In computer science

Computer science

Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

, especially the languages Ada and C++

C++

C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...

, overloaded expression means that an ambiguous operator

Operator (programming)

Programming languages typically support a set of operators: operations which differ from the language's functions in calling syntax and/or argument passing mode. Common examples that differ by syntax are mathematical arithmetic operations, e.g...

 expression can only be understood based on the context: see overloading.

In human linguistics

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

, the meaning of a word in a sentence is only clear by its context and usage.

For example:

They saw the wood.

In this case, the word saw is an overloaded expression meaning the past tense of to see and is not intended to mean the wood cutting tool. However, in this case, it is not clear if that is what is meant without context. Instances such as this are extremely difficult for computer translators

Machine translation

Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another.On a basic...

to decipher, resulting in some common errors.