Licentaactualizata 1 [607901]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 4
CHAPTER 1 PUNNING STRATEGIES ………………………….. ………………………….. ……… 6
1.1 PUNS AND HUMOUR ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………….. 6
1.2 THE CONCEPT OF PUN ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………… 15
1.3 PU NNING STRATEGIES AT WORK ………………………….. ………………………….. 18
1.3.1 HOMONYMY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. 20
1.3.1.1 Full/ Total/ Perfect Homonyms ………………………….. …………………………. 20
1.3.1.2 HOMOPHONY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………….. 22
1.3.1.3 HOMOGRAPHY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………… 24
1.3.2 POLYSEMY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. … 27
1.3.3 LINGUISTIC AMBIGUITY IN PUNS ………………………….. ……………………. 31
1.4 PUNS VERSUS OTHER SOURCES OF LINGUISTIC HUMOUR ………………. 36
1.4.1 Innuendo or double entendre ………………………….. ………………………….. ………. 36
1.4.2 Malapropism ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. … 37
1.4.3 Mixed metaphor ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………… 38
1.4.4 Spoonerism ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ….. 39
1.4.5 Overstatement ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. . 39
1.4.6 Understatement ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………………. 39
1.4.7 Statement of the obvious ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………. 40
1.4.8 Irony and Sarcam ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………. 40
1.4.9 Parody ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………. 41
1.4.10 Absurdity ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …… 42
1.4.11 Joke ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 42
1.4.12 Shaggy dog story ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………….. 43
1.4.13 Exclusive humour ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 43

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1.4.14 Sounds in verbal humour ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 44
CHAPTER 2 ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………. 48
2.1. PUNS IN NON -LITERARY CONTEXTS ………………………….. …………………….. 49
2.1.1 Food ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………. 49
2.1.2 School ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 52
2.1.3 Sports ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 53
1.2.4 Animals ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……….. 54
1.2.5 Music ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 55
1.2.6 Health ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………. 56
1.2.7 Relationships ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. .. 57
1.2.8 Others ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………. 58
2.2. PUNS IN LITERARY WORKS ………………………….. ………………………….. ………. 60
2.1.1 Puns in the Bible ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………….. 61
2.1.2 Shakespearean puns ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………… 62
2.1.3 Oscar Wilde’s puns ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 64
2.1.4 Charles Dickens’s puns ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………… 64
2.1.5 Carroll’s puns ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. . 65
2.3. PUNS IN ADVERTISING ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………… 67
2.4. PUNS IN THE MEDIA ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………….. 71
CONCLUSIONS ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……… 76
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……….. 78

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INTRODUCTION

Humour is an obvious aspect in every society. In my paper, Puns in English:
The Interplay o f Wit, Humour and Language , I focuse on several aspects of humour in
various contexts, fom linguistic approaches to this phenomenon, and sources of humour
to clear contexts where the humour of puns is at work.
The present topic is important, because of its wide area of influence, and it onl y
started to be approached and studied in detail quite recently. The topic is relevant in
several domains, the key concept (the pun) acting like a web with multiple branches,
and sometimes assembling all the branches together with a common aim.
The focal point, the pun, represents a possible source of interest for a wide range
of branches and contexts: linguistics, literature, psychology, sociology, pedagogy,
adverting, media studies etc. It is a versatile concept that could draw the attention of
linguist s, writers, native speakers, bilingual or foreign languages speakers, or of
students.
Humour has various interactions and aims. It is used usually with a precise aim,
whether the aim is kindly or not. In the following multiple tinges of humour are
present ed, such as: irony, sarcasm, parody, entertainment, the emphasis of an aspect or
detail.
In the first chapter, Punning Strategies , first I approach the relation between
Puns and Humour (1.1), providing a definition of the pun, a definition of humour, some
approaches to humour, a few contexts when humour is present and some important
theories of jokes and puns as well as, a few concepts related to puns and jokes.
In the second section, The Concept of Pun (1.2) , I highlight some problematic
aspects of the d efinition of the concept, a short history and its features. In the section
Punning Strategies at Work (1.3) , are exploited two important mechanisms puns could
be based on: Homonym y (1.3.1), Polysemy (1.3.2) and Linguistic Ambiguity in Puns
(1.3.3.). In the following section, in Puns versus other sources of linguistic humour
(1.4) , puns are compared with several other sources of linguistic humour, such as: the
innuendo, the malapropism, the mixed metaphor, the spoonerism, the overstatement and
the unde rstatement, the statement of obvious, irony and sarcasm, the satire, the parody,
the humorous absurdity, the joke, the shaggy dog story, the exclusive humour.

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The second chapter distinguishes between contexts in which the pun is useful,
and the difference s which intervene in each case due to a specific purpose.
In the first section, Puns in non -literary contexts (2.1.) , are displayed some
topics in which the pun is present in everyday life. The second section, Puns in literary
works (2.2.) , presentes some instances of puns used in literary works by well -known
authors of fiction. In Puns in advertising (2.3.) , it can be seen that humour might
increase the profits of a company. Puns in the Media (2.4.) , explains how some aspects
of the pun and both the enter tainment and persuasive power could make the difference
between good news and ordinary news.

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CHAPTER 1 PUNNING STRATEGIES
The present chapter discusses the main characteristics of puns which become relevant in
the punning process. First ly, in Puns and Humour (1.1) several different approaches to
humour are explored , because puns have a humorous effect, and for this, humour is an
important feature of puns. Also, a few possible issues that could interfere in the process
of punning are surveyed.
Secondly, The Concept of Pun (1.2.) will consider some characteristics of puns
as well as their linguistic and extra -linguistic features . There will be presented several
types of relations between words and what will be seen is how important these relations
are in punning. In the section Puns versus Other Sources of Linguistic Humour (1.3) ,
other various and entertaining embodiments of humour apart from puns are introduced .
1.1 PUNS AND HUMOUR
Puns often arouse humorous reactions, and they are produc ed precisely to obtain
humorous effect. Therefore, the relation between puns and humour is a strong one and
puns are humorous more often than not .
Also called paronomasia, puns consist in a manner of word -play that requ ires
two or more senses, operating with multiple meanings of words, or words that sound
similar to produce a humorous or rhetorical result .
First of all, a pun has to be neither too easy nor too difficult to understand . The
use of reality, of daily life routine, of aspects or problems in the society, hel ps the pun
sound real and natural . Puns may have various shades. They may be funny, ironic,
symbolical or deliberately ambiguous. They also serve as a device used by poets to hide
some ideas from the others, for instance from c ensorship, but still allowing a pun to be
unraveled by the audience. In this way , the idea is received by the intended audience.
Thus, puns allow for several types of audience and various reactions.
Puns may easily divide groups in to fanciers of literature, of engineering, of
science, of English or of other language s. To unde rstand a pun, an individual has to
possess a main, minimal background in the source language or the respective domain .
But to elaborat e a pun is actually difficult. Besides the knowledge background pr esent
in the f irst case, one has to be conversant with branches of linguistics, such as
phonetics, morphology, syntax, s emantics and so on.

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Puns may be also regarded as inside -jokes because of their idiomatic feature. A n
idiom consists of a group of words established by usage as having a particular meaning ,
often one different from those of the i ndividual words that are included in its structure.
From this perspe ctive, one could understand an essential feature of puns, that of being
used by a particular group, in a particular language, branch or culture.
Another feature of puns is that there are sho rt. They could be the picture of
efficiency (in jokes), which is characterized like “more be nefits than costs” in economic
terms, due to the “mi rror-like” aspect of puns, given by their double meaning.
A pun may be easily confused with a malapropism, which is an incorrect form of
a correct expression. The differenc e is that the pun is a one -line expression that could be
rendered through its double -meaning.
Starting from the definition of puns given by Attardo (1994:109) , “from a
linguistic (and semiotic) point of view, puns are phenomena which involve the
“signifiant” one facet of the sign of which they are part in a relevant sense ”, it is
distingu ished the feature of duality inherent in the structure of the pun .
Attardo (1994:109) gives an enlightening note about the term “ signifiant ”,
revealing the Saussurean theory which consists in the contrast between the signifier and
signified . Even if the t heory seems difficult, puns show that it is not such a complicated
process. Being so short and close to an utterance, puns are constructed in such a way
that the participants do not need any advanced linguistic or grammatical knowledge to
understand them. I would say that puns have a hybrid character because of their
multiple grammatical points of view.
Despite their simplicity and shortness, by their double n ature of sense and
meaning, puns become maybe the most suggestive figure of speech. Taking into
consideration a few of the ideas expressed previously, Attardo (1994:110) emphasizes
in the verbal punning : “ phonological structure will be used in this chapter to refer to the
phonological r epresentation of any linguistic unit (phonemes, morphemes, etc. through
texts), including suprasegmental information, if any, and any "expressive" tone, pitch,
or volume information, i.e., any characteristic of the physical phonetic production that is
used to convey meaning ” Thus, puns do not only have ph onological character, but also
a “phonological s tructure”.
According to Attardo (1994:3), the notion of humour is a term which is almost
incapable of being defined like any figure of speech, or concept thi s “ impossible
definition” may be attributed to double presence of humour, both in literature and

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society. The Free Dictionary reveals a definition of humour nearer to our common
everyday perspective: “ the quality/ ability/ mood of being amusing or comic , especially
as expressed in literature or speech”1.
Humour is a vital feature of puns. Without it, puns would be just word -play,
destitute of the natural emotion given by the relation between humour and l aughter , and
Attardo (1994:10) points out a clear id ea about this relation: “This leads to the
identification of a mental phenomeno n (humor) with a complex neuro physiological
manifestation (laughter).” Having a humorous character , a pun has to make people
laugh, generat ing entertain ment. H umour is a phenomen on that has been present in our
lives since the oldest times. It is expressed by laugh ter, a natural reaction to our
cognitive activity, showed physically through laughter or smile.
Humour has been approached from various perspe ctives since t he oldest times.
Since the second part of the 19th century up to the 20th century, humour was treated
more seriously, from a wid er and more detailed perspective. In the following , I will
discuss some perspectives from which humour h as been approached latel y.
Dealing with the language, scanning how creativity pla ys a crucial role in
language, stylistics offers a basic perspective of humour. Simpson (2006 ) outlines a
clear perspective on humour from a stylistic point of view, pointing out two theoretical
principles that interven e in the language of humour : the first principle is based on an
incongruity resolution and the second principle is about incongruity too, but treated like
“any layer of linguistic structure” (Simpson 2006:45). Thus, he emphasizes the multiple
perspectives in which humour is p resent “at any level of language and discourse and it
can even play one level off against to another” (Simpson 2006:45). From this feature
results the strong and heavy shade of humour, which is so facile to id entify , forward.
Simpson puts forth an explicit ana lysis of humour, that consists i n the detection
of an incongruity between a text and w here in the language system it pertains . Simpson
focuses on humour in the context of pun , emphasizing the main idea , i.e. that the pun is
the most comm only used stylistic device in order to provide a humorous effect. He also
points out the idea that the pun combines two unrelated meanings. This insight lies at
the basis of the Incongruity Theory.
In his paper, Simpson (2006:45) reveals a vital and an important fact about puns
and humo ur, avoiding any ambiguity: “c learly, the pun is an important part of the

1 "humour" 2011 Collins English Verb Tables. HarperCollins Publishers Retrieved
from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/humour . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

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stylistic arsenal of writers because it allows a controlled ‘double meaning’ to be located
in what is in effect a chanc e connection between two elements of language.”
Seeking to analyse , humour in more detail, Ross (1998:1) tackles humour from
the very beginning from a socia l point of view. H umour is said to take place exclusively
between humans and Critchley (2002) consid ers that humour means humanity.
Ross (1998) starts with the locus of humour in everyday life: on T.V, in books,
on stage , in the mass media and so on. In the introduction of her paper, The Language of
Humour , Ross reveals from the socia l point of view the idea that “h umour is influential
— from political satire to joking as a way of establishing friendships and excluding
others” (Ross 1998:1 ). For many people, her idea could be thought as a cliché because
one might approve of her beliefs and another could not. But from an obj ective
perspective, I agree with her approach. From a sociologic al point of view, humour
divides people into many categories . Many people begi n a friendship by starting from a
comic or humorou s situation. Humour draws people closer, but it could also break or
interspace them, because humour has various shades and it is not difficult to move up
from simple, ingenuous humour to black humour, satire or sarcasm, which are not quite
everyone’s favorite. This kind of reaction could be both inten tional or unintentional
because jokes reveal multiple reactions. Ross admits that the social context is very
important in perception and creation of humoour. She likens humour to fashion, it being
dependent on cultural assumptions and stimuli .
Moreover, Ross (1998) debates the phenomenon of laughter in order to explain
why people laugh. First, she begin s with the idea that people laugh in company; she
supports her idea with some research , and exemplifies some instances with very likely
contexts which conf irm her initial premises. She also mention s the “c anning laughter”,
which is a procedure used not o nly by television and it is a catching laughter, when in a
group an individual choose to laugh because everyone does. In her paper, she makes an
inventory of various grammatical devices and procedures, which could express humour,
from a pure grammatical approach.
Another approach to humour, a broader one, is Attardo’s (1994) in Linguistic
Theories of Humour . His work was helpful for a lot of other theorist s and students in the
study of humour, thanks to its vast area. First of all , he discuss es humour and its relation
with various contexts, like literature, society and history. He draws “the linear
organization of a joke” (1994:60), he aligns various discussion s in the following and he
ends his work with detailed approaches to humour.

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Attardo provides, in the introduction to Metatheory of humour , three main types
of theories: essentialist, teleolog ical and substantialist . Essentialist theories provide “the
necessary and sufficient conditions for a phenomenon to occur” (1994:1) . Those
conditions are important because they are vital to “define th e substance” of the
phenomenon. Teleological theories serve in the establishment of a goals and purposes,
and which me chanisms are taking place in. S ubstantialist theories are important because
they provide “the unifying factor for the explanation of the phenomenon in the concrete
“contents ” of the phenomen on”.
As it was already mentio ned before, Attardo associates humour with an
“impossible definition”, because of the large area in which it could take place .
Also, in the introduction , Attardo establishes the relation between humour a nd laughter.
Attardo (1994:1) approaches the idea that, if something i s funny than there will be
laughter and if something produces laughter it is funny, as being a false one. He has two
argument s: the “mental phenomenon” and the “neur o-psychological manifestantion”.
Both of them operate together by pr oducing humour (the mental phenomenon) and
laughter (the neuro -psychological manifestation). He concludes w ith the idea that
laughter is a criterion of humour. From Attardo’s perspective , what is emphasized is the
fact that humour is personal, and what is humorous for a person may b e annoying for
another .
In the development of Natural and Evocative Affect , Attardo (1994:233) uses
Bally ’s (1909) work, who distinguishes two types of affective meanings: a “natural” and
an “evocative” one. The difference be tween the two types may refer to two
perspecti ves: the objective and the subjective one. The subjective one is also called
“natural”, because it evok es a connotation. Attardo assert s that sometimes humour
“tends to be artificial”, and appeals to the “aesthetic theory of humour”, provide d by
Bally, hig hlighting the similarity between humour and pleasure in an aesthetic context.
Furthermore, Attardo (1994:233) notes that “between purely aesthetic expressions and
casual, “spon taneous ” expressions” an intermediate case is humour and its “natural”
meaning. From this , one can distinguish why there are two types of affective meanings.
On the other hand, the “evocative a ffect” is tackled (1994:234 -235) as being the
opposite of t he “natural” one, and consists i n the discrepancy that is produced between a
“famili ar la nguage”, which is related to humour and the “soc ial language”, which is
related to the evocative affect.

