BILINGUAL PUN IN THE LIGHT OF CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATION THEORY

BILINGUAL PUN IN THE LIGHT OF CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATION THEORY

Author:  A.G. Fomin, S.S. Medvedev

Affiliation:  Kemerovo State University

Abstract:  In the article, taking into account the propositions of Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner’s Conceptual Integration Theory, the authors examine bilingual puns as conceptual blends.
Specificity of bilingual puns consists in their polylingual nature, which underlies the use of semantically incomparable, yet phonetically or graphically identical lexemes, whilst also making it necessary to take into account how a particular lexeme is rendered in the main language of the pun.
The authors consider the process of conceptual blending in the course of creating and perceiving said puns, simultaneously identifying the propositions of the theory that are not adhered to.
With evidence from bilingual puns, obtained online on various Internet aggregators and social networks (9gag, Reddit, VK.com), the authors argue that the topological requirement is not observed in such puns as a means to draw the recipients’ attention to falsely created similarities between two distinct yet phonetically or graphically identical elements from different languages. Furthermore, it is established that when a lexeme used in wordplay is not explicitly stated in the pun, creation of a third input space, containing the foreign lexeme, is justifiable.

Keywords:  bilingual pun, macaronic language, conceptual integration theory, mental space, blend.

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For citation:  Fomin, A. G., & Medvedev, S. S. (2019). Bilingual pun in the light of conceptual integration theory. Voprosy Kognitivnoy Lingvistiki, 4, 101-107. (In Russ.).

Pages:  101-107