What is amphibology?
Amphibology is the use of words with more than one interpretation. It is considered a vice of diction since it can generate errors in the communication process. But if its use is intentional, then it is a resource.
In this sense, amphibology is frequently used in the humorous or advertising field to generate an emotional impact on the public.
Amphibology comes from Greek ἀμφίβολοςwhich means ambiguous.
Examples of amphibology
This sales notice became a meme due to the inappropriate use of amphibology.
These examples can help you better understand what an amphibology is:
Men’s fur coats for sale
Are the coats made of fur and are they for men or is human skin used to make coats?
I go alone to the street
Do you go out without company or do you go exclusively to the street?
Lucas is creative and Raúl is experienced. I will hire him.
Will you hire Luis or Raúl?
I ran into my friend when I was rushing to work.
Who was in a hurry?
Arturo is a dog
Is the dog’s name Arturo or is someone named Arturo compared to a dog?
Carbon adult bicycles for sale
Are the bikes carbon or are the adults carbon?
I love the sofa in the living room that was dark
What was dark, the sofa or the living room?
He told the police that he did not steal frequently.
Was the person very insistent in saying that they did not steal or did they say that they do not steal often?
Grilled thirteen-year-old beef tenderloin will be served.
Was the beef thirteen years old or the meat spent thirteen years on a griddle?
My friend went to his wife’s work in his car
In whose car, his or his wife’s?
Luis’s animal
Does Luis have an animal or is Luis compared to an animal?
Iguana gift. Eat a lot. He loves dogs.
Is iguana friendly to dogs or does iguana eat dogs?
Ernesto spoke only for half an hour
Did Ernesto talk to himself for half an hour or did he only talk for half an hour?
The team plays at home
Does the team play in a house that it owns or does the team play at home?
Now I have a motorcycle and a bike. I’ll lend it to you whenever you want
Do you lend the motorcycle or the bicycle?
The woman gave birth to the baby
Did the woman give birth to a baby or use a light to illuminate it?
Police dresses stolen
Did those who robbed have clothing similar to what police officers wear or were they wearing dresses?
Ana went out with her friend and her husband
Did Ana go out with her husband or her friend’s husband?
You may be interested in: Ambiguity.
What are the applications of amphibology?
Amphibology is a resource that is used in the humorous field, since it invites the recipient to discover the meaning of what was said to unleash their hilarity.
An example is in this quote from Les Luthiers:
Mastropiero was passionate about historical research. He spent long hours in the library of the opulent Marchioness of Quintanilla whose volumes he was passionate about.
Was Mastropiero passionate about the library’s volumes or those of the Marchioness of Quintanilla?
In advertising, amphibology should be used with caution, since the objective is for any of the interpretations of the phrase to favor the product being promoted.
Furthermore, the use of ambiguity implies that the people who will be exposed to the advertising content must understand the play on words for the resource to make sense.
An example of good use of amphibology in advertising was a slogan created in Argentina for a well-known brand of anti-dandruff shampoo:
For dandruff.
The shampoo is understood to be formulated for dandruff, but it could also be understood to “stop” dandruff. In this case, both interpretations benefit the product.