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Attardo equally focus es on the Cooperative Nature of Humour. He approaches
humour this time from a pragmatic point of view, based on Grice’s work about The
Cooperative Principle and how, by violating his maxims, humour might be produced. In
this chapter, Attardo (1994:27 1) conveys Grice’s idea that jokes are not in realtion with
the co operative principle, and stresses the “the importance of the implicit in jokes,
which is found to be connected to the peculiar CP (Cooperative Principle) of humor.”
Another prevalent figure in the area of humour studies , is Critchley (2002) with
the paper entitled On Humour . His manner of approaching humour brings it closer to
Philosophy, Critchley being also the Head of Philosophy Department from Essex
Univeristy . In each unit of his work are present philosophical concepts . Even if it is
about old stories, tales, or the contemporary times, when society is changed, humour
remained. Critchley (2002:1) points up the idea of “tension between expectation and
actuality” in a joke, then approaches the main three theories of humour.
First of all, Critchley (2002:2) discusses three main theories of humour. In th e
first theory of humour he starts from the ancient Greeks, whose wo rd-play contests are
well-known. C iting Hobbes, he mentions that people with a sense of humour belong to a
“superior” rank, which I personally do not agree with entirely . The second theory leads
us to the 19th century, to the w ork of Herbert Spencer where “laughter is explained as a
release of pent -up nervo us energy”, but one cannot forget that humour is not identical
with l aughter. Th ese two are the vital characteristics in punning. In the same period,
Critchley points a few characteristics of the modern Philosophy by Freud, w hen the
benefits of laughter become known. This is no t the only approach in which Philosophy
is related to Humo ur. Attardo (1994:46), in the section which represents the “Modern
Approaches t o Humor”, Freud is a representative figure during this period. This aspect
emphasizes one more time the relation of humo ur with humanity, where Philosophy is
not so far from lan guage studies as one may have thought at first sight. The third theory
is based on “The incongruity theory” (2002:3) and what we expect about a joke or a
pun.
In the second unit Critchley reveals an important and real question: Is Humour
Human ? Concerned with this premise, Cr itchley (2002:25) advocates Aristotle’s
opinion which points out the fact that “no animal laughs save Man”. From this idea
follows an important feature of humour. It is s pecific to humans, who understand its
sense appropriately through “reactio nary humour”. H e asser ts that people who do not
laugh “suffer” from “the charge of inhumanity”, and then he supports his point of view

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with some hist orical figures that did not use to laugh, such as : Pythagoras, Socrates,
Virgin Mary and Jesus and characterizes those fi gures harshly.
Humour , according to Critchley (2002:28) “is an anthropological constant, is
universal and common to all culture”. He considers humour as being a “universal
constant” that near all culture s share . He continues with an interesting idea: “humour is
a key element in the distinction of the human from the animal” (2002:28) . Among other
facts that make the difference between humans and animals he stresses the possession of
culture.
To sustain his premise, Critchley (2002:34) approaches three concepts: humour,
humanity and animal through the idea that “if being human means being humorous,
than being humorous often seems to mean becoming an animal. But, paradoxically,
what becoming an animal confirms is the fact that humans are incapable of becoming
animals.” By “incapable” he implies that disgusting effect when , hypothetical ly
speaking, a human becomes an animal in the context of humour . On the other hand, in
his humour view, humans appear like “useless animals”. He a lso names this in a
synonymic manner “outla ndish animals”, characterized as “incompetent” and
“hopeless”. He also notices that people are “outlandish animals” when they practice
imitation of sounds produced by animals, and also t hat satire makes people “ou tlandish
animals”.
In his paper, Critchely covers humour as a concept from a philosophical standpoint ,
by giving it a different perspective from the other theorists who approach humour. His
perspective is visibly philosophical, because he renounces any lin guistic or grammatical
comments, and due to this aspect his view of humour is unique .
As it was mentioned before, a pun is a form of word -play. It can be based on
various features of the language, involving spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary etc.
When it i s performed, the verbal wit, and its coherence may become ambiguous for
some interlocutors, or for the entire audience if the pun is not well -const ructed. The
context in which the “punning process” takes place , has to be appropriate, avoiding
insult or offense at somebody. The moment has to be calculated, and from this point of
view the context is highly impor tant. Critchley (2002:6) names this “comic timing”.
This is another important aspect, being controlled only by the joke -teller. He or she has
to calculate the right moment. Sometimes , if this aspect is not followed, the whole
process may be interrupted, or even prevented from occurring . In his work he
distinguishes two temporal dimensions that take place in such an aspect: duration ( from

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the moment when the joke starts til l the instant it takes place) and the instant (the punch
line), explaining that “i n being told a joke, we undergo a particular ex perience of
duration through repetition and digression” (2002:7) . Joke telling is a process that needs
duration for the so enjoined result through instant reactions at diverse levels, such as:
intonation, voice tone, the laughter, the well -known peak or up shot.
In his paper about humour, Carroll (2014: 2) stresses three main points about
humour. He focu ses on the nature of humour through the comic amusem ent, starting
from the “ancient users of humour”. He beli eves that humour is closely related with
emotion and cognition. An individual laughs because he or she feels an emotion at a
certain moment, but also if at his/her mental level is produced a s pecific kind of activity,
one that induce s amusem ent in his or her cognitive activity. Another aspect worth
menti oning is the relation be tween humour and value, and its social impact. Carroll
(2014) calls this step a crucial one, because, as he notices, humour can be immoral. Of
course, not all jokes are enjoined by everybody.
Humour has a stylistic valu e. Not all o f us use it as such, but every approach to
humour is original, different , just like human beings are. For instance , it is very unlikely
that two or more individuals perform a joke alike. Each of them will sound so different
even if they use the same words, which is unlikely too. While a joke is enjoined by one,
another in dividual may consider it: i nappropria te, offensive, abusive or just nonsense
and dull.
A main theory which links puns to humour is the Incongruity Theory, pointed out
by Critchley (2002:3). The term “incongruity” is related with the discrepancy which can
be produced in the process of punning or telling a joke between what we expect from a
joke and “and what actually takes place in the joke”. Critchley (2002:4) mentions some
requirements that may emerge in the process of telling a joke or a pun, considering that
humour is hand in hand with humanity and human interactions : “in order for the
incongruity of the joke to be seen as such, there has to be a congruence between joke
structure and social structure – no social congruity, no comic incongruity.” Otherwise,
the entire purpose of the joke wi ll be ruined. He admits that joking is a process that
assumes some rules. This theory might mark some usual issues . An important one is to
capture the attention, to make the others pay attention, otherwise the joke is told in vain ,
and it becomes a waste of time. When an individual is in the context in which
everybody knows that a joke is about to be told and shared, the only one who talks is the

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joke-teller/ punner. If somebody is performing a joke, and somebody else starts to
speak, the whole purpose of the joke is compromised.
Connecte d with The Incongruity Theory, is the Incongruity Re solution. According
to Graeme (2004:54), this notion is described as “one very com mon proposal which
further explores the use of incongruity in humour is the incongruity -resolution (IR)
theory […] This an alysis states that incongruity alone is not sufficient to create humour,
but this incongruity must be resolved (i.e. seen to be not as incongruous as first
thought).” Therefore, this is a main element in the joke schema. Graeme uses the term
“stages”, presen ting the fragmen tary structure of a joke. First , if a premise is
established, or an idea, a fact etc, then there are present some other layers even if we are
going to negate or destroy the first premise. From the discrepancy, difference, between
these two, we distinguish t he surprise element . Going further in the joke or pun
mechanism, it can be noticed that the pun is not such an easy concept, despite recent
linguistic approach es.
In the following lines, I will briefly present puns in the context of transl ation. In his
paper, Lambert (2006:128), concerned with translation, mentions among several types
of strategies the source-oriented and the target -oriented ones , stressing the difference
between puns and cultural references in translation strategies .
Transla tion has to observe some guide lines in order to get rid of ambiguity and the
lack of stylistic value in a literary work. Puns are difficult to be rendered or translated
properly, and for this the translator has to be gifted with imagination, patience and
abnegation. The strateg ies of puns are closely linked with cultural references, different
aspects or types of society, countries, events, branches of study and so on.
In other words, puns are imbued with stylistic value and they are almost never easy
to translate without an additional explication destitute of stylistic value and sense. In
translation there is rarely a perfect match between the source -language and the target –
language variants. From this feat ure we distinguish the wit of puns. This feat ure is
tightly connected with the cognitive activity of the audience. A multitud e of elements
are present in their mind s, like a ssociations, events, textual features of the dialogue, all
bound up and resulting in wit and laughter, informally named “the ca tch”.
Is there always laughter in puns?
Puns have not always been humorous. For instance, the puns used in literature by
several writers of different periods like William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Oscar
Wilde, Alexander Pope and so on. Puns were used in literature firstly to provide a

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double -meaning of a specific thing, and to abscond some aspects or beliefs from the
censorship of the regime in each period. Writers preferred to use puns because they did
not want to be ju dged or put in prison, and somehow they had the earnest belief that the
audience and also the critics would know what they really meant, or referred to.
Also, puns that are not humorous are presented in the Bible in order to provide a
double -meaning, or un certainty, or to make the audience to meditate, to give thought to
some religious aspects.
Another case in which puns do not arouse humorous effects is in political
declamations ever since the oldest times. In China, for instance, the king Shen Dao,
used t he term “shih”, meaning “power”, but also meaning “position” to express the idea
that a king has power generated by his position as ruler2.
1.2 THE CONCEPT OF PUN
In this section, pun s will be appro ached from a few other theoretical stances , each
of them w ith a total ly different point of view. A s Attardo (1994:108) points out in his
approach, puns “were seen as the only legitimate field for the interdisciplinary contacts
between linguistics and humor studies, for quite a long time”, and also “the subject of
puns is the area of humor research in which linguistics has traditionally been most
active. Regardless of this fact, large parts of the territory of punning phenomena still
remain uncharted.” The field of the pun remained unexplored, because it involves w ord-
play and implies a personal manner of approach. It is very unlikely that two or more
individuals should perform a joke in the same manner. The process of punning and also
joking requires a personal involvement.
A few definitions of puns are at this point truly necessary.
As was mentioned above, Attardo (1994:109) draws the definition of pun from a
double perspective linguistic and semiotic: “ puns are phenomena w hich involve the
“signifiant” facet of the sign of which they are part in a relevant sense , to be defined
later. It will be one of the goals of this section to illustrate in what measure and with
which modalities the phonological structure, or other means of representation, are
“involved ” in puns .”

2 Waley, A. 1982. Pun. “Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China”, p 181. Retrieved from
https://books.google.ro/books?id=zIjGVfU_sAgC&dq=%22ancient+china%22+puns+language&source=gbs_navlink
s_s . Accessed on 8th April 2016 .

16
Another theorist that devoted his work to puns was Delabastita. Taking into
consideration that a pun involves word -play, in Delabastita’s (1993:57) view, wordplay
“is the general name indicating the various textual phenomena in which certain features
inherent in the structure of the language used are exploited in such a way as to establish
a communicatively significant, (near) -simultaneous confrontation of at least two
linguistic structures with more or less dissimilar meanings (signifieds) and more or less
similar forms (signifiers) ”3, but the word “p un” is inexistent in his definition. He defines
just “word -play” in the same manner as Attardo (1994:109) defines “pun”. As
Delabastita (1993:55) asserts, “ ‘there is not even a consensus as to how the term pun
should be understood” . But the terms “pun” and “word -play” are often exploited as
interchangeable, and in many cases the two terms are complementary, in Delabastita ’s
approach. Also, he summarizes the definition of pun which has to be “communicatively
significant”.
The word “pun” is a very versatile o ne from the morphological point of view. A pun
is a relatively new notion or concept, and it is not a difficult task to permute it in several
grammatical classes. According to Oxford Dictionary4, there are a few derivatives that
could be distinguished:

 Verb : -puns (the root: pun + -s particle specific to the third person,
number singular, Active voice, Present Tense Simple)
-punning1 (The root: pun + -ing Specific particle for continuous
aspect, Present Tense Continous)
-punned 1 (the root pun + ed specific particle for regular verbs,
Past Tense Simple)
 Adjective : -punning2 same form like the one above, without object
-punned2
 Adverb : -punningly obtained by the fusion between two derivational
suffixes: -ing and –ly
 Noun : – punner (root: pun + -er suffix specific of the performer of the
action)

3 Delabastita, D. 1993. Definition of pun. “There's a Double Tongue”. Retrieved from
https://books.google.ro/books?id=F81s7gdXOfIC&dq=pun+definition+delabastita&source=gbs_navlinks_s .
Accessed on 8th April 2016.
4 “pun”, 2010 Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pun .
Accessed on 8th April 2016.

17
A pun implies wit, or witticism, precisely because of the affinity between two
different references, and thereby, the humorous effect is obtained. The term “wit”5 itself
has various meanings and describes a capacity in an inventive manner of thought and
quick understanding, a synonym would be “keen intelligence”. Also, “wit” could
describe a “natural aptitude” in the usage of some words, or ideas, again in a quick and
inventive way, in order to create a humor ous effect.
Wit is an important feature that is almost critical for both the one that is performing
the pun, and for the audience, because it helps in the aim and the purpose of pun. In the
absence of wit, the whole process is broken.
Another aspect worth highlighting is the history of the concept of pun . In the paper s
of John Pollack (2011) and Fontaine (2010) , it is claimed that the beginning of punning
has a long history. Starting from the Sumerian cun eiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs, to
the development o f myths and the interpretation of dreams based on punning, and to the
Roman plays, Plautus , who was famous for such word -plays, puns have a long history.
This concept has been useful for several human civilisations, just as much as writing
and even the alp habets.
The pun could be also related with the concept of allusion. In his work about
allusions, Leppihalme (1997 :6) mentions the relation bet ween allusion and puns,
tabulating puns “as modified allusions”. From his perspective, “an allusion is a figure o f
speech that compares aspects or qualities of counterparts in history, mythology,
scripture, literature, popular or contemporary culture.” The central idea is that allusions
are pragmatically transposed, being bound to the real life aspects, and being ass ociated
with terms like: “reference, qu otation or citation, borrowing”.
According to Lappihalme (1997:6) in a certain context, an u tterance that consists in
a pun could b e formed and based on allusion. The notion of frame is useful in decoding
the mechanis m of word -play. Lappihalme defines the term frame as “a combination of
words that is accepted in the language community as an example of preformed linguistic
material”. A frame has to be simple and brief, in order to be understood by the audience.
A frame may be also similar with a pattern of a pun or joke, whi ch is very easy to be
adapted by each punner, to the audience, the context etc. Leppihalme (1999:41,2)
clarifies the mod ification that intervenes in: “m odification of a frame can be either
situational or lexical. If a frame has undergone little or no linguistic modification, its

5 "wit." 2002 Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edit ion. 1995.
HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wit . Accessed on 15th May, 2016.

18
effect (laughter, surprise, shock etc.) may be due to the incongruity of the borrowed
words and their connot ations in the alludi ng context”. H ence, the modification is not a
difficult aspect to achieve , but it is a vital feature that has to take place in a pun. If it is
not started from a vast premise, a qualitative frame is necessary to achieve an allusion
correctly organized, and thus a pun might be as amusing as a long wise -crack.
Puns can be also approached from the connotation and d enotation dichotomy point
of view, which are closely related to the notion of the meaning. First, connotation, is
“an idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing”6, in contrast with
denotation, which is defined as “the literal or primary meaning of a word by name”7. In
the process of punning , meaning has a vital role, starting from the idea of word -play,
where play derives from the “switched” mea ning from one word to another. The punner
has to make sure that the audience distinguishes between these two terms.
Metonymy is another figure of speech which can be useful in punn ing, which
consists in one entity or thing which supplies mental acces s to another entity or object.
There are several types of metonymy, for instance when a part stands for the whole, an
instrument for the action, the time for the object, destination for the action or event and
so on. Starting from these types, in punning it is easier for the joketeller to opt for
allusions and to point several combinations that are need ed in making puns, permit ting
to elaborate utterances with an individual, personal or original character .

