Abstract
Lexical ambiguity is generally assumed to be widespread in natural languages but quantitative estimates have not been available. At least 32% of the words used in English text were found to be ambiguous in studies reported here. This figure is probably very conservative. Temporary word definitions established for special purposes occurred in 30% of a sample of texts.
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The encouragement and support of Rudolph W. Schulz of the University of Iowa is gratefully acknowledged. The author would like to thank Ellen Gagné and Stuart Katz of the University of Georgia, and Larry Jacoby, then of Iowa State University, for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper. Appreciation is due to Professor James V. Hinrichs for making the judgments for Study 6.
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Britton, B.K. Lexical ambiguity of words used in english text. Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation 10, 1–7 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205079
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205079