The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspective
Capitalizing on the universal linguistic feature of ambiguity, punning utterances can be found in languages as distinct as the Indo-European, marginally inflected English and the Sino-Tibetan, monosyllabic, inflectionless Chinese. Though forming a tiny fraction of the utterances produced in these la...
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Oficyna Wydawnicza ATUT
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Sprachwissenschaft |
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| Online Access: | https://beitraege-contributions.pl/articles/10/08_solska.pdf |
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| author | Agnieszka Solska |
| author_facet | Agnieszka Solska |
| author_sort | Agnieszka Solska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Capitalizing on the universal linguistic feature of ambiguity, punning utterances can be found in languages as distinct as the Indo-European, marginally inflected English and the Sino-Tibetan, monosyllabic, inflectionless Chinese. Though forming a tiny fraction of the utterances produced in these languages, they tend to stand out and can be encountered in diverse communicative settings, including poetry and prose, jokes and comedy routines, advertising slogans and book titles. Whether perceived as “the lowest form of wit” or a lofty rhetorical device, they perform a wide range of functions which are often grounded in distinct cultural and historical backgrounds they are embedded in. The objective of this article is to identify the most striking differences in the functions served by typical English and Chinese puns and to investigate the cultural factors underlying these differences. Adopting Jakobson’s model of language functions as the organizing principle for the discussion, I examine a range of puns in the two languages, comparing and contrasting the motivations for their use. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ec16ebff8384380babea9af453147b2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2299-4122 2657-4799 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Oficyna Wydawnicza ATUT |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Sprachwissenschaft |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ec16ebff8384380babea9af453147b22025-01-20T11:30:25ZdeuOficyna Wydawnicza ATUTBeiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Sprachwissenschaft2299-41222657-47992021-12-011017519910.23817/bzspr.10-8The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspectiveAgnieszka Solska0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2116-412XUniwersytet Śląski w KatowicachCapitalizing on the universal linguistic feature of ambiguity, punning utterances can be found in languages as distinct as the Indo-European, marginally inflected English and the Sino-Tibetan, monosyllabic, inflectionless Chinese. Though forming a tiny fraction of the utterances produced in these languages, they tend to stand out and can be encountered in diverse communicative settings, including poetry and prose, jokes and comedy routines, advertising slogans and book titles. Whether perceived as “the lowest form of wit” or a lofty rhetorical device, they perform a wide range of functions which are often grounded in distinct cultural and historical backgrounds they are embedded in. The objective of this article is to identify the most striking differences in the functions served by typical English and Chinese puns and to investigate the cultural factors underlying these differences. Adopting Jakobson’s model of language functions as the organizing principle for the discussion, I examine a range of puns in the two languages, comparing and contrasting the motivations for their use.https://beitraege-contributions.pl/articles/10/08_solska.pdfpunsenglishchineselanguage functionshigh- and lowcontextcultures |
| spellingShingle | Agnieszka Solska The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspective Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Sprachwissenschaft puns english chinese language functions high- and lowcontext cultures |
| title | The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspective |
| title_full | The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspective |
| title_fullStr | The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspective |
| title_short | The functions of punning utterances in English and Chinese: a cross-cultural perspective |
| title_sort | functions of punning utterances in english and chinese a cross cultural perspective |
| topic | puns english chinese language functions high- and lowcontext cultures |
| url | https://beitraege-contributions.pl/articles/10/08_solska.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT agnieszkasolska thefunctionsofpunningutterancesinenglishandchineseacrossculturalperspective AT agnieszkasolska functionsofpunningutterancesinenglishandchineseacrossculturalperspective |