1.3 PUNNING STRATEGIES AT WORK
Puns o ften rely on the sense relation, called homonymy, whether full or partial.
Homonymy could be defined as the relation of lexical ambiguity between words
having different meanings. From a lexicographical point of view, it consists of a
situation where one or tographic or spoken form represents more than one vocabulary
item. Taking into consideration this aspect in the context of puns, one important aspect
is revealed, namely that puns can be both written or spoken. From this feature what is
understood one more time is the complexity of puns, given that ambiguity inherent in
this process. In puns, this ambiguity is transformed in to a basic feature that is about to

6 "connotation" 2002 Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 1995.
HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/connotation . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.
7 "denotation" 2008 WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. 2003. Princeton University, Clipart.com, Farlex Inc.
Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/denotation . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

19
be clarified at the end of utterance, and the ambiguity disappears. In fact, without
ambiguity, the whole sense and the purpose of the utterance, and even the pun itself
would not exist anymore.
To get rid of any supposed confusion between homonymy and pun , in The Free
Dictionary is displayed a short incursion into the etymological approach:
homonymy is indebted to Greek homōnumon , meaning having the same name, deriving
from homos = same + onoma = name .
Homonymy is an impo rtant procedure through which puns may be
accomplished, due to its vital feature, the multiple spellings or pronunciations.
Homonymy could function as a basic device through which could be
distinguish ed more senses than one in the process of punning, with all the ambiguity
what that presupposes. Homonymy is di vided into three major types: full or perfect
homonymy, homophony and homography . Each of the se types is a representative way
which could be include d in the main class, homonymy, given the mixture of the various
ways in which the items belong to this class.
Homonyms may be classified into three categories, according to the overlap of
the pronunciation or spelling :
A. Lexical homonyms: “belong to the same grammatical class and have different
lexical meaning s”
For example, according to The Free Dictionary, the noun SEAL8 may mean:
1 A fish -eating aquatic mammal with a streamlined body and feet developed as
flippers, that returns to land to breed or rest ,
(1) A device or substance that is used to join two things together so as to prevent
them coming apart or to prevent anything passing between them
(2) A member of an elite force within the US Navy, specializing in guerrilla warfare
and counter -insurgency .
B. Grammatical h omonyms: words that belong to different grammatical classes and
have different lexical meaning.
For example:
bear (noun) =animal
to bear (verb)= to endure

8 "seal" 2012, Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 . 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000,
2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014. HarperCollins Publishers Retrieved from
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/seal . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

20
patient (noun)= individual which benefits by medical assistance
patient (adjective)= individual which possesses patience, tolerance
C. Lexical -Grammatical Homonyms: words that are homonyms and differ in
grammatical meaning only :
For example:
that= 1 pronoun, 2 adjective
pronoun: That is a bad idea.
adjective: That situation was not from the happiest ones.
Played= 1Past Tense, 2Past Participle
Past Tense: We played with them.
Past Participle: Have you ever played soccer?
In conclusion, homonymy is a r elation between words heavily exploited in
puns, through its variability which generates several meanings. Homonymy is divided
into three types: full/ total/ perfect hom onymy, homophony and homography, and each
subclass is going to be enlarged upon below.
1.3.1 HOMONYMY
1.3.1.1 F ull/ Total/ Perfect Homonyms
Perfect homonyms are also called homonyms proper, and this class includes all
the words that are identical in both spelling and pronunciation. They are words that in
dictionari es are present in a particular ways and follow certain lexicographic
conventions, precisely for their multiple meanings and identical form. In th e following I
will give a series of examples in which we can see how lexicography approaches the
homonymic aspect of a word:

lap1 =(usually one’s lap) the flat area between
the waist and knees of a seated person
lap lap2 = one circuit of a track during a race
lap3 = (of an animal) take up (liquid) with quick movements of
the tongue
right right 1 = the opposite direction of left
right 2 = correct

21
Given their double or multiple meanings, perfect homo nyms are used in puns, as in:
(1) In Romania if you’re ill, you have to be (a) patient .
This pun, (1), is a satirical approach conveying black humour . It is well known that
the medical s ystem is in a collaps e in Romania, and that in various events presented by
the mass -media many people died or their fragile condition got worse because nobody
(from the hospital staff) helped them. It is also well -known that in Romania, even for a
stamp or a piece of paper you can wait for several hours, and this if you are lucky
enough to get whatever you need o n the same day. So, in (1) I used the double mean ing
of the word patient , and I bound this double meaning to two individual contextual
statement s.
(2) What does a bear say on winter’s frosty days?
‘I can’t bear the cold’! 9
This is also an original pun, which is based upon an image from the Internet. T he
word “bear” is a perfect homonym, beca use in the first utterance it is a noun, and in the
second utteran ce, it is a verb .
(3) Q: Why did you put red lipstick on your head?
A: My mother told me to make up my mind.10
This is another joke popular on the Internet, a more complex one to analyse. Given
that there is a dialogue, the ambiguity is increased. Firstly, a lipstick is an item in a
make -up kit . The differe nce between make up and make -up is ambiguous in a verbal
dialog ue. First, “make -up”11 is a compound noun w hich means
“cosmetics applied to the face to improve or change your appearance”. The second,
“make up”12 is a verb which means “the qualities or temperament that constitute a
personality, disposition”.
(4) “Q: How do you infuriate an artefact collector?
A: You say something bad about their mummy ” (Macovei, 2014:3)

9 The image is available on https://s -media -cache –
ak0.pinimg.com/236x/6f/88/70/6f8870c2d37db155b15d387cf45c0266.jpg . Accessed on 3rd April, 2016.
10 Image, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/twohighbros/posts/1117785088231693:0 . Accessed on
22th June, 2016.
11 "make -up" 2002 Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 1995.
HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/make -up. Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
12 "make up" 2002 Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 1995.
HarperCollins Publishers Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/make -up. Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

22
In this case, the homophone word is “mummy”, consisting of two meanings: on the
one hand , the diminutive form for the word “mom”, informal for “mother”, and on the
other hand the human corpse covered in a particular kind of fabric, obtained from a
well-known technique to entomb the Egyptian rulers.
(5) “Q: How did Quasimodo figure out that people mocked at him?
A: He had had a hunch. ” (Macovei, 2014:4)
The total homonymy is realised in this example through the noun “hunch”, which
means both an assumption about someone and also a humpback.
(6) “Q: Why are traffic officers always happy?
A: They have discovered that every day is a fine day. ” (Macovei, 2014:9)
The word that intensifies the interest in this example is “fine”, which can denote a
noun, which expresses the fine as a report given by an officer to an individual in order
to correct a litigious behaviour in a certain circumstance, and “fine” as an adjective,
which also means “good”, “right”, “well”.
(7) “Q: What was the coin collector’s favourite tea?
A: Mint. ” (Macovei, 2014:9)
In this example, “mint” is the lexeme with double meaning. First, mint is a plant,
often used in infusion with a specific flavour. Secondly, “mint” means also a place with
the sp ecific purpose to create money.
1.3.1.2 HOMOPHONY
Homophony is a subclass of h omonymy, different from that of the perfect h omonyms.
Homophony covers the class of words that have the same pronunciation, but different
spellings , and obviously, different mean ings. Its members a re named homophones.
Given that their particularity lies in their different spelling, in verbal punning
this feature re presents the ambiguity needed to create puns. Homophones are useful in
puns also because of their false -double -meaning . False, because when a homophone
gets heard, in the mind of the listener is groun ded just a sense, but in fact a total ly
different word, not just a sense, is invoked.

23
In the following I will provide some examples of homophones:
● /peɪl/ ● /ˈwɛðə/ ● /weɪt/
pail – pale whether – weather wait – weight
● /nəʊ/ ● /fluː/ ● /ˈflaʊə/
know – no flew – flu flour – flower
● /dʒiːnz/ ● /peəː/ ● /ðeə/
genes – jeans pear – pair their – there
In puns are often present group s of short words that, when pronounced together ,
result into another specific chain of words needed in the context of the jokes .
(8) “Q: Why is six afraid of seven?
A: Because seven ate nine. ”13
This i s a homophone joke available online . The homophony results from the
identical pronunciation between the verb to eat ( its Past Tense form “ate”) , and the
number eight (8).
(9) “Q: Why did the snowman call his dog Frost?
R: Because frost bites. ”14
This joke does not start with a possible premise . The word -play is presented at the
beginning of the word frost, present in both utterances. In the first, the word frost is a
proper name , and in the second one is part from the noun “frostbite ” which means the
feeling present in the human body when this is exposed in harsh weathe r conditions. It
is written separately in the second utterance to emphasize the initial premise.
(10) “Q: What does say a volcano to another?
A: I lava you! ”15

13 Pun. R etrieved from http://whywassixafraidofseven.blogspot.ro/2009/11/789.html . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
14 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.doseoffunny.com/15 -insanely -cute-pun-husky -meme -jokes/4 . Accessed on 22th
June, 2016.
15 Pun. R etrieved from http://jokesforkids.info/what -did-one-volcano -say-to-the-other -volcano . Accessed on 22th
June, 2016.

24
The word -play is suggest ed by the word “lava”, which is very similar with the verb
“to love ”, but the pronunciation in Irish or British accent, is the same with the noun
“lava”, which means the fluid that erupts from an active volcano.
(11) “Q: Why are there no casinos in a safari?
A: ..Because there are a lot of cheetahs” 16
Homonymy lies on the word “cheetahs”, denoting the feline predator from Africa,
and “cheater”, which means a person that cheats in a contest or a game.
(12) “Q: What do you call a pig with three eyes?
A: Piiig!”17
Homonymy is at play in thi s case between the noun “eye” and the letter “i”,
which have the same spelling. Both of them, in this case, consist of a noun function,
because the person that answers perceptives the word “eye” as the letter “i” and because
of that he or she lengthens the vowel “i”, as if it were a single item.
1.3.1.3 HOMOGRAPHY
Homonymy i s the third subclass that belongs to h omonymy. Homographs are words
with the same spelling, but different pronunciation s.
As another subcategory of homonymy, and because of its pa rticularity,
homography permits us to build several combinations in the compositi on of puns and
word -play. Given that they involve different pronunciation s, the ambiguity that puns
involve is minimal compared to the previous ones.
It can be claimed that co nstruct ing puns through that pro cedure is a most useful
way to learn English, because it provid es different perspectives that learners might have
an idea of more or less. Using homographs in pun s, the joke -teller has resort to his or
her abilit y to reprodu ce the sounds in such a manner as to obtain the wanted effec t for
the listener to understand the similarit y, association and to “catch” the point.

16 This jo ke has a lot of alternatives and versions n the Internet, but was chosen thanks to its brief and explicit
information.
17 Pun. Retrieved from
https://www .reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1hpe23/what_do_you_call_a_pig_with_three_eyes/ . Accessed on 22th
June, 2016.

25
In the following I will pr ovide some examples of homographs, as before , using
the phonetic transcription of t he word s to emphasize their distinctive fe ature, and the
Oxfor d Dictionary:
● present: 1. /ˈprɛz(ə)nt/ = e xisting or occurring in a place or thing
2. /pr ɪˈzɛnt/ = g ive or award formally or ceremonially
3. /ˈpr ɛz(ə)nt/ = a thing given to someone as a gift
●bow : 1. /bəʊ/ = a knot tied with two loops and two loose ends
2. /ba ʊ/ = b end the head or upper part of the body as a sign of respect, greeting,
or shame
3. /ba ʊ/ = the front end of a ship
●second : 1. /ˈsɛk(ə)nd/ = a fter the first
2. /ˈs ɛk(ə)nd/ = unit for the measurement of the time
3. /sɪˈkɒnd/ = transfer (a military officer or other official or worker)
temporarily to other employment or another position:
● does: 1. /dʌz/ = t hird person conjugation of the verb DO
2. /d əʊ/ = the deer femal e referring in a plural form
● produce: 1. /pr əˈdjuːs/ = make or manufacture from components or raw
materials
2. /ˈpr ɒdjuːs/ = a gricultural and other natural products collectively
● tear: 1. /tɛː/ = p ull (something) apart or to pieces with force
2. /tɪə/ = the liquid that comes from the eyes when a person is crying
From among the three sources of h omonymy , conversion is the most versatile
one in punning, when: “one lexical idiom changes his morphological class withou t
changing its form ”. This crucial feature is a useful one, because it provides m any f orms
of the words, with similar meaning s, helping us to improve our vocabulary and
elaborate pu ns more easily, without struggling to look for new words.

26
In the following, one can see how homographs give rise to puns:
(13) “The farm was used to produce produce. ”18
As seen above, on account of the double -meaning of the word “produce ”, this is a
homograph. In the right context, this pun may “produce ” laughter.
(14) “Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear .”19
In this pun, the am biguity does not virtually exist, because the verb “to shed”
expresses and clears the whole utterance.
(15) “The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert .” 20
That is a really funny one. We ha ve three almost identic al words, with different
meaning s. First, the verb “to deser t”21 which means ”to abandon (a military post, for
example) in violation of orders or an oath” . The second is a noun which means the last
meal from the menu, and is often a sweet dish. The latter22, is a noun too, but it refers to
“a dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation”
(16) “The bandage was wound around the wound. ” 23
The context of this pun may be inappropriate for some, and the situation may get
weird. It will be hilarious to be told in a hospital to someone who got hurt. But the
example is a useful one because it provides homographs in a word -play. The first wound
is the past participle of the verb “to wind” an d means “turned ”, and the second one is a
noun which means an injury.
(17) “Q: What was the glutton ’s favourite season?
A: Season the steak. ”(Macovei 2014:4 -5)

18 Pun. Retrieved from http://www.say -it-in-english.com/englishfun.html . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
19 Pun. Retrieved from https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/English_hard_2learn.html . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
20 Pun. Retrieved from https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/English_hard_2learn.html . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
21 "desert" 2002 Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition.
1995.HarperCollins Publishers Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/desert . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.
22 "desert"2002 Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 1995.
HarperCollins Publishers Ret rieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/desert . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
23 Pun. Retrieved from http://www.learnenglish.de/pronunciation/pronunciationnonsense.html . Accessed on 22th
June, 2016.

27
The homography relies in this example on the word “season” which on one hand
means a division of time , and on the other hand, represents the infinitive form of the
verb “to season”.
Homography allows through its features to elaborate several puns. Whether one
would choose to write or to verbalize a pun based on homography, the pun is realised
anyway. The spoken puns are successfully realised if the joke -teller opts for the best
pronunciation and the best tone to stress the two senses of a homograph.

1.3.2 POLYSEMY
Puns based on polysemy are sometimes ambiguous. A polysemantic word could
have many senses and sometimes it could be difficult for both the hearer and the joke –
teller to accomplish the process of pun. It is vital for the joke -teller to make sure that the
hearer would understand the proper sense.
Polysemy is a problematic relation between words, and has as aim the emphasis and
disambiguation of its relation with homonymy. Briefly considered from the
etymological perspective , polysemy is the fusion of two Greek terms:
poly (<many) + sêma (<sign).
Two categories of words can be distinguish in English:
 Monosemantic words , are words which have only one meaning, are very few not
just in English and they are often technical/scientific words .
 Polysemantic words are words which have more senses than one.
For example : BOX= 1. A container with straight sides, a flat base
2. the things in a box
3. a space on a printed form in which you write (or text box)
4. a small enclosed space where theatre or sports are performed
5. in British English informal for T.V
6. an address that som people use instead of having letter delivery
7. informal for coffin

28
For students, the study of homonymy and polysemy is difficult because of their
similarity. Between these two, there is a lexical ambiguity, which was also pointed out
by Lyons (1994:552) : “ the linguist might well decide that it is preferable to leave the
theoretical status of the distinction between homonymy and polysemy unresolved”.
A po ssible helpful test in recognizing homonym s from a polysemantic word could
targe t the relatedness of meanings: if the senses are related through a common feature ,
the word is a p olysemantic word. If between two senses there is no common
characteristic, the word is a ho monym. This theory is also expressed in the following
way: “a word with (at least) two entirely distinct meanings yet sharing a lexical form is
said to be homonymous , […] while a word with several related senses is said to
be polysemous “ 24
Polysemantic w ords may be approached from two points of view, i.e. diachronicall y
and synchronically.
 Diachronically, polysemous words may be regard ed as stemming from a change
in the semantic structure of a word , leading to the development of new
meanings, later attached to the one or ones already existent
 Synchronically, polysemous words consist of the co -existence o f multiple
meanings of the same word at a certain moment in the development of a
language. The predominant meaning which has the highest frequency is
considered the central or basic meaning , the rest of meanings are mino r or
marginal.
Those points of view are often useful in punning . On the one hand , from the
diachronical perspective new senses are achieved, and this allows one to construct puns
more easily, by involving two possible entities in one word. On the other han d, from the
synchronical point of view, given the frequency of a word, we can restrict the multiple
senses to one by creating the opportune context.
Considering the similarity between homonyms and polysemantic words, a source of
homonymy which is a useful device to display the word -play feature of a lexeme is the
semantic divergence. Semantic divergence addresses semantic homonyms that have the
same etymon and it represents the result of the process by which some meanings of

24Difference between polysemy and homonymy. R trieved from
ftp://ftp.cogsci.ed.ac.uk/pub/kv ersp/html/node152.html . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

29
polysemantic words have evolved so far from each other that they have become senses
of a polysemantic word or homonyms.
There are many words in English which have etymons from Latin, for instance,
whose senses are still transparent.
This is another profitable feature in punning, helping one to elaborate puns by
uniting two possible senses in one c ombination. Classical languages sometimes provide
imperfect synonyms in a synonymic series in English which may generate word -play
and the double meaning character .
In the following, are present ed a few instances in wh ich polysemantic words occur:
(18) Q: “What travels faster, hot or cold?
A: Hot. You can always catch (a) cold. ”25
This is a typical question and answer construction, and when the question is
addressed, it is very unlikely that the hearer, or the audience might know the answer,
because it is also known that the answer to this kind of question is surprising.
This is a common joke, but useful for e xemplification purposes , because the word
“cold” has a polysemantic valence. First, if t he hearer listens to the question in which
are presented the words “hot” and “cold”, it is very unlikely not to think of the
temperature as such. These two extremities are present in the question in order to
provide a specific idea or basis in the hearer’s mind. This aspect could be thought of as
a ‘trap’, which is good for the punner, allowing him or her to build the pun. The purpose
of this construction “hot” or “cold” is that the hearer forget s the second sense/meaning
of the word “cold”, which is “a vir al infection”26, usually in t he winter time when the
immune system is very weak. From this, the readers realize that the word “cold” is a
polysemantic word.
(19) Q: What letter is never in the alphabet?
A: The one that you mail.
In (19) there is a joke from Leme s (2013:31), which is similar to (11), but it differs
in the role of the ambiguity. Through that question, the hearer may think of another

25 Pun. Retrieved from http://swooshenglish.com/online -english -lessons/swoosh -puns Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
26 "cold " 2002 Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 1995.
HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cold . Accessed on 22th June, 20 16.

