The Homonym Factor in the Formation of Linguistic Ambiguity for the Students of the Department of Modern Languages / French Language at Yarmouk University

Abstract

This study attempts to demonstrate the effect of the homonym phenomenon in the formation of linguistic ambiguity in the performance of students expected to graduate at Yarmouk University Department of Modern Languages / French language by selecting a random sample of these students. In addition, it aims to demonstrate the usefulness of a proposed bilingual (Arabic - French) dictionary that specializes in homonyms to improve students’ outcomes. This study is divided into four sections: Section I: This section aims to introduce the methodology of the study and its importance and objectives and previous studies. Section II: The second section deals with the theoretical framework. Section III: The third section deals with the study method, its results and analysis. Section IV: The fourth section discusses students' mistakes. In order to reach the results of the study, the sample of the study was randomly selected from Yarmouk University students from the Department of Modern Languages / French language, and distributed in two groups: the control group, which consisted of (20) students; and the experimental group which consisted of 20 students too. The experimental group members relied on the proposed lexicon - the remedial program - and the members of the control group relied on non-specialized language dictionaries. The results of the study showed that the linguistic ambiguity caused by the phenomenon of the homonym has negatively affected the performance of the students of the Department of Modern Languages / French language, and that the proposed bilingual dictionary has contributed to the improvement of the performance of students significantly, as well as the level of students according to the homonym. The study recommended the need to review the description of some articles in the plan of the section concerned, as well as the need to complete a bilingual dictionary (Arabic - French) which specializes in homonyms. Key words: - Ambiguity - Homonym – Dictionaries- Students of Modern Languages