A headline in a newspaper reads "Suicide more common than thought". This is an example of a sentence that
A)has incorrect surface structure
B)has two different deep structures
C)has too many phonemes
D)does not adhere to the displacement aspect of language
E)is not generative

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The headline "Suicide more common than thought" can be interpreted in two ways: it could mean that suicide occurs more frequently than people generally believe, or it could imply that suicide is more prevalent than thinking (as an activity). This ambiguity means the sentence has two different deep structures, or underlying meanings, despite having the same surface structure (the words and order used).

A Headline in a Newspaper Reads "Suicide More Common Than