30
alphabet or something else, but it is unlikely that he might think of the letter in the other
sense, the traditional and almost useless way to communicate. In this example, the word
“letter” is a polysemantic one, because it provides more senses than one. The word
“letter” is from Old English, Old French “letre” and from Latin “littera”, which u sed to
define the units in the alphabet and it developed an additional meaning through
semantic divergence.
(20) “Q: Why did the sardine choose to become self -educated?
A: It didn ’t like schools. ” (Macovei 2014:3)
In example (20) the polysemy relation is focused on the word “school”, w hich first
means an institution which has as purpose an educational activity, and second, “school”
as a school of fish. The polysemantic relation could rely on the idea that both senses
refer to a “kind of dozen, array, crowd of the same items or elements ”.
(21) “Q: What do IT workers take when they are sick?
A: A tablet. ” (Macovei 2014:5)
In this example, the word “tablet” is the key to the pun, and also to the humorous
effect. The double meaning can be explained diachronically: first, the word “tablet”
used to mean “pill” with curative effect, nowadays, a tablet is often used to describe a
device similar to a computer, but square in shape, like a tablet. Nowadays both
meanings are popular, but if someone wants a “tablet” in order to treat a disease, he or
she would probably mention the purpose. Otherwise, it is very likely to receive the
device.
(22) “Q: Why is Bill Gates the most religious man on the planet?
A: He has spent his whole life among icons. ” (Macovei 2014:3)
In (22) the polysemantic relation hinges on the word “icon” which firstly used to
meant a kind of portrait which embodied a religious figure, but lately, “icon” represents
also the emblem of an application or program on the desktop of a computer.
(23) “Q: Why is testament also called will?
A: Because it’s all about “will I get the house or not? ”” (Macovei
2014:7)
In this example the polysemantic relation relies on the word “will”, which means
a legal document that serves in case that somebody with some material goods dies, and

31
bequeaths the goods to s ome other person(s). But “will” is also the mark of the future
tense and is also a modal verb. The polysemantic relation might be established because
both of the meanings are present simultaneously.
1.3.3 LINGUISTIC AMBIGUITY IN PUNS
In the following, the focus of the paper will be some phenomena which basically
consist in lexical ambiguity, the change of the morphological class, and other linguistic
artifices, which can be used to create the much wanted effect that is needed in puns.
Linguistic ambiguity as a general concept is presented as a possible issue in
grammar or in several texts from literature, but also in common verbal dialogues or
written ones.
In the context of jokes and puns , linguistic ambiguity works as the principal
“engine”. It became a significant feature of puns or jokes. Actually, without ambiguity,
puns or jokes, would not be so humorous; the double meaning of a word may provide
also the ambiguity and in th e end “the solution”, the clearl y intended sense of a wor d.
As Seewoester in her master thesis27 points out, ambiguity lends the humorous
character in language -based jokes in English. As she mentions, some ambiguity relies
on similarities of sounds, due to homonyms, homophones, homographs and even
paronyms.

 PARONYMY
Homonymy manifests itself in puns, and so does paronymy. Paronymy is not difficult to
understand, and for most students it is an accessible concept of semantics. Paronymy
represents the relation between words with similar information or form, but different in
meaning .
E.g: ◦ economic (a crisis) – economic al (a device)
◦ industri al (relating to Industry) – industri ous (hard -work person)
◦ pol itics (activities of a Government) – policy (a strategy)
◦ walk (shift location by foot) – walk er (the person that walks, or baby
walker )
◦ honor ary (payless) – honourable (worth of honor)
◦ sensi ble ( having sense, reason) – sensi tive ( touchy)

27 Ambiguity. R etrieved from http://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=cmnt .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016

32
◦ will ing (without hesitation) – willful (conscious)
◦ benefi cial ( useful, for things) – benefi cent ( kind, for persons)
Paronyms are usually words derived from the morphological phenomena which
add the right affixes, which mostly have meaning and sense independently.
In the following I will provide some examples in which paronyms may be used in
puns:
(24) Q:How do you deal with liars?
A: You accept them!
In (24 ), an ordinary life issue is emphasized and through the quick and short answer
it is resolved by a simple kind of advice. It is vital that the punner pronounce “accept ”
like “except ”, and in this way he/she conveys a different attitude by intonation and
possibly by gestures or grimaces.
(25) Q: What does a judge snowman do?
A: Just ice!
In (25 ), the pair of paronyms is judge – justice. From the first line we figure out
that is it a joke with an unlikely premise. The second line is formed at first sight by a
single word, justice, pronounced like a single word , but divided into “just ice” for a
humorous interpretation.

 ORONYMY
Oronyms are related to paronyms, . An oronym is “a sequence of words (for example,
“ice cream ”) that sounds the same as a different sequence of words ( “I scream ”)”.28
This particular class is similar to juncture. Juncture is defined by Nicolae
(2011:88) as “the manner of transition or mode of relationship between two consecutive
sounds in speech.” Juncture is also divided into two categories: “open juncture” and
“close juncture”. For example: two lips – open juncture and tulips – close juncture.
Oronyms are not quite readily used in puns, because their homophonous feature is a
strong aspect. It is not easy to find words that are perfectly matched by other totally
different words, and which correspond with the same verbal context in a situation.

28 Example of oronymy. R etrieved from http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/oronymterm. htm . Accessed on 22th
June, 2016.

33
Another aspect t hat could be mentioned is the unlikelihood of develop ing a pair of
oronyms in spontaneous speech.
Oronymy is another class in which words may have alternativ e meanings, consisting
in different words that are pronounced identical ly, but that have different meaning s. In
the example above, the two sequences of words are totally different in writing and also
in meaning, but very frequent ly identical in pronunciati on, being often considered
paronymic constructions. Given their similarities in p ronunciation, they both provide
ambiguous information in verbal dialogue and display humorous trait s. In what follows,
some instances of ambiguous oronyms are exemplified in s entences.
(26) Four candles – Fork handles
I found in grandma’s larder four candles.
I found in grandma’s larder fork handles.
As it is seen in the example above, it is not difficult to create a similar or even an
identical context for the two oronyms. Hypothetical ly speaking, if one says this
utterance , it is likely that the listener may not understand from the very beginning what
one refers to.
(27) Two lips – Tulips
Her two lips were broken.
Her tulips got broken.
In example (27), the context may differ f rom an example to other, but depending on
the context, the words used in the two sentences could be the same.
(28) Her ear – Her rear
She started feeling her ear numb.
She started feeling her rear numb.
The words used in (28), are the same, except the pair of oronyms. Given that the
two oronyms are referring to part s of the body, the ambiguity is increased. Notably, in
this utterance, the hearer may become easily confused.
Considering their homophonous character, oronyms may be often used in
humorous puns which consist in the t wo references or allusions supported by the two
completely different pairs of words without any connection between them.
In the examples bellow, are exemplified a few oronyms and how they might provide a
humorous reaction:
(29) Stuffy nose – Stuff he knows
This stuffy nose makes her feel restless.

34
This stuff he knows makes her feel restless.
Not all oronyms are formed by the same number of words. In (29), the difference
between “stuffy” and “stuff he” is almost imperceptible.
(30) This guy – The sky
In the nighttime we see the sky.
In the nighttime we see this guy.
In (30) the two oronyms are presented in the same context. It is easy to misuse the
two entities, which are so different, but similar in pronunciation. Supposing that in an
vague context, i nstead of “the sky” one hears “this guy”, it would be a typically comic
situation given by the various reactions that could occur in that context.
(31) Can decay many ways – Candy came anyways
The kindest can decay many ways.
The kindest candy came anyways.
In (25) it is not that easy to maintain the same possible context and the same words
used. The two items are not different just from the meaning point of view (like (17),
(18), (20)). The difference between them consists in their independent and totally
diffe rent meanings. Due to this distinction, example (25) provides and generates two
different types of attitude. The first is a sober one, it sounds more like a piece of advice
or a suggestion. The second one has a humorous shade and may be used in an informal
situation.
By maintaining the same words in the sentences the flexibility of oronyms becomes
salient. In this way the humorous effect is obtained. Each oronym is spelled differently
from another. Referring to the pair of oronyms in the same context, a humorous reaction
is reached through the significant difference between the two sequences of words which
sound so similar. In verbal humour it is preferable to adapt the intonation or to stress or
not some parts of the oronyms in order to reach the optimal effect.
Consider some instances of puns which are based on oronymy:

(32) “Why can a man never starve in the Great Desert?
Because he can eat the sand which is there. ”29
The pair of oronyms is: sand which – sandwich. The pun’s context is efficiently
presented, by providing the minimal and sufficient background needed. Through

29 Whately, R. Pun based on oronymy. A vailable on http://www.alphadictionary.com/fun/pun.html . Accesse d on
16th March 2016

35
oronymy the two elements of this pair are linked. The noun (sand) + the pronoun
(which), are similar in pronunciation to the noun sandwich, that is a type of food.

(33) “Reporter: “Why did you marry two women?”
John: “I suffer from bigger me.” “ (Macovei, 2015:6)
In this example, the pair of oronyms is bigger me – bigamy. The two oronyms have
a similar pronunciation and the context is proper for this oronymy. Of course, there are
some little differences if the joke is performed by an American or an Englishman, for
instance. This is because the accent is different, especially the pronunciation of “r”. This
pun works better wi th the British accent.

(34) “What did the hysterical confectioner confess?
“I like chocolate and ice cream a lot.” “ (Macovei, 2015:2)
In this sample the key words are “ice cream”, and their connection with “I scream”.
The context is well created: the hysterical confectioner is very likely to scream. Thus,
the two senses perfectly match the context.

(35) “Why do teetolers donate more than others?
Because they love cherry tea. ” (Macovei, 2015:5)
In this joke, the oronymic pair consists in the phonological s imilarity between
“cherry tea” and “charity”. The humorous effect is generated by the abstinence that
being a teetoler implies. Why tea? Maybe because this synonym of abstinence contains
the particle “tee”, which is similar with “tea”.

(36) “Why do husbands prefer lousy pubs to internet cafés?
Because there is no wife eye there. ” (Macovei, 2015:1)
Oronymy is based on “wife eye” and “Wifi”. Both oronyms are logically sound in
this context: because in internet cafés there is Wifi, associated wi th “wife eye”, but
lousy pubs would not be so “lousy” anymore with “a wife eye”.

(37) “What do magicians do when they first catch a cold?
They sneeze atishoo .” (Macovei, 2015:5)
Here, the oronyms are contextually bound: “atishoo” and “a tissue”. Why
magician s? They hide all the time their handkerchiefs in different objects.

36
(38) “How can you make a craving exotic fruit farmer go bananas?
You show him a delicious avocado and then have the man go. ”
(Macovei, 2015:8)
The oronymous effect relies on “man go ” and “mango”. The author succeeds in
bringing together the two oronyms in order to produce humour.
(39) “Why is Peter Pan always fliying?
Because he Neverlands”30
Oronymy is generated by the words “never lands” and “Neverland”, the place in
which the cartoons c haracter lives in.
In this section were approached some classes in which relations between words help
in puns. But there are other sources of linguistic humour apart from puns, namely:
innuendo or double entendre, malapropism, the mixed metaphor, spooneris m,
overstatement, understatement, statement of the obvious, irony, sarcasm, satire, parody,
absurdity, joke, shaggy dog story, exclusive humour and sounds in verbal humour,
which will be tackled in the next section.
1.4 PUNS VERSUS OTHER SOURCES OF LINGUISTIC HUMOUR
Puns are not the only manifestation of humour. The approachability of the
language always offers ways in which it develops more information in various domains.
In the following I will introduce other sources of linguistic humour in contrast
with puns.
1.4.1 Innuendo or double entendre
An innuendo is present often through a pejorative or disparaging indirect allusion.
When the speaker performs this kind of joke, it sounds innocent and honest. But the
mechanism of the innuendo is initi ated in the listener’s mind. Commonly, an innuendo
consists in two words, or sequence of words, e ach element with its own meaning . The
two elements are usually distinct from the meaning point of view. The former seeks to
provide ambiguity or to distract t he listener’s attention, while the latter is often on
purpose and deliberately based on a pun. An innuendo may be formed in everyday
actions, activities, chats.
Hereinafter are exemplified some instances of humorous innuendoes :

30 Pun based on oronymy. R etrieved from http://funnytweeter.com/why -is-peter -pan-always -flying -he-neverlands -i-
love-this-joke-because -it-never -grows -old/ Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

37
(40) “ I speak two languages: English and body” 31
This is an example in which a pun is present through an innuendo. It has many
fluctuations depending on the context. Instead of “body” another word (“bad English”32
or “sarcasm”33) can be inserted so as intended.
(41) “Between two evils, I always pick the one I ’ve never tried before”34
This innuendo respects the basic principles. The end is sudden, but clarifies
enough, giving a humorous and even ironical interpretation.
(42) “Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot. ”35
This example may be treated from two perspectives, offered by the double
meaning of the word “lot”, which also means “fate”. From this point of view, it
generates humour.
(43) “Women like a man with a past, but they prefer a man with a present. ” 36
The particularity of this innuendo is about the word “present”. Its multiple
meanings generate more senses. This is a perfect example in which puns and
innuendoes act together.
1.4.2 Malapropism
This phenomeno n consists both in intentional and unintentional misu se of a word by
replacing a correct form of a word with another or another sound, which sounds similar.
(44) “He was a man of great statue.”37
This is a common example of malapropism, present in everyday life. It is not
such humorous, the malapropism being in the use of “statue” instead of “stature”.
(45) “I’m fading into Bolivian.”38
The malapropism in this instance is the use of “Bolivian” instead of “oblivion”

(46) “I think he’s suffering from a nervous shakedown.”39

31 West, Mae, 2016. Innuendo. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2016. Retreived from
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/maewest380320.html , accessed on 22th June, 2016.
32This is a line from the Fifth Element’s scenario.
33 Don Rittner 2013. Innuendo. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/776923 -i-speak -two-languages –
english -and-sarcasm on 22th June, 2016.
34 Mae West. 2016. Innuendo. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc ,. Retrieved from
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/maewest130791.html . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
35 Groucho Marx. Innuendo. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/innuendo . Accessed on 22th
June, 2016.
36 Mae West, Innuendo. Retrieved from https://www.goodread s.com/quotes/tag/innuendo . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.
37 Menino, Thomas. Malapropism. Retrieved from http://www.literarydevices.com/malapropism/
38 Tyson, Mike. Malapropism. Retrieved from http://www.literarydevices.com/malapropism/ . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.

38
This is a much hu morous malapropism. The humorous effect is provided by the
use of the word “shakedown” instead of “breakdown”.
Some malapropisms are so ambiguous because the mistake consists in the whole
utterance, like the following example:
(47) “Crimean River”40
The substitute of this is “Cry me A River” which is the title of a song. It sounds
humorous because the two elements of this malapropism are so different.
(48) “Very close veins”41
The context of this malapropism may be a doctor -pacient discussion, because
the corre ct form is “Varicose veins”, which is amusing either this malapropism is
present in a dialogue or if it is just written.
Malapropisms are present in every language, in everyday life and often represent
sources of good humour. This particular class is usual ly the basis for parody.
1.4.3 Mixed metaphor
Mixed metaphors are lines which combine two or more different metaphors without
any linguistic connection or logical meaning. They are usually ambiguous and often
look like proverbs, but they are also humorous because of their incongruous metaphors
in the same utterance, which are rather rare. Mixed metaphors are usually related to
clichés.
(49) “We could stand here and talk until the cows turn blue .”42
The example (43) could be heard when agreement is not reached in a discussion
or dialogue.
(50) “Like a duck out of water.”43
When someone says this about him/her or about somebody else, the implicature
would be that the specific person is not in his/her mood or is uncomfortable in a
specific situation.
(51) “It sticks out like a sore throat. ”44

39 Laure, Stan. Malapropism. Retrieved from http://www.literaryde vices.com/malapropism/ . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.
40 Julie London. Malapropism. Retrieved from http://www.fun -with-words.com/malapropisms.html . Accessed on
22th June, 2016.
41 Julie London. Malapropism. Retrieved from http://www.fun -with-words.com/malapropisms.html . Accessed on
22th June, 2016.
42 Mixed metaphor. R etrieved from http://www.jimcarlton.com/my_favorite_mixed_metaphors.htm . Accessed on
22th June, 2016.
43 Mixed metaphor. R etrieved from http://www.jimcarlton.com/my_favorite_mi xed_metaphors.htm . Accessed on
22th June, 2016.

