English is a unique and charming language that possesses several traits and features that are unfound or uncommon in other languages. Actually, each language has its own beauty and particularities, but English remains one of the most powerful and richest languages because of its long history. In this article, we will have look at a special and delightful type of wordplay called "puns". This type of wordplay is frequently used in many contexts, especially in literary masterpieces, in order to captivate the attention of the reader and make the writing more entertaining and pleasurable.
Definition of a “pun”:
“crabs do not like to share, because they are shellfish!” this sentence is a clear example of what we call a “pun”, a witty form of expression that implies the use of some words that sound alike but have different meanings. To be more specific, in a “pun”, we intentionally use a word to replace another word with a similar sound. Let’s analyze the example mentioned before “crabs do not like to share because they are shellfish” the word “shellfish” will inevitably entice the reader to think about the adjective that is employed to describe somebody who is stingy and does not like to share with others, this word is obvious: selfish. As we can notice: “Shellfish” and “selfish” have almost the same pronunciation; but since that the pointed subject is a “crab”, we have chosen the word “shellfish” to make the sentence sound “logical” and amusing at the same time. The main role of puns is to create a humorous effect over the reader.
Examples of puns:
Let's go through some examples of puns:
First example: “Always trust a glue salesman. They tend to stick to their word!”
As we already mentioned in the last paragraph, the purpose of this pun is to cause the reader to laugh as it plays on words. Given that the glue is a sticky substance, we have chosen the expression “stick to one’s word” to compliment a glue salesperson, meaning that they are trustworthy and reliable.
Second example: “Korea has Soul.”
This is a pun, because the sound of the word “soul” is close to the sound of the word “Seoul”, the capital of South Korea. Now, if we say that Korea has “soul”, it means that Korea has some spirit or some energy, it is a lively and bustling country. However, the listener or reader will surely think about the famous capital “Seoul” and will find that the brilliant use of the word “soul” would be considered as a clever joke.
Third example: “ I used to be a banker, but I lost interest. “
The last word of this example has two meanings. The first meaning is crystal clear: interest is an enjoyable feeling that makes you want to learn about something. At first sight, the reader will automatically think about the first meaning. Yet, if the writer or speaker hints at a funny context or indicates to the reader or listener beforehand that the following sentence “ I used to be a banker but I lost interest “ is supposed to have comical aspect, then the reader or listener will highly likely recall the second meaning of the word “interest”, which is, according to Cambridge dictionary, “ money that is charged by a bank or other financial organization for borrowing money “*. Therefore, we conclude that the word “interest” is not employed randomly because it belongs to the same semantic field as the word “bank”. It is actually used to invite the audience to interact and relish this kind of communication since it conveys a sense of humor and would eventually generate laughter.
Fourth example: “ Celebrities are cool because they have many fans “
This sentence can be interpreted in two different ways. At first glance, most people will understand this sentence in a context of stardom and will imagine why celebrities are perceived as “cool” from a realistic approach. In this case, the word “cool” will be interpreted as calm, unhurried and relaxed. The reason of this calmness is that famous people have many “fans”. The word “fan” will be understood as “enthusiast, follower and supporter”. Till now, we have only clarified the first meaning. Let’s decipher the second meaning. If we reflect upon the different meanings of the words “cool” and “fan”, we’ll find out that the sentence “Celebrities are cool because they have many fans” can be viewed from a second perspective. The basic meaning of the word “cool” is chilly, moderately cold, and the word “fan” usually refers to the device used to generate a current of air in order to make the atmosphere cooler and less hot. If we take into consideration these definitions, we’ll easily conceive the second entertaining meaning of the sentence. Thus, we perceive that the provided example “ Celebrities are cool because they have many fans “ has two different interpretations that are completely logical and grammatically correct.
Main types of puns:
There are several types of puns, but we will mention the main ones: Homophonic and Homographic.
Homophonic puns consist of the use of “homophones”. For instance, “ The little pony cannot talk well because it is a little hoarse “. The word “ hoarse “ means having a rough voice, but its pronunciation is exactly the same as the word “ horse “. That is why the adjective “ hoarse “ was chosen so that the audience can connect it swiftly to the animal’s name “ horse “ and recognize the playful use of the two homonyms.
Homographic puns are puns that imply the use of homographs: words with equal spelling but with “different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations”*. A famous homographic pun is “I have a fear of speed bumps. But I'm slowly getting over it.”* the verb “ to get over “ has different meanings. The figurative meaning is to overcome, to surmount an obstacle or to recover from an unpleasant experience such as an ailment, accident, death etc. The literal meaning is quite evident. At first glance, the reader will think about the figurative meaning of the verb “ to get over ”. But after some reflection, they will seize the point of using “ to get over “ and understand that the targeted meaning is the literal one.
Conclusion:
Puns are a fascinating tool that displays the richness of English vocabulary and the funny side of the learning process. If students or English learners in general are provided with material that includes this kind of wordplay, they will certainly be more passionate about the English language and make more efforts to grasp deeply the different meanings of several words in order to enrich their lexis.
* https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/interest
* https://englishleaflet.com/common-examples-of-pun/