An Analysis of Language Ambiguity and Type of Meaning in @wendys Instagram Captions

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze language ambiguity in Instagram captions of the @wendys account, focusing on the types of linguistic ambiguity and the meanings of ambiguous words or phrases. The research used a descriptive qualitative method with observation and documentation techniques. Data in the form of 30 captions were taken purposively from uploads between April 2024 and April 2025. The results showed that all five types of linguistic ambiguity lexical, structural, semantic, referential, and pragmatic were found, with pragmatic ambiguity being the most dominant. Wendy's captions contained many meanings that depended on the social context and popular culture, such as humor, sarcasm, and wordplay. In addition, most captions contained connotative meanings that were emotional, contextual, or cultural in nature, while denotative meanings were only found in captions that conveyed information directly. These findings suggested that Wendy's strategically utilized ambiguity and connotative meaning as part of its digital communication style to build a creative, relaxed, and engaging brand image on social media.