39
This mixed metaphor is used when someone is really in the spotlight, standing out
from the background.
1.4.4 Spoonerism
This class of words or phrases is apparently similar with malapropism. The
difference is that a spoonerism is just in verbal dialogues and consists in an error or
intentional act in a word -play to provide a humorous effect. The mechanism of this
phen omenon stems from the switching of morphemes, vowels, consonants, syllables of
a word. In spoonerisms various phonological changes are present.
(52) “Wave the sails”45
The cor rect form is “Save the whales”. The switch is between parts of the words
“wave” and “sails”.
(53) “It’s roaring with pain”46
This example is a confusing one, the correct form being “It’s pouring with rain”.
(54) “Plaster man!”47
This sounds like a remark at an amazing plan, because what the speaker means is
“Master plan!”.
1.4.5 Overstatement
An overstatement is encountered when someone deliberately exaggerates or
maximizes a topic or an object. It is often similar to hyperbole, a figure of speech, and
in some c ases it is used as a euphemistic expression. The exaggeration itself makes
people laugh.
A simple context would be the following: Paul performed a character in a play at
school. Paul has no professional training as an actor and his performance was poor. His
mother or his teacher could say: “What a great performa nce!”/ “You make such a
talented actor”/ “If only you had been an actor! ” An overstatement can be found if
someone could use such exclamations in order to motivate Paul.
1.4.6 Understatement
Understatement is the opposite stylistic relation between words opposite to
overstatement. It is the intentional act of minimizing the thing or the topic that is being

44 Mixed metaphor. R etrieved from http://www.jimcarlton.com/my_favorite_mixed_metaphors.htm . Accessed on
22th June, 2016. .
45Spoonerism. Retreieved from http://www.fun -with-words.com/spoonerisms.html Accessed on 22th June, 2016 .
46 Spoonerism. Retreieved from http://w ww.fun -with-words.com/spoonerisms.html Accessed on 22th June, 2016 .
47 Spoonerism. Retreieved from http://www.fun -with-words.com/spoonerisms.html Accessed on 22th June, 2016 .

40
spoken about. When the audience seize upon an understatement, they often know that it
is an understatement and they start laugh ing.
Deflecting from Paul’s case, an understatement in this case would sound like:
“Are we witnessing at an artistic performance?”/ “Is this a parody?”/ “Even a
kindergarten child would do this better!” Some would sa y that underst atement could
often be produced by an envious, naughty or simply apish attitude.
1.4.7 Statement of the obvious
Statements of the obvious usually consist of observations that refer to actions or acts
that are logical and it is not necessary to say them. Such remarks are rarely spoken to
highlight a fact or a thing. Statements of the obvious are humorous precisely because of
their feature, th ey describe a well -known situation or thing. Statement of the obvious
can be associated with pleonasms, which consist in the use of more words to describe
facts or actions, than necessary. There are some statements of what is obvious:
(55) Water is wet.
(56) Parrots are singing.
(57) The cake is sweet.
(58) The cake is a dessert.
(59) The winter is cold.
(60) The child is little.
(61) The homeless has no home.
(62) The ice is cold.
1.4.8 Irony and Sarcam
Irony consists in the use of words in their opposite meaning to describe a fact or a
situation by revealing the opposite perspective from what would be the expected or the
intended attitude.
Some would say that sarcasm and irony are synonyms, and some tre at them as
different notions. Taking this approach into consideration, s arcasm is a stronger attitude
than irony. It draws in an acrid harsh, acid remark.
(63) An example of irony is found in society every day. For instance, when it
is a rainy day, and someone says: “What pleasant weather!” or “Let’s go to the
beach!” or “Let’s get suntanned!”. It is obvious that the speaker is disgusted by
the weather, and instead of a simple remark about the rain, he/she opts for an
ironical tone.

41
 Satire
Among others genres of literature, satire is a form of manifestation in arts . The
main device used to express satire is the ridicule, of human flaws like: silliness,
stupidity or foolishness. In general, satire was constantly used in literature to obtain
amusement. Satire represents the use of irony, sarcasm, exaggeration, juxtaposition,
analogy, double entendre, to cause a humorous reaction. Even if satire has the main
purpose to obtain humour, it has another stronger aim: to gibe or to mock at social and
human typologies, vices, defective human behaviours, stupidity, or political
personalities.
Satire is an elusive way to convict human flaws in order to erase them, all through
a delicate approach, without being too explicit. The users of satire use contemporary
flawed human characters, and this might be accompl ished through humour and produce
the laughter of the audience.
Except for other sources of humour, satire also has a specific goal, besides
providing laughter: to “warn” the audience about nons ense and stupidity, to create
reform and i ndividuality, to give them food for thought.
Satire appeared in A ntiquity, being adapted and approached in every period.
Today it is available in many shapes , keeping its specific aim. This approach to humour
is today present in many domains like the press, show business, literature and so on.
Satire is accessibly exposed nowadays in various TV shows or online .
1.4.9 Parody
Parody lies in the imitation or copy a person, an attitude, a behaviour or a mistake.
In orde r to provide a comical effect, parody mocks the original by exaggerating the
original “pattern”. In parody, the audience has a vital role, there being no parody
without an audience. Another important aspect is that the audience must be awar e of the
person or thing that the parody is about.
Being strongly related to audience, parody found its way both in plays and
narrative texts for several literal periods. Parody has its origins in Greek literature, and
the Ancient Greeks developed the satyr plays to parody tragic plays. Nowadays parody
is extended in various manifestations of art, but also in the media. It prevails rather on
T.V and Internet now, keeping the same pattern and the audience remained highly
relevant. The patterns are often personified lik e the empirical ones: highbinders,
illiterates, carpet -knights, pretenders etc.

42
Parody uses some instruments in order to cause a humorous effect, often shown
from the mocked persons. These instruments may consist of replies, gestures, accents,
attitudes, s tyles, grimaces and so on.
1.4.10 Absurdity
Absurdity results in obvious and clear humour, but is deprived of reason and logic.
Constantly seen like foolish and derisive, it includes the use of nonsensical language.
Bizarre ness, incongruity and fantasy are the main features of this type of humour.
Absurdity is often attend ed in the well -known elephant jokes. This type of joke
appeared in 1960s, as Gruner (1977:143) notes. Often, this kind of jokes and puns
blend. In the following is an instance about how th ese two concepts are combined:
(64) “Q: Why do elephants wear sneakers?
A: So they can sneak up on you without making any noise.”48
This type of jokes look s like a typical “Q&A” joke ; furthermore, they combine the
elephant joke with puns. The pun arises from the play upon the word “sneakers” and the
idiom “sneak up on someone or something”, which means to “approach someone or
something in secret and quietly”49
(65) “Q: What did the elephant wish for on his birthday?
A: A trunk full of gifts! ”50
This joke is similar to the one above. It combines the elephant joke with a pun. The
pun in this case is realised by the perfect homonym, “trunk”, which refers to the back of
a car intended for lodging the baggage, and trunk as part of the elephant’s body, which
helps the elephant to feed itself.
1.4.11 Joke
A joke is a sequence of words, often related with a fictional, larger or shorter story,
which has a punch line. Of course, a joke’s purpose is to make people laugh. Perhaps it
is among the commonest and most familiar types of verbal humour.

48 Absurdity. R etrieved from http://www.yourish.com/2008/01/24/4304 . Accessed on 22th June, 2016
49 McGraw -Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs . S.v. "sneak up on." Retrieved from
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/sneak+up+on . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
50 Absurdity. R etrieved from http://www.kappit.com/tag/elephant -puns/2/ . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

43
(66) “One night a man walks into a bar looking sad. The bartender asks the
man what he wants. The man says “Oh just a beer”. The bartender asked the
man “What ’s wrong, why are you so down today?”. The man said “My wife and
I got into a fight, and she said she wouldn’t talk to me for a month”. The
bartender said “So what’s wrong with that”? The man said “Well the month is
up tonight”.”51
A shorter joke will be exemplified below, based on a pun.
(67) “I’m going to stand outside. So if anyone asks, I’m outstanding.”52
This example is almost the perfect combination between a joke and pun, because is
short and the humorous reaction is between “stand outside” and “outstanding”, which
are close to oronyms. The c ontext might be the one which attempts that this is a joke. If
this joke is heard, it would be thought that the speaker is joking, because it is unlikely
for someone to say he/she is “outstanding”, unless he/she was ironic.
1.4.12 Shaggy dog story
This type of joke differs from the other ones in point of thought . It is a long,
inconsequential story, full of useless details, repeated phrases, which often ends with an
absurd and ambiguous punch line. This kind of joke uses ambiguity to cr eate humour.
The hearer is confused and often do es not succeed in understand ing the logic of the
joke.
Usually illogical events or facts are presented, characterised by quantity and
ambiguity, and ending with a punch line, which h as no coherence with any fact or
infor mation said before. Actually, this type of verbal humour, disobeys the whole
process that the incongruity theory involves. A shaggy dog story is rarely enjoyed,
being called a “corny joke ”.
1.4.13 Exclusive humour
Exclusive humour is related to the part of vocabulary named jargon. This part of
the vocabulary represents a typical source of humour. By their main feature, jargon
words are words used precisely by specific categories of people in the society. The use
of these specific words is to separate a certain class from another one or other classes.
The purpose that lies in this category is that jargons function as a code.

51 Joke. R etrieved from http://unijokes.com/joke -819/. Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
52 Joke based on pun. R etrieved from http://unijokes.com/joke -1863/ . Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

44
Sometimes, jargons are humorous and arouse people’s laughter. In the following are
exemplified some instances:
(68) Political Jargon
“Right wing – Jargon meaning a conservative viewpoint” 53
“Getting on a soapbox – Making a speech in public”54
“POTUS – President of the United States”55
“SCOTUS – Supreme Court of the United States”56
(69) Internet Jargon
“BTW – By the way ”57
“CYA – See you around ”58
“LOL – Laugh out loud ”59
“BFF – Best friends forever ”60
“TTYL – Talk to you later”61

1.4.14 Sounds in verbal humour
Sounds in verbal humour provide amusement from two perspectives: first, only by
themselves, and secondly by a string or sequence of such words. They represent a nother
source of humorous reactions and laughter through the fusion between phonetic
similarity and meaning, which intensify the humour.
o Alliteration
Alliteration represents the repetition of the first sound or group of sounds from
the beginning of a sequence of the words. It sounds humorous in a certain context
because of their partial phonetic similarity. Alliteration might also serve as diction
exercises, because it is dif ficult to be read aloud, but it is even more difficult to be
learned and then spoken. In fact, all the humorous effect is provided by the difficulty
with which the speaker or reader performs the alliteration, or by the fluency he or she
achieves in its pro nunciation.

53 Exclusive humour, political jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdi ctionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
54 Exclusive humour, political jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
55 Exclusive humour, political jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
56 Exclusive humour, political jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
57 Exclusive humour, Internet jargon. Retr ieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
58 Exclusive humour, Internet jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
59 Exclusive humour, Internet jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
60 Exclusive humour, Internet jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com /examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.
61 Exclusive humour, Internet jargon. Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples -of-jargon.html .
Accessed on 22th June, 2016.

45
Some instances are presented below:
(70) “How much caramel can a canny cannonball cram in a camel if a canny
cannonball can cream caramel in a camel ?”62
In this alliteration the frequent word is “caramel” and the other words have as first
letters sim ilar sounds, as [kæ] or [kr] .
(71) “How much dew does a dewdrop drop
If dewdrops do drop dew?
They do drop, they do
As do dewdrops drop
If dewdrops do drop dew. ”63
The alliteration in this case is based on the similarity and the frequency of the
sounds provided by the words “dew” and “drop” .
(72) “Fresh fried fish,
Fish fresh fried,
Fried fish fresh,
Fish fried fresh.”64
This alliteration relies on the three words: “fish”, “fresh” and “fried”.
(73) “There was a fisherman named Fisher
Who fished for some fish in a fissure.
Till a fish with a grin,
Pulled the fisherman in.
Now they’re fishing the fissure for Fisher. .”65
This alliteration is almost similar with the previous one, but this is not just
alliteration. The humorous effect is stronger, because it has the aspect of a short story. It
is also similar to a structure of a joke, because it has a punch line.
o Assonance

62 Alliteration. Retrieved from http://literarydevices.net/15 -fun-alliterative -tongue -twisters/ . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.
63 Alliteration. Retrieved from http://literarydevices.net/15 -fun-alliterative -tongue -twisters/ . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.
64 Alliteration. Retrieved from http://literarydevices.net/15 -fun-alliterative -tongue -twisters/ . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.
65 Alliteration. Retrieved from http://literarydevices.net/15 -fun-alliterative -tongue -twisters/ . Accessed on 22th June,
2016.

46
Assonance represents the repetition of the vowel sounds in a sequence of words,
often with different meaning. Assonance is also present in poetry, but not in o rder to
provide a humorous effect, but to maintain the rhyme, rhythm, and because it can be
extremely expressive. There are some examples:
(74) Punk, trunk, dumb, stung
In this example, the vowel [ ʌ] is followed by multiple combinations betwee n [ŋ] and
[k],[b] and [g] , stressed.
(75) “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers .”66
Assonance is achieved through the repetition of the short [ɪ] and long [iː]
o Consonance
Consonance uses the mechanism of assonance, but the difference is that the same
consonants appear in a word or a sequence of words.

(76) “Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter”67
The consonance consists in the repetition of multiple consonants, such as: [p], [t]
and [r].
(77) “I held my nose in the breeze so I would not sneeze on your knees .”68
In this case the consonance is provided by the repetition of [z] sound, often caused
by “s” and “z”.
o Rhyme
Rhyme is often used in poetry, but it can also trigger a humorous effect. The
humour in rhymes depends on the individual that performs them. To obtain a humorous
effect, rhymes ha ve to be based on artistic skills and craft.
Rhyme also combines assonance and consonance in order to provide the desired
effect, even if it is about a humorous purpose or just poetry.
As the title of the section announced, there were presented several ty pes of
linguistic humour and the differences between them and puns. Some of them, like
innuendo (or double entendre), the spoonerism, sometimes the malapropism, the
absurdity (especially the elephant jokes), and the joke could be easily taken for pun.
This confusion is produced because of their shortness and because of the double

66 Assonance. Retrieved from http://www.softschools.com/examples/grammar/assona nce_examples/120/ . Accessed
on 22th June, 2016.
67 Assonance. Retrieved from http://www.softschools.com/examples/grammar/consonance_examples/128/ . Accessed
on 22th June, 20 16.
68 Assonance. Retrieved from http://www.softschools.com/examples/grammar/consonance_examples/128/ . Accessed
on 22th June, 2016.

47
meaning words that are found in their structure. Higher ambiguity relies on the
similarity between a pun and an innuendo, an absurdity and a joke.
In this chapter the concept of pun was analyzed from various points of view.
First, it was presented the anatomy of a pun. How this concept appeared, what it
presumes and how it is used. Second, its relationship with humour was analyzed. Puns
are not alway s funny; other they are meant not to be, or they are not enjoyed. Third,
were analyzed the mechanisms that puns are based on, such as homonymy, homophony,
homography, polysemy and linguistic ambiguity. In the last section of the chapter were
presented othe r sources of verbal humour. Some of them could be easily taken for puns,
others are clearly different from puns. The overstatement, the understanding, the
statement of obvious, the irony and the sarcasm, could support pun itself. A pun could
be often reali zed with an ironic or sarcastic purpose.

48
CHAPTER 2
The second chapter argues that the pun is present in some discourse domains,
both literary and non -literary contexts. The aim of this chapter is to clarify the
differences between puns that take place in conformity with a specific context.
The first section, Puns in non -literary contexts (2.1), surveys a number of puns
related to a few areas, i.e food, school, sports, animals, music etc. This particular class
of puns is used in informa l circumstances. On the one hand, those puns are the puns or
jokes that have as aim to be enjoyed, to induce a feeling of happiness or to entertain
people. On the other hand, some people would decide to create or to utter a pun in order
to be understood on ly by a part of a certain group or to hurt one’s feelings.
In the next section of the chapter are discussed some puns from the literary
sphere. The pun was an accessible and useful literary device for many writers for ages.
Puns have been used from the ancient Greeks up to the contemporary writers. The aim
of this class of puns is highly different from the first one. Puns in literature are almost
never funny, but they are meant to symbolize or to describe a fact or a in a rather
ambiguous manner. They ar e ambiguous and not many readers notice them.
The third domain in which puns might be met is advertising. The puns used in
advertising are not always so humorous, because of their main purpose, to attract
customers. For the most part of commercials, the la nguage used is on a friendly tone,
and for that, puns are a perfect device to convey a message to their customers. Puns
used in commercials are usually short, rather funny and are often based on the “call for
action” strategies. A pun used instead of a slo gan, is rare because of the efficient
anatomy of the pun, characterized by word -play, shortness and wit. These features are
perfectly matched with an advertising strategy for a persuasive purpose.
In section 2.4, Puns in the Media , is highlighted the fact that this concept
pervades another huge field. Media has become one of the most important and crucial
areas, a powerful aspect of society. It extended its presence, but its advantages remained
strong. As any powerful “entity”, it had to stay in touch with technology and to develop
new strategies. Puns have been again one of the best options to express a desired
message. The use of puns in the Media is similar with the one from advertising with
some differences. Puns in the media are more ironic or sarcastic than funny. They are

49
often used to slight or to irritate some public characters. All of these are tinges of puns
covered in an apparently innocent line.
2.1. PUNS IN NON -LITERARY CONTEXTS
In this section is exploited the class of informal puns. By this class one may refer to the
puns that are developed and shared with a minimal and close audience. A close
audience might be made up of friends, family, colleagues, peers etc. To clarify what this
class is referring to, some aims are presented below:
Firstly , the context is crucial. Even if one would choose to utter a pun in front of
his or her colleagues, he or she has to think twice before uttering the same pun to a
teacher or a boss, for instance. The social borders represent a noticeable aspect. Also,
another vital aspect is represented by the circumstances in which one opts to utter a pun.
The punster has to make sure that the atmosphere is appropriate and nobody would find
his or her pun offensive.
The second aim is represented by the purpose. The speake r should establish a
minimal purpose of a pun. Some purposes could be: to entertain people, to defuse an
awkward situation, to learn a new language etc. On the other hand, some punsters would
opt to utter a pun in order to establish social boundaries, to m ake a person or a group to
feel uncomfortable or offended. The punster who adopts this aim uses the principle of
the outsider. This aspect is also mentioned by Ross (1998:1): “humour is influential−
[…] establishing friendships and excluding others”. A pun ster embracing this
perspective would also choose to use an ironic or sarcastic tone.
The following analysis introduces some categories in which puns usually occur.
2.1.1 Food
(78) “Q: How do cheetahs defy nutrition?
A: They eat only fast food , but they never put on weight. ” (Macovei,
2014:5)
Firstly, in (73) the word -play is realized by the words “cheetahs”, “nutrition” and
“fast -food”. The “key word” in this example is “fast -food”. When one hears the
compound noun “fast -food”, his primary thought is related t o junk -food, the food that
humans consume more and more nowadays. Actually, “fast -food” refers to the animals

50
that the cheetahs have to chase in order to feed on them. The humorous reaction relies
on the fact that the words “fast ” and “food” are ambiguous, and the last part of the pun
increases this confusing utterance. This pun is mostly based on the principle of the
incongruity theory, and because the ambiguity focuses on the difference between “fast –
food” and “fast food”.
(79) “Q: What did the confectio ner sa y when the exam was over?
A: "Piece of cake!" ” (Macovei, 2014:7)
In (74) the answer is the key. Firstly, “piece of cake” is an expression used to
describe something easy to finish. This expression is unexpectedly linked with the noun
“confectioner”, whose job is to bake cakes. The humorous effect is obtained with the
punch line, which links the expression “piece of cake” to the word “confectioner”.
(80) “Q: Why did it take so long for the chef to sh are his latest escargot
recipe?
A: He used snail mail ” (Macovei , 2014:16)
In this pun, the humorous effect is realized by the relation between the question
and answer. Firstly, “escargot” means a variety of edible snails. In the answer is
presented the “explication”. “Snail mail” is used as informal humorous for post al
delivery services. Another humorous perspective of this pun is that “it took so long”
because everybody knows how the snails go.
(81) “Q: Why did Mary divorce the butcher?
A: She was the one who brought home the bacon. ” (Macovei, 2014:16)
This pun, at first sight, brings together two related words: “butcher” and
“bacon”. The word “bacon” is used through an idiomatic expression: “to bring home the
bacon”, i.e to bring home the salary. The humorous effect relies in this example on the
expecta tion that the butcher is supposed to “bring home the bacon”, because of his job.
(82) “Q: What do boxers always order when they eat out?
A: Spare ribs. ” (Macovei, 2014:5)
In (82), the answer of this pun has two possible interpretations. The first, which
is the most common is “to spare ribs”, given that the question is about boxers. The

51
second, which is the one that produces the humorous effect, is that “spare ribs” also
describes a dish of pork ribs and beef ribs.
(83) “Q: Why did the lemon cross the r oad?
A: To sho w everyone that it was not yellow. ” (Macovei, 2014:18)
It is well -known that the jokes “cross the road” are corny. This pun could be
corny at the first reading, too. This premise could be true because, on the one hand, a
lemon cannot cross a road, and on the other hand, the lemon is yellow. One could not
process the source of humour in this example. Without knowing that, “to be yellow”
also describes a coward person.
(84) “Fruit picking should be done when the time is ripe ” (Macovei, 2014:32)
In example (84), t he word -play is realized by “time is ripe”, and could be
commented from two perspectives, each connected with another. Firstly, when a
fruit is ripe, it is in the proper form to be consumed. Secondly, the “time is ripe”,
represents the right time for somet hing to happen. From these two perspectives, the
humorous effect is produced by the double meaning of the word “ripe”.
(85) “Q: What happened to t he baby who ate too much melon?
A: He got melancholic. ” (Macovei, 2015:5)
This pun is realized through a homophoni c perspective. The words “melon” and
“melancholic” have the same pronunciation at some point. The humour is rendered
through the incongruity theory, because it is very unlikely that one could know the
answer to the question.
(86) “Q: How do you make the perfect cocktail?
A: Take a glass, put ice, blackberries and raspberries and the straw
berries in it ” (Macovei, 2015:20)
The principle of this pun is based on oronymy. The oronymic pair is
strawberries− straw berries. The main element is “st raw”, which first could represent
the beginning of the word “strawberries” and second, it refers to the straw, a tube which
is used for drinking.

52
(87) “Q: Why were there so many young girls in the long queue at the grill?
A: They’d heard there was a communal B arbie queue in town. ”
(Macovei, 2015:20)
This is another pun based on an oronymic pair: Barbie queue− barbeque. From
this point of view is activated the incongruity theory. Basically, the punster omits to use
“barbeque”, and opts for “grill”, in order to obtain ambiguity, and chooses to use an
oronym in the punch line.
2.1.2 School
(88) “Q: Why are English teachers' hearts different than others'?
A: They beat -beat-beaten ” (Macovei, 2014:5)
This pun is not very humorous. The two elements are “English teachers” and the
forms of the verb “to beat”. Given that the verb “to beat” is expressed by all its forms, it
denotes the link between the two elements, i.e English teachers and grammar.
(89) “Q: What happened to the teacher who used to mistreat the king's
children?
A: He eventually lost his pupils .” (Macovei, 2014:12)
This pun is based on perfec t homonymy. The homonymic word is “pupil”. The
first sense of it is represented by the round, black part of the ocular globe, and the
second meaning is represented by someone, a student who takes lessons in a domain,
usually a student. The two possibilitie s are perfectly matched in the created context.
(90) “Q: What's the best advice for a student who finds it dif ficult to learn
English idioms?
A: "Take it easy!" ” (Macovei, 2014:13)
The humorous effect in this pun relies on the discrepancy between “difficult’
and the idiom “take it easy”. Another humorous aspect is that the advice which is
supposed to help the student is made right through an idiom.
(91) “"I don't want to hear another word about punctuation! Period." ”
(Macovei, 2014:31)

53
The humorous effect in this pun relies on the discrepancy between “difficult’
and the idiom “take it easy”. Another humorous aspect is that the advice which is
supposed to help the student is made right through an idiom.
(92) “"I don't want to hear another word about punctuation! Period." ”
(Macovei, 2014:31)
The humorous aspect of this pun is that the speaker says that he will not say
another word about punctuation, and he closes his or her idea with the word
“period” which means “full stop”. It is another element of punctuation. This allusion
builds up the instant. “Period” is used by Americans to emphasize that are not
necessary any commentaries.
(93) “Beginners feel disheartened when they study phrasal verbs but in the
end, they get over it. ” (Macovei, 2014:44)
This example is similar wit h (92). The difference is that “to get over”, besides its
primary sense (to find a solution), in its proper sense would denote “to pass over
something”.
(94) “Q: Why did the student flunk the oral grammar exam?
A: He said “ewe are a female sheep” instead of “ewe is a female sheep.” ”
(Macovei, 2015:13)
The most humorous aspect in this pun is the context created to mark the perfect
homophones: “ewe” and “you”. Another device used in this pun is malapropism.
Through the malapropism: “ewe are” it is created the perfect utterance to emphasize the
“mistake”, which is important to generate an amusing character.
2.1.3 Sports
(95) “Q: How does a K1 -fighter encoura ge his son before an interview?
A: "Break a leg!" ” (Macovei, 2014:14)
In (95) the humour is rendered by two groups of words: “K1 -fighter” and “Break
a leg”. “Break a leg” is used informal in this context, meaning “Good luck”.
(96) “Q: Which is men's excuse to watch football all day long?
A: They are goal -oriented .” (Macovei, 2014:21)

54
In (9 6), the key words are “excuse” and “goal -oriented”. Taking a closer look at
the compound noun “goal -oriented”, it has two possible meanings. First ly, a person or a
team which is goal -oriented, exerts to touch the be st result(s) . Second ly, the compound
noun contains the word “goal”, being related to sports, precisely soccer. Also, “excuse”
amplifies the humorous effect, through an ironic point of view.
(97) “Q: Why are mountain climbers so hard to be served a drink?
A: Because they always want it on the rocks. ” (Macovei, 2014:21)
In (97 ) the two key elements are: “mountain climbers” and “on the rocks”.
Besides the connection between the two elements, there is another one. “On the rocks”
is used informal, usually for drinks, when they are served without ice cubes.
1.2.4 Animals
(98) “Q: Why couldn't the sailors see Moby Dick attack?
A: They were having a whale of a time. ” (Macovei, 2012:6 -7)
In (98 ) the key element is “a whale of a time”, which is similar to “a lot of
time”. Another aspect is that the expression contain s the word “whale”, which in this
case develops a double -meaning.
(99) “Q: Why couldn't the chameleon take its girlfriend out for dinner?
A: It had butterflies in its stomach. ” (Macovei, 2014:7)
The humorous effect in this pun relies on the last part: “It had butterflies in its
stomach”. First ly, the expression means to be nervous or excited about something.
Second ly, taking into account that the chameleons use to eat insects, it is probable that
one could think that it is satiated. By these two perspectives, t his pun could be found as
being amusing.
(100) “Q: How d o bees congratulate each other?
A: "Give me hive!" ” (Macovei, 2014:7)
This example might be considered that it is built based on a malapropism: insead
of “five”, “hive”. Forsooth, the reply is related to th e expression “Give me five”. Also,
“five” and “hive” are similar in pronunciation, but the latter is the one which is strictly
related with the lexical field of apiculture.

55
(101) “Q: Who would sing and dance in the company o f a camel, an otter and a
deer?
A: A party animal ” (Macovei, 2014:25)
Instance (101 ) is another pun based on the principle of the incongruity theory.
Firstly, the context is obvious improbable. “A party animal” describes a person who is
in fond of parties, and only indirectly link ed with the animals mentioned in the question.
(102) “Q: Why can’t you trust big cats?
A: Because some of them are cheetahs .” (Macovei, 2015:13)
This pun is based on homophony, the pair of homonyms consisting of cheetahs−
cheaters, which have similar pronunciation. The pun may be interpreted from two
perspectives: the first, the link between “trust” and “cheaters”, and the second, it is
likely that a “big cat” might describe a feline predator from Africa, and that is why they
are not supposed to be “trust -worthy”.
1.2.5 Music
(103) “Q: Why don't welders go to classical music concerts?
A: They are addicted to heavy metal. ” (Macovei, 2014:6)
In this pun ( 103), the key elements that realize the humorous effect are:
“welders” and “heavy metal”. The double -meaning character relies on “heavy metal”.
On the one hand, it describes a hard rock music genre , and on the other hand, it
represents a particular class o f metals with a high density, like lead, gold, platinum,
nickel etc.
(104) “Q: Did you hear about the voc alist who killed a famous song?
A: They sent him to Sing Sing. ” (Macovei, 2014:45)
This pun is based mostly on the incongruity theory. In the question is presented
a verisimilar fact, but the answer is not very relevant, which creates ambiguity. The
connection between the words: “vocalist”, “song” and “Sing Sing”, in a speech act seem
to be connected. The double meaning and the connection between the idea of a crime
and “Sing Sing”, is that the latter describes also a famous jail from the East Coast in
America.

56

(105) “Q: What did the cond uctor say to the violin player?
A: “Fah la mi.” ” (Macovei, 2015:9)
This pun is built from an oronymic point of view. One orony m is present in the
answer: “fah la mi”, and its correspondent is “follow me”. This double -meaning
character is logical ly linked to the lexical family of the words: “conductor” and “violin
player”, and both oronyms are suitable.
(106) “Q: What happens to fam ous drum players when they die?
A: They become cymbals .” (Macovei, 2015:11)
In example (106 ), the double -meaning is provided from a homophonous point of
view. The homophones are “cymbals” and “symbols”, both of them have the same
pronunciation. The wit is re ndered from the homophonous character and the proper
context created, both of them being convenient.
1.2.6 Health
(107) “Q: What's the best th ing to do to prevent Alzheimer?
A: Forget about it .” (Macovei, 2014:5)
This is an example of pun in which the incongruit y theory is used. It is well -known
that the Alzheimer disease manifests through repeated sequences of memory loss and
oblivion. Therefore, the punch -line is established through the expression “forget about
it”. From this point of view, the pun becomes amus ing.
(108) “Carol is a workaholic. Luckily for her, her stress ulcer is indolent. ”
(Macovei, 2014:34)
This pun is based on the incongruity theory. First ly, a workaholic is a person that
spends his or her most of the time to work, and pays little attention to other things. In
this pun, the other things represent Carol’s stress ulcer, which is “indolent”. This pun
might be considered to enclose black -humour.
(109) “ "Doctor, I'm afraid I have too many phobias!" “ (Macovei, 2014:41)
This example is built on a mechan ism similar with the example (102 ).

57
(110) “Obese patie nt: “Doctor, am I fatally ill?”
Foreign doctor: “No, you just need to get more thin.” ”(Macovei, 2015:6)
The example (110 ) is based on the combination between oronymy (“more thin”−
“morphine”, and giving that the doctor is foreign, a malapropism. Actually, the word –
play is realized only by the misunderstanding between the two oronyms. Also, the
oronyms are both suitable, but the oronym “more thin” induce s the amusement .
1.2.7 Relationships
(111) “Q: Why did the Eskim o leave his bride at the altar?
A: He got cold feet. ” (Macovei, 2014:7)
This pun is realized on the principle of the incongruity theory. The word -play
relies on the elements: “Eskimo” and the phrasal verb “ (to) get cold feet”. The double
meaning is realized in this example by the phrasal verb. “(To) get cold feet ”, also means
to lose the enthusiasm about something that is or will happen.
(112) “Q: Why is testament also called will?
A: Because it's all about "will I get the house or not?" ” (Macovei,
2014:11)
In this example, there are used two synonyms to reveal the second meaning of
one form: “will”. The first meaning is given in the pun, and the second is used as
auxiliary verb, which forms the future tense.
(113) “Q: Which was the kangaroo's biggest defect?
A: It jumped to conclusions. ” (Macovei, 2014:25)
Pun (113) is built on the principle of the incongruity theory. The elements that
provide the double meaning are: “kangaroo” and the phrasal verb “to jump to
conclus ions”. The double meaning character is provided by the phrasal verb. First ly, to
jump is how the kangaroo move s. The second meaning is provided by the entire phrasal
verb. “To jump to conclusions” is similar with the fact of judg ing without have enough
proofs.
(114) “Q: Why couldn 't the onion get a decent date?
A: It made everybody cry. ” (Macovei, 2014:11)

58

This pun works on the principle of the incongruity theory. First of all , it is well –
known that the onion emits some substances that irritate the human eye, provoking
tears. From this point of view, the word -play is created and the humorous effect is
obtained.
(115) “Q: "Do you know how exp ensive a wedding is these days?
A: You will have to fork out £ 1000 only for cutlery!" ” (Macovei,
2014:36)
Pun (1 15) relies on the principle of the incongruity theory , with two principal
elements; the f irst: “expensive”, and the second : “to fork out”. The latter is similar to
“to spend money or something, against on the own will”. From this perspective, the
humorous effect is obt ained.
(116) “My wife has just emptied my card on a silk dress. No hard feelings. ”
(Macovei, 2014:43)
Firstly, pun (1 16) is realized through the incongruity theory. Second ly, it is known
that silk is a very soft fabric, and even so, the speaker says: “No hard feelings”. In fact,
he does not mean that. He is ironic, and chooses to say the expression to make an
allusion at silk, an expensive fabric.
1.2.8 Others
(117) “Q: Why didn’t the drug addict like the book?
A: It didn’t have any heroine. ” (Macovei, 2015:23)
Examp le (117 ) is based mostly on the principle of homophony. The two elements of
the homophonic pair are: “heroine”, which describes brave woman which is admired in
a story for her courage or kindness, and “heroin”, which is a type of strong drug. The
two elements are adequately combined, to obtain entertainment.
(118) “Q: What does a cannibal say after a first date?
A: “I would like to gnaw you better.” ” (Macovei, 2015:10)

