20 research outputs found
Cultures and Traditions of Wordplay and Wordplay Research
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
Linguistic Expressions of Pidgin in Nigerian Stand-up Comedy
This dissertation is a study of the comics’ lexical choices and how they achieve their goals with words. The comics’ choice of words is far from being incidental, superficial, or supplementary. Performers’ choices of words show how their ideas are embodied in language. That is to say, the effect of how a comedian uses words and humor strategies is vital for understanding the contextual meaning of jokes and how they appeal to logic and reason. The objectives are to identify and categorize lexical choices and interpret their denotative, connotative, and affective meanings. Based on the Incongruity Theory (Attardo, 1994) Data were obtained from videos on YouTube channels of two comedy shows, “AY Live” and “Night of a Thousand Laughs.” These comedy shows are the most widely viewed in the country and are held every year on national holidays in different cities in Nigeria and abroad. Five hours 23 minutes, and nine seconds of video were examined from 2017 to 2020 with 20 stand-up comedians performing in front of a live audience. The data from these shows will be listened to, transcribed using conversation analysis formalisms, translated to English (because NSCs use NPE for their performances), and subjected to the qualitative research method of analysis using Reis’ (2018) Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Analysis (PSA). The findings reveal the pattern NSCs used to form their jokes and that they used words in the basilectal register in the punchlines to create a surprise in the situations of static incongruity and the sequence of events for dynamic incongruity jokes. The results from this dissertation on NSCs\u27 word choice pointed to pedagogical implications for the instruction of stand-up comedy to help learners become professionals in the craft of stand-up comedy and entertainment to become more effective communicators and entertainers
What Do You Meme? The Sociolinguistic Potential of Internet Memes
Users of the Internet have established a unique form of communication tool commonly used on social media platforms; these are referred to as Internet memes. The term meme, however, was conceived many years before its appropriation into an Internet sphere. Where memes are units of cultural information propagated like a virus from brain to brain, Internet memes are dynamic digital artifacts that can easily be created and quickly distributed to a large social group with the intention of communication. Internet memes are not static; rather their format inspires social interactions that allow them to be modified and reworked with an infinite amount of communicative outcomes. This paper offers an exploration of the different features of Internet memes, which are identified as creational/distributional, social, as well as communicative. When combined, these features in relation to each other constitute a sociolinguistic potential
The Arabic (Re)dubbing of Wordplay in Disney Animated Films
Although audiovisual translation (AVT) has received considerable attention in recent years, evidence suggests that there is a paucity of empirical research carried out on the dubbing of wordplay in the Arabophone countries. This piece of research sets to identify, describe and assess the most common translation techniques adopted by translators when dubbing English-language animated films into Arabic. The focus is on the special case of dubbing Disney animated films into Egyptian Arabic (EA) and their subsequent redubbing into Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), during the 1975-2015 period. The ultimate goal is to ascertain the similarities as well as the differences that set the two versions apart, particularly when it comes to the transfer of wordplay. To reach this objective, the methodological approach adopted for this study is a corpus of instances of wordplay that combines a quantitative phase, which has the advantage of identifying correlations between the types of wordplay and particular translation techniques and results and is then followed by a qualitative analysis that further probes the results and determines the different factors that contribute to the way wordplay is translated. The analysis reveals that, in their attempt to render this type of punning humour, in both Arabic dubbed versions, Arabic translators resort to a variety of translation techniques, namely, loan, direct translation, explication, paraphrase, substitution and omission. The examination of the data shows that achieving a humorous effect in the target dialogue is the top priority and driving factor influencing most of the strategies activated in the process of dubbing wordplay into EA. Dissimilarly, there is a noticeable lower amount of puns crossing over from the original films to the MSA dubbed versions, highlighting the fact that the approach generally taken by the dubbing teams seems to give priority to the denotative, informative dimension rather than the socio-pragmatic one. By shedding light on the intricacies of dubbing, it is hoped that this study would contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the translation of wordplay in the Arabophone countries and, more specifically, in the field of dubbing children’s programmes
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF STAND-UP COMEDY PERFORMANCES BY THREE FAMOUS AMERICAN COMICS
This research aimed at finding the rhetorical of narrative section based on Labov’s model and the stand-up comedy techniques which dominantly used by Jim Jefferies, Ricky Gervais, and Bill Burr on their performances. The observation checklist was used in this research. Fifteen different topics performance from each stand-up comedian were analyzed by using descriptive method, using quantitative as well as qualitative data. From the result it was found that three stand-up comedians used narrative section suggested by Labov. The narrative section is abstract, orientation, complicating actions, resolution, and coda. Also, the most frequent techniques used by three stand-up comedians are rule of three and one liner technique. Those techniques are the most effective technique that can trigger audience laughter. The last finding of this research, there are two common patterns created by three stand-up comedians based on Labov’s model of narrative sections
