He possessed two false teeth and a kind heart

Functions and stylistic effects

Pun based on phonetic similarity

Pun based on polysemy

Functions and stylistic effects

- to convey a humorous effect

- to create a paradox

Pun / paronomasia/play on words (каламбур) is a device based on polysemy, homonymy or phonetic similarity used to achieve a humorous effect.

The use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more meanings, or the use of two or more words of the same or nearly the same sound with different meanings, so as to produce a humorous effect.

Many jokes and funny stories are based on pun.

E.g. - I wonder if I can see your mother, little boy. Is she engaged?

- Engaged?! She's married.

Хотів розвалитися у кріслі, а воно не витримало і розвалилося.

There are several kinds of pun:

- What is the meaning of the word matrimony?

- Father says it isn’t a word, it’s a sentence.

The quickest way to break a bad habit is to drop it.

Professor – What kept you out of class yesterday – acute indigestion?

Student – No, a cute engineer.

A cynic was standing in front of an exhibition of modern picture labelled “Art Objects”.

“ Well “, he announced to the attendant in charge, “I should think Art would object, and I can’t say that I blame it.”

- to achieve a humorous effect

- to add originality to the nomination of the object

Zeugma from Greek it means to join/to combine. It is a simultaneous realisation of two meanings of a polysemantic unit.

It is the use of a word in the same grammatical but different semantic relations to the adjacent word in the context. The primary and derivative meanings clash. By making the two meanings conspicuous in this particular way, each of them stands out clearly.

E.g. Everything was short including tobacco and people’s tempers. (E. Hemingway)

These are parallel constructions with unparalleled meaning. It is identical structurally, but different semantically.

E.g. It was my older brother - her darling - who was to in­herit her resoluteness, her stubbornness, her table silver and some of her eccentricities. (J. Cheever)

The verb refers to different subjects or objects (direct and indirect).

Polysemantic verbs that have a practically unlimited lexical valency can be combined with nouns of most varying semantic groups, homogeneous members that are not connected semantically. Thus it combines syntactical and lexical characteristics. Syntactically it is based on the similar structures, semantically it comprises different meanings.

Functions and stylistic effects

- to create a humorous effect

It is difficult to draw a hard and fast distinction between zeugma and pun. The only reliable distinguishing feature is a structural one. Zeugma is the realisation of two meanings with the help of a verb that refers to different subjects or objects.

The pun is more independent. It is not obligatory to have one word in the sentence to which the pun-word refers. It is more dependent on the context.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-11