Double Meaning

 

                                                           Pardon the image ... I am just trying to drive home a point

Why is it that you say one thing ... and the other person misinterprets it to mean another thing?  Why is it that a simple word becomes so complex to some? It behooves and opens the lock to a lot of various interpretations.

There are a lot of explanations to it, so consider these terms that seem alien to you and add more confusion ... and make the phrase blossom into a myriad of rainbow-colored simplification and interpretation.

1. Ambiguous statement - a statement that has two meanings, but those meanings are unrelated. Example: "She sat at the bank" may mean the person may be working as a manager of the BANK. Or it may mean the person is sitting on the BANK of a river or a creek.

2. Polysemous statement - a statement that has two meanings, but those meanings are related. Example: "She beat the man with a cane..." may mean she is using the cane to beat the man. Or it may mean she whacked the man using a walking stick/cane. And by the way who owns the cane - the one beating ... or the one beaten?

3. Double entendre - is a form of wordplay. It relies on the ambiguity in the phrasing and use of words in a statement. The word or phrase can be read in two ways ... at times, multiple ways. Example: Groucho Marx once said, "If I said you have a beautiful body would you hold it against me?

There is a dual meaning of the phrase 1. 'to hold (something) 2. against (someone). If you are not used to double entendre ... more often than not ... you will slap the man ... until his face turns crimson.

Lost In Translation

It is really pun and fun to play on words.  It sometimes involves risque dual meanings. If the writer says one thing ... but at the back of your mind ... your gut-feel screams something sinister is written all over the place ... you might as well play with him.  If the writer is creating more hocus pocus on a simple statement presented ... and you sense some cryptic hidden meanings ... you might as well join and start the horseplay.

There are other ways why you get lost in translation while somebody is talking to you ... and one them is getting stressed out while wrestling with the English language.

1. Polysemy- Semantic changes result as a rule in new meanings being added to the ones already existing in the semantic structure of the word. The verb "get" is a good example of polysemy — it can mean "procure," "become," or "understand."

2. Homonyms and homophones - they are words that are spelled alike ... or sound identical ... and are pronounced the same  ... but have different meanings and origins. Example: write and right. they're and their, two and too, knew and new, cite, sight or site.

3. Homographs - they are words that are written and spelled the same ... but have different meanings and are sometimes pronounced differently. 

When the words are the same for a noun and a verb, the pronunciation is often just a shift in the stressed syllable, from the first syllable (noun) to the last syllable (verb). For example, RE-cord (noun) which means a written account), to re-CORd (verb) which means to write or copy. 

Other examples: Con-TENT (adjective) which means happy or satisfied and CON-tent (noun)- all that is contained inside the bag or crate. DE-sert - a hot, arid region (noun), and DEE-sert - to leave (verb)

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Hindi Naintiedihan ang Tagalog?

Would you believe kahit sa loob ng bahay si Nanay or yong bunso mong kapatid can be lost in translation ... yon bang para bang hindi kayo magkakilalang pamilya - para kayong mga Filipino na may halong Hapon or Tsekwa.

Sa simpleng request ba naman na "isaksak mo ang electric fan" (plug in the electric fan) tingnan mo kung ano ang ginawa ng isang tamad or pilosopong family member. 

Aba sinaksak nga ... pero utang na loob saan ka ba makakita ng ganoon? Di bale sana kung mga idiomatic expressions lang ang atin pinagusapan ... na nakalilito nga ... pero ito sinto-sinto lang ang makagawa niyan.

Or baka naman confused lang ... at hindi talaga naintiendihan. Honest mistake baga ... Sigi palusot pa!