Chapter 5: Linguistic Pitfalls Pitfalls : difficulties Linguistic pitfalls are inappropriate uses of language that hinder accurate and effective communication . This can happen when we use language that is unclear, distorted, or empty in meaning. 1. UNCLEAR MEANING Lack of clarity can arise in many ways. The words we use might be ambiguous or imprecise or the meanings are incomplete. But it can also be due to the failure to organise ideas properly. a) Ambiguity : A n ambiguous expression is one with more than one meaning or reference. There are different kinds of ambiguity: · Lexical Ambiguity : Lexical ambiguities are cases where a single word or name has more than one meaning in a language—for example, deep ("deep insight" vs. "deep tunnel") and bank ("river bank" vs. "investment bank") and words like light and over . Consider also a Japanese teacher, which might mean a teacher from Japan or anyone