Abstract
The central question assessed in this article is directly related to the topic of the conference: Is semantic ambiguity in some way related to perceptual multistability? In the first section a phenomenal classification of perceptual ambiguity is given (immediate bistabilities in perception, perception of textures, spatial rotation in mental imagination). In the second and third sections several types of semantic ambiguity and their relation to perceptual multistability are described. Section 4 discusses textual ambiguities and Sect. 5 shows a model of emotional ambiguity (badl, bad2) based on catastrophe theory. In general the analogy between semantic and perceptual multistability is accepted and a transfer of methods and models seems possible. In the case of structural ambiguities an underlying chaotic process is postulated. As a general consequence a description of meaning in terms of scales and spaces is called for.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Basalou, L.W. (1987): The instability of graded structure: implications for the nature of concepts. In: U. Neissen (Ed.), Concepts and Conceptual Development: Ecological and Intellectual Factors in Categorization, pp. 101–140. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chung, S. (1977): On the gradual nature of syntactic change. In: C.N. Li (Ed.), Mechanisms of Syntactic Change, pp. 3–55. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Cooper, L.A. & Shepard, R.N. (1986): Rotation in der räumlichen Vorstellung. In: M. Ritter (Ed.), Wahrnehmung und visuelles System, pp. 122–130. Heidelberg: Spektrum.
Ertel, S. (1975): Gestaltpsychologische Denkmodelle für die Struktur der Sprache. In: S. Ertel, L. Kemmler & M. Stadler (Eds.), Gestalttheorie in der modernen Psychologie, pp. 94–105. Darmstadt: Steinkopff.
Gregory, R.L. (1987): The Oxford Companion to the Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Julesz, B. (1974): Cooperative phenomena in binocular depth perception. American Scientist 62, 32–43.
Labov, W. (1973): The boundaries of words and their meanings. In: J. Fishman (Ed.), New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English, pp. 340–373. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Labov, W. (1978): Denotational structure. In: Papers from the Parasession on the Lexicon. Chicago Linguistic Society 14, 220–260.
Lang, E. (1987): Semantik der Dimensionsauszeichnung räumlicher Objekte. In: M. Biernisch & E. Lang (Eds.), Grammatische und konzeptuelle Aspekte von Dimensionsadjektiven, pp. 278–458. Berlin: Akademie Verlag.
Marr, D. & Nishihaba, H.L. (1978): Representation and recognition of the spatial organization of three-dimensional shapes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B 200, 269–294.
Metzger, W. (1982): Möglichkeiten der Verallgemeinerung des Prägnanzbegriffs. Gestalt Theory 4, 2–33.
Michotte, A. (1954): Die Theorie der phänomenalen Kausalität. In: A. Michotte, Gesammelte Werke, vol. 1, pp. 211–224. Bern: Huber.
Poppelreuter, W. (1912): Uber die Ordnung des Vorstellungsablaufs. Archiv für die gesamte Psychologie 25, 208–349.
Poston, T. (1987): “Mister! Your Back Wheel’s Going Round!”. In: T.T. Ballmer & W. Wildgen (Eds.), Process Linguistics. Exploring the Processual Aspects of Language and Language Use, and the Methods of their Description, pp. 11–36. Tubingen: Niemeyer.
Shepard, R.N. (1984): Ecological Constraints on Internal Representation. Resonant Kinematics of Perceiving, Imagining, Thinking, and Dreaming. Psychological Review 91, 417–447.
Stadler, M. & Wildgen, W. (1987): Ordnungsbildung beim Verstehen und bei der Reproduktion von Texten. SPIEL (= Siegener Periodicum zur Internationalen Literaturwiss.) 6, 101–144.
Wunderlich, D. (1980): Arbeitsbuch Semantik. Königstein/Taunus: Athenäum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wildgen, W. (1995). Ambiguity in Linguistic Meaning in Relation to Perceptual Multistability. In: Kruse, P., Stadler, M. (eds) Ambiguity in Mind and Nature. Springer Series in Synergetics, vol 64. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78411-8_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78411-8_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-78413-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-78411-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive