Even though the ability to create witty puns seems to be an inherent skill of humankind, an apt explanation of their linguistic nature has evaded many academic descriptions. This monograph offers a novel conceptual perspective on the creation of meaning observable beneath the surface of wordplay. The rationale for such an approach lies in the fact that language, and hence wordplay, is a cognitive phenomenon which involves some underlying complex mental processes, such as thinking in terms of image schemas, conceptual metaphor and metonymy, or blending, to mention just a few. The book provides a survey of relevant linguistic research, introduces the main tenets of cognitive linguistics, and offers an analysis of wordplay in the light of available cognitive literature. The final outcome of this work is an array of intricate mechanisms that govern creation and comprehension of wordplay. The book will be of interest to anybody who finds wordplay research appealing, no matter their level of expertise in the field.

Even though the ability to create witty puns seems to be an inherent skill of humankind, an apt explanation of their linguistic nature has evaded many academic descriptions. This monograph offers a novel conceptual perspective on the creation of meaning observable beneath the surface of wordplay. The rationale for such an approach lies in the fact that language, and hence wordplay, is a cognitive phenomenon which involves some underlying complex mental processes, such as thinking in terms of image schemas, conceptual metaphor and metonymy, or blending, to mention just a few. The book provides a survey of relevant linguistic research, introduces the main tenets of cognitive linguistics, and offers an analysis of wordplay in the light of available cognitive literature. The final outcome of this work is an array of intricate mechanisms that govern creation and comprehension of wordplay. The book will be of interest to anybody who finds wordplay research appealing, no matter their level of expertise in the field.

This volume focuses on realisations of wordplay in different cultures and social and historical contexts, and brings together various research traditions of approaching wordplay. Together with the volume DWP 7, it assembles selected papers presented at the interdisciplinary conference The Dynamics of Wordplay / La dynamique du jeu de mots (Trier, 2016) and stresses the inherent dynamicity of wordplay and wordplay research.

Wordplay involving several linguistic codes is an important modality of ludic language. This volume offers a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, discussing examples from different epochs, genres, and communicative situations. The contributions illustrate the multi-dimensionality, linguistic make-up, and the special interactive potential of wordplay across linguistic and cultural boundaries, including the challenging practice of translation.

Wordplay can be seen as a genuine interface phenomenon. It can be found both in everyday communication and in literary texts, and it can fulfil a range of functions – it may be entertaining and comical, it may be used to conceal taboo, and it may influence the way in which the speaker’s character is perceived. Moreover, wordplay also reflects on language and communication: it reveals surprising alternative readings, and emphasizes the phonetic similarity of linguistic signs that also points towards relations on the level of content. Wordplay unravels characteristics of literary language in everyday communication and opens up the possibility to analyze literary texts from a linguistic perspective. The first two volumes of the series The Dynamics of Wordplay therefore aim at bringing together contributions from linguistics and literary studies, focusing on theoretical issues such as basic techniques of wordplay, and its relationship to genres and discourse traditions. These issues are complemented by a series of case studies on the use of wordplay in individual authors and specific historical contexts. The contributions offer a fresh look on the multifaceted dynamics of wordplay in different communicative settings.

Intersubjectivity and usage play central roles in figurative language and are pivotal notions for a cognitively realistic research on figures of thought, speech, and communication. This volume brings together thirteen studies that explore the relationship between figurativity, intersubjectivity and usage from the Cognitive Linguistics perspective. The studies explore the impact of figurativity on areas of lexicon and grammar, on real discourse, and across different semiotic systems. Some studies focus on the psychological processes of the comprehension of figurativity; other studies address the ways in which figures of thought and language are socially shared and the variation of figures through time and space. Moreover, some contributions are established on advanced corpus-based techniques and experimental methods. There are studies about metaphor, metonymy, irony and puns; about related processes, such as humor, empathy and ambiguation; and about the interaction between figures. Overall, this volume offers the advantages and the opportunities of an interactional and usage-based perspective of figurativity, embracing both the psychological and the intersubjective reality of figurative thought and language and empirically emphasizing the multidimensional character of figurativity, its central function in thought, and its impact on everyday communication.

Popular and multimodal forms of cultural products are becoming increasingly visible within translation studies research. Interest in translation and music, however, has so far been relatively limited, mainly because translation of musical material has been considered somewhat outside the limits of translation studies, as traditionally conceived. Difficulties associated with issues such as the 'musicality' of lyrics, the fuzzy boundaries between translation, adaptation and rewriting, and the pervasiveness of covert or unacknowledged translations of musical elements in a variety of settings have generally limited the research in this area to overt and canonized translations such as those done for the opera. Yet the intersection of translation and music can be a fascinating field to explore, and one which can enrich our understanding of what translation is and how it relates to other forms of expression. This special issue is an attempt to open up the field of translation and music to a wider audience within translation studies, and to an extent, within musicology and cultural studies. The volume includes contributions from a wide range of musical genres and languages: from those that investigate translation and code-switching in North African rap and rai, and the intertextual and intersemiotic translations revolving around Mahler's lieder in Chinese, to the appropriation and after-life of Kurdish folk songs in Turkish, and the emergence of rock'n roll in Russian. Other papers examine the reception of Anglo-American stage musicals and musical films in Italy and Spain, the concept of 'singability' with examples from Scandinavian languages, and the French dubbing of musical episodes of TV series. The volume also offers an annotated bibliography on opera translation and a general bibliography on translation and music.