coming weeks.
Suggestions for private study:
 Start using the Language resources in the LRC or those available on the internet to identify
the meanings of some of these terms.
The nature of English Language study