59

This pun is realized not so different ly from the previous one. It is based on
homophony, but the two elements are different: “gnaw”, which means to eat, or to
nibble something repeatedly, and “know”. The frame and the incongruity theory are
hand in hand. From t his point of view, the laughter is obtained.
(119) “Q: How does a cannibal ask for help?
A: "Can you give me a hand?" ” (Macovei, 2014:6)
This pun , (119), is also about cannibals, but different in method. The answer has
a double -meaning character, which could be interpr eted from two points of view: the
first one refers to a hand which is supposed to help a person, but in the second
interpretation, it refers to “give a hand” literally, to be eaten.
(120) “Q: Why don't balloons live long enough to get married?
A: Because they pop the question .” (Macovei, 2014:9)
In example (120 ), there is a double -meaning character in the answer. On one
hand, “to pop the question” is a collocation and is used informal by the verb “to marry”.
Given that the author chose to opt for balloons, the primary sense of the verb “to pop” is
connecte d with the second sense of the verb.
(121) “Q: What did a wet cloth say to another?
A: "Will you hang out with me?" ” (Macovei, 2014: 9 -10)
Example (121 ) is similar to (120). An idiom is used in the answer, and it has th e
property to create the double meaning. Both meanings are suitable for the created
context.
(122) “Taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge surely wasn't on my bucket
list.” (Macovei, 2014: 31)

In pun (122 ), the word “bucket” provid es the word -play and also the double
meaning. On the one hand, “Ice Bucket Challenge” was a viral phenomenon in online,
in the summer of 2014. Shortly, this phenomenon implied someone who pours on his or

60
her head a bucket full of cold water and ice cubes for charity. On the other hand, a
“bucket list” involves all the things that should be done in a lifetime. The author
succeeds in connecting those two meanings in a humorous context.
In conclusion, considering the topics approache d in this subunit, the non -literary
contexts can provide infinite pun topics based on a multitude of theories, phenomena,
word classes, relations between words and so on. The sources of those contexts are
inexhaustible, because the contemporary individual is often looking for new things and
his or her mind never stops t o play with words .
2.2. PUNS IN LITERARY WORKS
This subunit focuses on the puns used in literature. This type of puns is highly different
from the puns used in the non -literary contexts, beca use their purpose is different. The
puns used in literary works have a more rhetorical effect than a humorous one. The wit
and the double -meaning are analogical y used to create more meanings, but not in a
manner of word -play. They are used to obtain more s enses, which serve as a sequence
of feature s of the fact described. The puns used in literature are similar in characteristics
and purposes to metaphor.
Since the oldest times, the pun has occupied a significant role in literature of all
kinds. The pun was a helpful literary device for many writers. Nothing else except its
features made the pun be used and explored. It served as a code for both writers and
readers. By its features, the pun could transmit information and more senses in an
apparent ly subtle manner.
In many countries, the pun was adopted by several writers who were under
pressure by the censorship to write in the manner imposed by the governance.
Therefore, the pun was among different other techniques , which helped the writers to
express w hat they wanted to express an by -pass censorship .
Some critics admit that the principal features of the pun were discussed in the
Age of the Enlightenment, and also consider both word -play and wit t o be a part of the
criticism of language.
In what follows, there will be analyzed puns that were used in literary work of
some writers, dramatists and poets.

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2.1.1 Puns in the Bible
It is well-known that the Bible, the Christian one, is full of puns, word -play and
literary devices. The puns from the Bible are used f or many purposes. They are efficient
because they generate a meaningful idea, are ver satile in keeping a solemn tone and the
pun’s feature of double -meaning is useful to provide the multiple meanings. Their effect
is rhetorical and they are consistent with Christian beliefs. Most of puns could have the
key or a clue in Hebrew. They invite to self -reflection and piety.
(123) “The man an d his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame” Genesis
2:25 (Bible, 1831:4)
In this pun, the word that provides double -meaning is “naked”. In Hebrew, the
correspondent of “naked” is “ arom”, which also means “smooth”. By its correspondent,
the g eneral idea of this pun is that nakedness makes someone or something wise.
(124) “[…] strain at a gnat and swallow a camel ” Matthew, 23:24) (Bible,
1831:23)
The double -meaning character is provided in example (1 24) by the words: “gnat”
and “camel”. Each of these words has a correspondent in Hebrew. The correspondent s
are: f or “gnat”− galma, and for “camel”− gamla. In the original language, this phrase
constitutes clearly a pun, because the two words have almost sim ilar pronunciation.
Therefore, in English it is a metaphor.
(125) “11 The word of the LORD came to me saying, "What do you see,
Jeremiah?" And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree."
12 Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching
over My w ord to perform it." Jeremiah 1:12 -13 (Bible, 1831: 546)
This is a pun whose purpose is to provoke reflection by its ambiguity. In
Hebrew, the correspondent for both “almond” and “watching” is the sam e word:
“shake”. This characteristic, makes this pun to be similar with the previous one, from
the techni cal point of view.

62
(126) “9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.
They shall make known unto you all things which are done here”. Collosians 4:9
(Bible, 1831:168)
This pun is another example which has a double -meaning in the original language.
“Onesimus” was a slave and r an away from Philemon because he was “useless”. Paul
converts him to Christ, and he is sent by Paul back to Philemon, with a letter which asks
Philemon to accept Onesimus as his brother. The word -play relies on the fact that
“Onesimus” means “useful”, in Hebrew. By his convert ion to Christianity, he becomes
what he truly is , “useful ”.
Other puns may be considered in names. M ost names of biblical characters are
meaningful and are based on puns.
(127) Adam means man, and comes from the Hebrew Adamah , which means
earth.
(128) Another name built on a pun is Peter. In Hebrew is Cephas , and it means
rock. Then, Jesus declares that from that rock , He will build His church.
In conclusion, biblical puns were often made on the basis of Hebrew and metaphors.
2.1.2 Shakespearean puns
William Shakespeare was a respected artist for his various innovations in
Renaissance literature. Among his innovations and techniques there is the pun. His
puns are combined with metaphors and this combination makes his work more
meaningful and complex.
(129) “Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York” 69
This pun is present in the first act, first scene of King Richard III . The important
element that provides double -meaning is “son”. The important aspect is that its
correspondent is “sun”. Both “son” and “sun” represent a homophonic pair. In this
example, the effect is a rhetorical one, given that the speaker, Ri chard, thinks about

69 Shakespeare, William, David S. Kastan , Antony Hammond, Richard Proudfoot, and Ann Thompson. King Richard
Iii., p 125, London: Arden Shakespeare, 2006. Print.

63
himself that he is the “son of York”, but the “sun”, reveals an old vision of him, when
three suns appeared, while he was on the battlefield.
(130) “Romeo: Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes
With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead”70
This pun is similar in technique to the previous one. The differences are that in
this quote, there are present both elements of the homophonic pair: “soles” and “soul”.
Romeo makes an analogy between the two words, and their phonological similarity
increa ses the rhetorical effect and the rhythm.
(131) “King: Now, Hamlet, where is Polonius?
Hamlet: At supper.
King: At supper, where?
Hamlet: Not where he eats, but where he is eaten :
a certain convocation of politic worms are e’en at him.”71
In the first part of this dialogue, precisely the second line, there is an ambiguous
pun. By “At supper”, Hamlet implies that Polonius is the supper for worms.
(132) “ Hamlet: A little more than kin, and less than kind ”72
This is Hamlet ’s first reply , and it consists in a pun. The reply is the result of his
drama. His mother marries Claudius very soon after Hamlet’s father dies. Hamlet
lives a paradox: Claudius is for him both a stepfather and an uncle.
(133) King: How is it that the clouds still hang on yo u?
Hamlet: Not so, my lord, I am too much i’ the sun”73
In this dialogue, Hamlet is deeply upset by Claudius, who continues calling
Hamlet his “son”. In fact, Claudius asks Hamlet why he is still mourning his father’s
death. Hamlet sees his hypocrisy, and replies through a metaphor with a pun, which has
an ironic tone.

70 Shakespeare, William, and Janie B. Yates -Glandorf. Romeo and Juliet , p 62, Logan, Iowa: Perfection Learning
Corp, 2004. Print.
71 Shakespeare, William, Mowat, A., Barbara and Werstine, Paul, Hamlet, p 197, New York: Folger Shakespeare
Library, 2012, Print.
72 Shakespeare, William, Johnson, Samuel and Steevens, George, Hamlet, p 17, London, CAWTHORN, 1906, Print .
73 Shakespeare, William, Johnson, Samuel and Steevens, George, Hamlet, p 17, London, CAWTHORN, 1906, Print .

64
Shakespeare’s puns are ma nifold, present in almost each S hakespearean text.
His characters use puns to describe the world around them through Sh akespeare’s
literary craft. Many critics say that Hamlet is probably the most intelligent character
from Shakespeare’s work. As exemplified above, Hamlet opts for puns to bother pe ople
around him and to make himself understood. The se two things and his little ironic,
sarcastic attitude, make Hamlet t he great punster of Shakespeare’s work.
2.1.3 Oscar Wilde’s puns
(134) “It sounds vain, but you understand what I mean. She was beautiful, and
wonderfully like Sibyl Vane”74
This pun is from The P icture of Dorian Grey , and the elements that constitute the
double -meaning and the word -play are: “vain” and “Vane”. The two words represent a
pair of homophones, because their pronunciation is the same. Dorian uses the two words
in the same phrase maybe because he already knew that their relationship was “vain”.
(135) The titl e of the play The Importance of Being Earnest , is based on a pun.
The first impression is that the word “Earnest” from the title, is just an adjective. In
fact, “earnest” is the double -meaning element, and it also represent the word -play.
Wilde plays with this word in many ways. First ly, it represents simply the adjective,
second ly, it represents a name (John Worthing who was also k nown as Earnest), and the
last significanc e represents a metaphor for the “assumption of being yourself”. This is a
homophonic pun, because in every case, “Earnest” has the same pronunciation.
Wilde’s work abounds in puns, but not as much as Shakespeare’s work does.
2.1.4 Charles Dickens ’s puns
(136) “Mr. Cruncher himself always spoke of the year of our Lord as Anna
Dominoes: apparently under the impression that the Christian era dated from the
invention of a popular game, by a lady who had bestowed her name upon it”75
The word -play relies on the name “Anna Dominoes”, and consists in the
misunderstanding of the Latin expression Anno Domini. The misunderstanding is

74 Wilde, Oscar, and Harford M. Hyde. The Annotated Oscar Wilde: Poems, Fiction, Plays, Lectures, Essays, and
Letters , p 247, New York, NY: Potter, 1982 . Print.
75 Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities , p 60, Waiheke Island: Floating Press, 2008. Internet resource.

65
revealed in a humorous way, because the character is not familiar with Latin at all.
Dickens’s word -play is an ironic way to show the low interest in culture of the Victorian
society. The character reinterprets the o riginal expression, and percieves it as the game
of dominoes.
(137) Another name which could be considered a pun in Dickens’s work is
found in David Copperfield . David’s stepfather has an interesting name:
Murd stone. Dickens chooses to name his character like this because of many
reasons. First ly, the novel has autobiographical intrusions, is among the few
novels related from the first person narrative perspective. Second ly, the pun
consists in the perception of the young David of his stepfather. The name a
compound from the fusion between “murder” and “stone”.
2.1.5 Carroll ’s puns
(138) “The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said
was ‘Why is a raven like a writing -desk?76
The word -play in this pun relies on the word “raven”. The double meaning
results from this word spelled backwards, resulting into “nevar”. This word ,
“never”, is intentionally spelled wrong, to reveal the w ord “raven”.
(139) “Alice: ‘You see the earth takes twenty -four hours to turn on its
axis.’−‘Talking of axes’, said the Duchess, ‘chop off her head’!77
This is a pun based on a misunderstanding of the word “axes”. The Duchesse
misunderstands the word “axes”, intentionally. First ly, “axis”, represent s the imaginary
line about the hands of the clock are moving. Second ly, “axes”, represent the plural of
the noun “axe”, which describes an object made of iron in order to chop wood, or other
materials. The two words, “axis” and “axes” pronunciation is similar, but not the same.
(140) “’Well, I’d hardly finished the first verse’, said the Hatter, ‘when the
Queen bawled out “He’s murdering the time! Off with his head!”’ ”78

76 Carroll, Lewis, John Tenniel, Peter Hunt, and Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: And, Through the
Looking Glass : and What Al ice Found There , p 60, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
77 Carroll, Lewis, John Tenniel, Peter Hunt, and Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: And, Through the
Looking Glass : and What Alice Found There , p 54, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
78 Carroll, Lewis, John Tenniel, Peter Hunt, and Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: And, Through the
Looking Glass : and What Alice Found There , p 64, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.

66
The Queen’s reaction could be justified, because the Hatter ’s song was an
adaptation of th e famous song for children, “Tw inkle, twinkle”, which is believed t o
help children t o sleep quickly. It is believed that sleep is similar to the state of dying.
From this perspective, the Queen says that he “murders the time”, which is similar with
the expression “to wast e the time”, as she thinks that is what the Hatter’s per formance
does.
(141) “Alice sighed wearily. ‘I think you might do something better with the
time’, she said, ‘than waste it asking riddles with no answers.’ ‘If you knew
Time as well as I do,’ said the Hatter, ‘y ou wouldn’t talk about wasting it. It’s
him.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Alice.
‘Of course you don’t!’ the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously.
‘I dare say you never even spoke to Time!”
‘Perhaps not,’ Alice cautiously replied: ‘but I know I have to beat time
when I learn music.’
‘Ah! Th at accounts for it,’ said the Hatter. ‘He won’t stand beating.
Now, if you only kept on good terms with him, he’d do almost anything
you like with the clock.”79
This fragment is a discussion about time between Alice and the Hatter. Some
expressions constit ute puns, because they are perceived literally by the Hatter. The
double -meaning effect and the word -play rely on the fact that , for the Hatter, time is a
being, and for Alice, what it is in reality. It is important to be taken into account, that
the time in Wonderland is a character. Both in (141) and (1 42), the word -play is
summed up in T ime. On the one hand , it is perceived as a being, on the other hand, it is
perceived as humans normally do.
In conclusion, the literary works always provided puns and w ord-play, from the
oldest writings to contemporary fiction. In modern writings, the authors use puns to
entertain their witty readers. The pun I used as a literary device by many writers and
critics, despite the fact that the pun is considered the poorest source of humour.

79 Carroll, Lew is, John Tenniel, Peter Hunt, and Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: And, Through the
Looking Glass : and What Alice Found There , p 63, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.

67
2.3. PUNS IN ADVERTISING
As a useful device, pun was also adopted by advertising. Pun’s general features are
perfect for advertising. Over time, the customer became harder and harder to persuade ,
so that the advertisement companies had to change their strategy.
Firstly, a pun might be created about various themes and aspects. Moreover,
some companies chose to invent words, for instance, starting from their product’s name.
Secon dly, a pun does not need to o much assiduity , but it needs a little imagination and
style. A pun made for an advertisement has to be short, friendly and easy to remember.
To remember the slogan, it is much easier to be efficient, if it is a pun. Puns a re great
for this area, because they remain in the mind of the customer, are interchangeable in
meaning and form, and help a company to display their slogan in an original manner.
Puns in advertising represent a valuable marketing tool. One of its streng ths is
that, it helps the company to make itself known on the market and among customers, it
improves the relation customer -company and also, it might provide the first impression
( for example on a T.V commercial or a banner). From this perspective, the pun has to
be efficient and to observe the targets of the company. There are many slogans that are
based on a well-known marketing strategy: call for action. This strategy is much easier
to be respected, if a slogan is based on a pun.
The features of the pun might represent the target of a company. First ly, one of
the features is the wit. This feature helps the company to omit a long, dull and maybe
non-sense slogan. Second ly, the pun is based on double -meaning and word -play. These
two aspects are vit al for a slogan. It helps the company to improve the relation between
it and the customers. Also, it links in a playful manner the products or services to the
customer’s wants or benefits. The aim of many companies is to make customer spend
money. They thi nk that a dull customer is not in this mood, so they try to animate the
customer’s mood. For some companies the strategy is simple: happy customer,
increasing sales.
Puns are important for a marketing strategy, and could make a difference
between a n obscu re company and a far -famed company. According to a statistics, some
slogans remain in the mind of a possible customer for hours or maybe for days , and
from this point of view, puns in advertisement represent a noteworthy topic.

68
(142) “Guinness: Guinnless isn’t good for you!”80
This company chose to replace the last four letters of the brand , which intentionally
or not, represent a suffix. The “possible” suffix, “ness” is replaced with “less”, and in
this way they create the idea that , without their product s, the customers do not make the
best choice.
(143) “Neff: Nefficiency”81
This slogan is based on the same procedure as in the example above. The difference
is that Neff chose to put together the name of the brand with another word, which
seemed to describe their product: efficiency.
(144) “IBM: I think, therefore IBM”82
This slogan has been famous since 1988. IBM chose to adopt the famous quote by
René Descartes, “Cogito, ergo sum”, translated in English: I think, therefore I am”. IBM
took the quote and changed it . The important aspect is that they added just an extra
sound. From “I am” to “ IBM”. This slogan remained in the mind of hundred s of people,
because the difference between the original quote and the IBM slogan is minimal.
(145) “Immac Depilatory: The look is Immac -ulate”83
Immac is another company that chose to incorporate its name into the slogan. They
succeed in creat ing a powerful and influential word, which contain the company’s
name: immaculate.
(146) “KP Peanuts: Pure snacking. Pure snacktivity”84
KP Peanuts focused their slogan strategy to emphasize an important aspect of their
products, by the repetition of the adverb “pure”. Furthermore, they brought together two
words: “snack” and “activity”, and achieved a new, catchy word.

