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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that The zeugma test conflates genuine ambiguity with the pragmatic cost of forcing a reader to simultaneously activate two contextually resolved readings of one meaning.

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.The zeugma test's predictive power across languages suggests it detects something real about meaning structure, not merely processing artifacts.
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    • 2.If pragmatic cost alone explains zeugma failure, other high-effort constructions should pattern identically; they demonstrably don't.
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    • 3.A single context-resolved reading cannot be 'simultaneously activated' as two distinct interpretations—the distinction collapses under scrutiny.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.The zeugma test conflates structural ambiguity with processing difficulty; a word can have one stable meaning that simply demands extra cognitive effort.
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    • 2.Pragmatic strain (forcing simultaneous activation) is distinct from semantic ambiguity and shouldn't be used as evidence of polysemy or homonymy.
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    • 3.Many grammatically well-formed zeugmas work precisely because the single meaning is context-resolved, not because two meanings genuinely exist.
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