80 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.creativebloq.com/branding/evolution -ad-campaign -5089326 Accessed on 15th
June, 2016
81 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.adslogans.co.uk/ans/adslogans_artscience.pdf Accessed on 15th June, 2016
82 Pun. Retrieved from http://www.adslogans.co.uk/site/pages/gall ery/i-think -therefore -ibm.8404.php Accessed on
15th June, 2016
83 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.phrases.org.uk/cgi -bin/phrase -thesaurus/wide.cgi?w=glance Accessed on 15th
June, 2016
84 Pun. R etrieved from http://parklangmagazine.blogspot.ro/2012/06/power -of-slogans -im-lovin -it.html Accessed on
15th June, 2016

69
(147) “Cadbury’s Wispa Candy: You can’t keep quiet about Wispa”85
This company made a slogan b ased on the fusion between a malapropism, which is
the name o f the brand, and from this name results a relation of oronymy :
Wispa−whisper. Also, it might be thought that this results in a relation of hom ophony,
because the two words have the same pronunciation.
(148) “John Deere Tractors: Nothing runs like a Deere”86
John Deere Tractors chose to insert in its slogan a part of its name. “Deere” is very
similar in pronunciation with “deer”, and from that point, it may be claim ed that thi s
slogan is based on oronymy. (Deere−deer)
(149) “Weight Watchers Frozen Meals: Taste. Not waist.” (Kaputa, 2012:87)
This brand opted for a pun which emphasizes the quality of their products. They
claim the fact that their products are tasty, but the interesting aspect is in the last part.
Through “not waist”, is created the actual pun. The word -play and the double meaning
are obtained by t he word “waist”. By this, they communicate that their food is healthy
and good for people in rush. Also, another aspect that could be g enerated by this word is
that the choice to consume this food is not a “waste”.
(150) “Campari Aperitif: You’ll find there is no Camparison”87
This is a nother brand that chose to introduce in the slogan its own name. To make
clear that they produce the finest and the best liqueur, they chose to change the correct
form of the noun “comparison” with the actual name of the company.
(151) “Moss Security: Alarmed? You should be.”88
Moss Secur ity opted for a humorous slogan, a lso based on a pun . The word -play is
obtained by the adjective “alarmed”. The first interpretation might sound like a threat,
suggesting the customer should be in alert. The second interpretation relies on the fact

85 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.phrases.org.uk/cgi -bin/phrase -thesaurus/pf.cgi?w=chocolate Accessed on 15th
June, 2016
86 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john -deere -owning -operating/30918 -origin -nothing –
runs-like-deere.html Accessed on 15th June, 2016
87 Pun. Retrieved from http://www.phrases.org.uk/cgi -bin/phrase -thesaurus/pf.cgi?w=Comparison Accessed on 15th
June, 2016
88 Pun. R etrieved from http://make1kadaywithimmacc.blogspot.ro/2010/09/famous -advertising -slogans -most.html
Accessed on 15th June, 2016

70
that their activity is to assemble alarms. From the se two p erspectives, the slogan is
considered a pun.
(152) “Wike Farms Cheese: You’ll Wike it too”89
The slogan of this company is most interesting. The pun is clever, despite its
shortness. The abbreviated form of the verb “will”, in combination with the name of the
company, results in the verb “like”. Also, by this direct approach, the slogan represents
a ‘call for action’, which is an important aspect in an advertise ing campaign.
(153) “Finish Detergent: Brilliant cleaning starts with Finish”90
The Finish company chose to introduce in its slogan its own name. Besides the
fact that the simple name of the company induces the idea of an easy usage of the
product, it also introduces the idea that it “finishes the household work” for
customers. Also, the slogan contain s a word -play, through the words “starts” and
“finish” in the same utterance . Also, by adding the word “brilliant”, it establishes a
new level of efficiency of the products.
(154) “Tic Tac Candy: Tic Tac. Surely the best tactic.”91
This company does not just introduce its own name. It also plays with it, and this
provides a wit ty character of the slogan. Just by reversing its name, “Tic Tac”, and
obtain ing “tactic”, another characteristic of their product is revealed . From this point
of view, the slogan is con sidered a pun.
(155) “Farley’s Baby Food: So Farley’s, So good”92
The company introduced its name in the slogan in an ing enious way. They took
advantage of the expression “so far, so good”, which was already known to most of
the customers, and changed it by adding extra sounds, thus obtained their own
name. Also, the expression was not an accidental choice. Its own meaning
constitutes an advantage for the company, by inducing the idea that “as long as
those products are co nsumed, it will be good”.

89 Pun. R etrieved from http://documents.mx/documents/slogan.html Accessed on 15th June, 2016
90 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.labbrand.com/brand -source/taglines -slogans -and-art-verbal -branding Accessed on
15th June, 2016
91 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.phrasehq.com/phrases/surely -the-best-tactic Accessed on 15th June, 2016
92 Pun. Retrieved from http://www.ciao.co.uk/Farleys_Baby_Food__Review_5329940 Accessed on 15th June, 2016

71
(156) “Masada Bakery: Fulfilling your basic kneads93”
This slogan is based on a homophonous pun. The word with double -meaning is
“kneads”. First ly, “to knead” is a verb, but there is a change of grammatical class.
From a verb, it becomes a noun. Second ly, from a phonological point of view,
“kneads” and “needs” have identical pronunciation s. From this perspective, this
slogan is based on a pun.
In conclusion, puns in advertisement s are used to establish a relationship based
on reci procal loyalty between the producer and the customer. A good slogan could
make the difference between a known and used product, and a less known product.
Taking into consideration the examples above, it could be claimed that puns
represent a useful device in advertisement s, with multiple benefits. By their optimal
quantity of humour, puns are perfect to make a new brand known and to address to a
vast specific audience. Another aspect is the quality of the pun. A good pun has the
aim to make the customer think more about the product, than about the pun,
otherwise its aim i s useless. Finally, the aim of a pun is to grab the attention, to
make a brand known, otherwise it could just be ignored.

2.4. PUNS IN THE MEDIA
It is already well -known that mass -media represents a huge power in every
society in the world. Mass -media includes an aggregate of sources of public
information, which is accessible to a huge part of population. A mong mass -media
sources could be included the news papers, the magazines, the r adio, the T.V, the press,
and most recent ly, Internet. It is important to know the principal functions of these
sources, to understand why the humour is used in this area, which is the aim of humour,
why the puns are used, and what purpose they have.
Beca use mass -media represent the most important engine to propagate
information, it has two basic functions: first, its principal aim is to transmit and to
deliver information; its second purpose is to influence, to create and to manipulate the
public opinion. The public opinion represents a huge part of people− masses of people.

93 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.masada bakery.com/ Accessed on 15th June, 2016

72
For th em, mass -media is perfect to provide certain information, in a specific manner, at
a specific moment. Other purposes of m edia are: to provide education and to produce
entertainme nt.
The entertainment part of mass -media is present in various manifestations: T.V
shows, talk -shows, reality -shows, comedy -shows, and so on. Humour started to be used
both in the news and the tabloids. This part of mass -media does not have the aim to
directly entertain people. The principal aim is to slander some public figures or
decisions, for instance. While some stars or political figures get disparaged, other
people get to know them, after reading or hearing a published text. In such publications
whether they are written or spoken, some sources of linguistic humour, become
obvious : overstatement, understatement, jargon, consonance, rhyme, irony, sarcasm,
and even parody. All of these sources are used on the one hand to entertain people or
just a ta rget audience, and on the other hand to mock, to defame, to spatter.
The pun repr esents a useful device even in m edia. Due to its principal features, it
was adopted in this social area. The principal features that made the pun useful in this
context are: wit, which provides the guarantee that the message expressed is properly
understood; the double -meaning, which is perfect to make analogies in such an
ingenious manner, this as pect is important, because it enables one to make statements
which might be easily construed, without necessarily commiting oneself to the
respective statement) and the word -play, which is avail able i n various contexts.
In what fallows, there will be considered some instances in which puns
consti tute head -lines and not only.
(157) “Residents warned to protect fish and hens to avoid OTTER
DEVASTATION”94
This item of news has a double interpretation, intentionally or not. The whole
process of punning relies on the word “otter”. First ly, it can be presumed that there was
an invasion of otters . But, the second interpretation could occur if the word “otter” is
pronounced like “other”. From this point of view, this headline could be considered a
humorous pun.

94 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.meh.ro/tag/newspaper/ Accessed on 16th June, 2016

73
(158) “From Russia with GLOVES”95
This headline is a reint erpretation of the movie “From Russia, with love”. The word –
play relies on the fact that the word “gloves” is strategically written to distract the
attention from the first and the last letter, and direct it towards “love”. This headline has
a humorous cha racter, because it is presumed that in cold countries “gloves” are
necessary .
(159) “Wham bam! Sam Cam to be mam . (SHE’LL NEED A NEW PRAM)”96
This headline is based on word -play, more precisely on assonance. It seems like a
poem, because of the rhythm and the rhyme. The usage of the term “ma’ a m”, which is
used for a respectful and a polite address, is pure ironic.
(160) “Over £100 M!
Is this the rail price?
Is this just fantasy? Caught up in land buys
No escape from bureaucracy!” 97
The current headline is an ironical interpretation of the famous song from
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody . Of course, some words are changed to provide the ironical
tone. The original version of the line “is this the rail price?”, is “is this the real life?”. At
this point, the word -play intervenes through: “rail” and “real”, and the two words have a
similar pronunciation. A second aspect of this headline is the last “verse”. In the
original version, the line is: “no escape from reality”. The word shift, from “reality” to
“bureaucrac y”, has an ironical purpose.
(161) “Big rig carrying fruit crashed on 210 Freeway, creates jam”98
The headline co uld be considered black -humour. The word -play character is
provided by the word “jam”. First ly, it represents a sweet snack made of boiled fruits

95 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article -2473699/From -Russia -gloves -City-subs-
cover -blankets -freezi ng-Moscow -conditions.html Accessed on 16th June, 2016
96 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the -staggers/2010/03/sam -cam-labour -headline -bump
Accessed on 16th June, 2016
97 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk -northern -ireland -22220002 Accessed on 16th June, 2016
98 Pun. R etrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/20/local/la -me-ln-big-rig-crash -20130520 Accessed on
16th June, 2016

74
and sugar, and the second sense is a traffic jam. The hilarious aspect is that the
respective rig was carrying fruits.
(162) “Scrape me up before you go slow. Star’s crash drama”99
This headline is another one inspired from a song. This time, the famous song is b y
Wham – Wake me up before you go go , and it is adapted. The idio matic expression “to
scrape up” has two possible interpretations. First ly, it means to collect / to find/ gather a
person or thing from multiple places. The second meaning is “to scratch”. The headline
describes a car -crash in which a star was involved. In the last line, another word -play
could occur. The phonetic similar ity between “crash” and “crush” might represent a
homophonous pun.
(163) “May you be with the force”100
The article ent itled “May you be with the force” was about the call made for people
to help the police. The title has an ironical tone, because it represents reinterpretation of
one of the best known quotes from Star Wars : “May the force be with you!” . The
original quote is construed in an ironic manner to emphasize the “weakness” of which
the police .
(164) “Croc has beef with cow”101
This article reports the incident in which a cow was eaten by a crocodile. The
headline was made in an amusing manner, based on word -play. The double -meaning is
provided by the word “beef”. Its first sense is the cattle meat, an d the second sense
describes a fight . It is obvious that it was not a real fight , nor is it obvious which of
them (the cow or the crocodile) won.
(165) “Little c hance of reign”102

99 Pun. R etrieved from https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/745915/scrape -me-up-before -you-go-slow/ Accessed
on 16th June, 2016
100 Pun. R etrieved from https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed -static/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/6/11/7/enhanced –
buzz -725-1370948461 -2.jpg Accessed on 16th June, 2016
101 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.tntmagazine.com/news/weird/aussie -newspaper -nt-news -fills-front -page -with-
just-croc-stories –five-of-them Access ed on 16th June, 2016
102 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2012/may/11/prince -charles -weather
Accessed on 16th June, 2016

75
The headline comes from the rainy England. The word -play is used to obtain a
humorous reaction. The word -play is generated by the word “rei gn”. Between “reign”
and “rain” is created a phonological equivalence, as they are also a homophonous pair.
(166) “Shoe -icide attack. Bush ducks as Iraqi flings size 10s at head”103
The headline (166) is a famous one. It describes the event in which George W. Bush
was almost hit by a shoe from the crowd, while he was perorating. The author of the
article chose to use the similarity between “ shoe” and “su” (from “suicide”) to create
one of the most humorous headlines until then. The connection between the event and
the word “suicide” is purely for amusement.
In conclusion, the use of pun demonstrates once again that it is a versatile and useful
device in various domains. Humour in the media prospers day by day through the
potential of linguistic sources of humour. The usage of humour in the Media represents
a good strategy to transmit information , and it also benefits the Media. The mass –
audiences take into account some important social aspects of humour : people laugh in
company, people are relaxed when they laugh, the people that laugh have a certin in –
group identity . Media derives benefit from those aspects, and some times, those aspects
are used to the detriment of the real audience.

103 Pun. R etrieved from http://www.gettyimages.com/event/look -back -at-the-photo -op-120515293#daily -news-front –
page -december -15-headline -shoe-icide -news -photo -id97293089 Accessed on 16th June, 2016

76
CONCLUSIONS

“The tasty grape juice during fermentation is a must.” (Macovei, 2014:31)
This pun is based on total homonymy. The important element is “must”. First,
“must” describes the fresh grape juice, but also, “a must” describes a thing that is highly
necessary for a special purpose. From this point of view, pun is based on double
meanin g thanks to the word “must”, which can be interpreted from two different
approaches, according to the homonymic word, and also, it is based on the word -play,
because the writer succeeded in linking the two main elements: “grape juice” and
“must”. Another f eature that is included in this pun is shortness and wit. Very often, the
two features are interdependent.
Starting from example as the above, the present paper, Puns in English: The
interplay of Wit, Humour and Language , exploits the concept of pun and i ts diverse
types of concepts, theories, relations between words, aims and structure.
The topic represents a mentionable source of information and the locus of the
interplay of the valences of the pun. Given that the concept is relatively new, and not
exha ustively discussed, it could easily generate complex and original approaches.
An approach to humour in the context of pun represents an useful source of
information for some people that are not so familiar with the term, but also for linguists,
writers, theorists, people who work in advertising and the media, for students (for an
efficient and interacti ve study of the language or of a foreign language), for humour
studies and sociology. The concept of pun covers several theories, terms, features,
characters, aims, functions and tinges.
The concept of the pun has versatile features, such as: wit, humouro us or
rhetorical effect and shortness. In a nutshell, a pun is based on efficiency: a pun is short,
is witty, has rhetorical or humorous effect, it is chameleonic (a pun may belong to the
original, creative humour, as well as to corny or black humour), and it could have
various aims (to entertain, to persude etc.).
The first chapter, Punning Strategies , contains four main sections. The first,
Puns and Humour (1.1) , includes various approaches to humour and some theories that
bring together puns and humour. The second section, The Concept of Pun (1.2) , is a
theoretical approach which contains a few historical facts about the pun, some features
and theories, and the importance of the relations between words that might serve in the

77
process of punning. The third section, Punning strategies at work (1.3) , includes only
the main relations between words that a pun might be based on. In the fourth section,
Puns versus Other Sources of Linguistic Humour (1.4) , are presented fourteen other
types of jokes and sources of humour, in contrast with the pun.
The last chapter comprises the contexts that intervene in the process of punning.
First, Puns in Non -literary Contexts (2.1) , is divided into eight topics in which pun
might be present. The second section, Puns in Litera ry Works (2.2) , deals with the puns
that belong to a literary context, exemplified in the works of some famous writers. The
third section, Puns in Advertising (2.3) , demonstrates that the pun does not have only
immaterial benefits. It can be seen that a go od slogan may increase the number of
customers and obtain loyalty from customers. In the last section of the second chapter,
Puns in the Media (2.4) , some headlines shown to derive their rhetorical force from
puns, and the pun makes the difference between a well -known newspaper and an
obscure one. In this secti on might be seen how the featur es of pun are subsumed to a
precise purpose.
In the last chapter, the analysis addresses puns seen and heard in various
contexts, with a multitude of aims.
Overall, th e paper reveals some of the linguistic and non -linguistic intricacies of
the pun in an attempt to explain humans’ ubiquitous fascination with this concept.

78
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