The Narrative Structure of Ambiguity. A Semiotic Analysis of a Tawriya-Epigram by Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār (d. 794/1392)
This paper engages in a semiotic analysis of a tawriya-epigram by Šihāb al-Dīn b. al-ʿAṭṭār
(d. 794/1392). Mamluk literature is renowned for its extended usage of figures of speech, above all
the tawriya, ‘double entendre’. The goal of this articole is to shed light on the tawriya, taking into
account the Arabic classical theory and presenting a new approach based on semiotics. The subject
of my analysis is the most flourishing literary genre of the epoch: the epigram. Within the epigram,
the tawriya plays a pivotal role. Its potential is not limited to a twofold reading of the text but rather
goes further and creates a second text out from the first, both of which cooperate with one another
and shed light upon their respective meanings. Therefore, the epigram by Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār is a construction
of several texts, each of which is mutually linked and deeply-rooted in the social and physical
environment depicted in the poem: the ḥammām
Subtitling Humour from the Perspective of Relevance Theory: The Office in Traditional Chinese
Subtitling the scenes containing humorous utterances in cinematic-televisual productions encounters a myriad of challenges, because the subtitler has to face the technical constraints that characterise the professional subtitling environment and the cultural barriers when reproducing humorous utterances for viewers inhabiting another culture. Past studies tend to explore more limited humour-related areas, which means that a more comprehensive picture of this specialised field is missing. The current research investigates the subtitling of humour, drawing on the framework of relevance theory and the British sitcom The Office, translated from English dialogue into Traditional Chinese subtitles. This research enquires into whether or not relevance theory can explain the subtitling strategies activated to deal with various humorous utterances in the sitcom, and, if so, to what extent. The English-Chinese Corpus of The Office (ECCO), which contains sample texts, media files and annotations, has been constructed to perform an empirical study. To enrich the corpus with valuable annotations, a typology of humour has been developed based on the concept of frame, and a taxonomy of subtitling strategies has also been proposed. The quantitative analysis demonstrates that the principle of relevance is the main benchmark for the choice of a subtitling micro-strategy within any given macro-strategy. With the chi-square test, it further proves the existence of a statistically significant association between humour types/frames and subtitling strategies at the global level. The qualitative analysis shows that the principle of relevance can operate in a subtle way, in which the subtitler invests more cognitive efforts to enhance the acceptability of subtitles. It also develops three levels of mutual dependency between the two variables, from strong, weak to null, to classify different examples. Overall, this study improves our understanding of humour translation and can facilitate a change in the curricula of translator training
Animated cartoon humor in second language learning
Dissertação de mestrado em Língua, Literatura e Cultura InglesasThe thesis discusses the importance of foreign language learning which constitutes one
of the basis for a good education. The use of animated cartoon humor as a complementary tool
to English learning is the main focus of such work. A set of teaching techniques and several
linguistic analyses of humor are presented as well.
Several advantages of the humor present in animated cartoon (particularly in Peppa Pig)
as a complementary tool to transmit concepts from a foreign language are addressed. Some of
the questions concerning the matter are the following:
(i) What are the benefits of learning a foreign language at an early stage?
(ii) How can educators and parents contribute to an effective second language
acquisition?
(iii) How can animated cartoon humor introduce vocabulary and grammatical
constructions to the younger audiences?
(iv) What composition do animated cartoons’ episodes present so as to teach/revise a
foreign language?
(v) How does one use animated cartoon humor in a practical situation?
(vi) What follow-up activities can a teacher or educator implement after showing an
episode of an animated cartoon in class?
It can be firmly acknowledged that a proper teaching and learning of EFL (English as a
Foreign Language) is due to an appropriate education system, combined with a strong willpower.
International agreements and education policies are cited that endorse the importance of
language learning. Similarly, it has become vital that for workers in areas such as medicine and
other health sciences to be skillful in more than one language and have a knowledgeable
constructive language learning experience. Many methods of how to teach EFL to children, since
they constitute the most auspicious age group to be effectively educated are explored as well
Podslovljavanje humora – primjer prijevoda Teorije velikog praska
This thesis presents the detailed study of audiovisual translation within the wider
discipline of Translation Studies, its two main modalities, dubbing and subtitling as
well as their theory, practice and issues met in the process. One particular challenge
analyzed in the case of subtitling is the translation of humor, being the focus of many
academics in the field and outside of it. Given the fact that audiovisual translation of
humor exemplifies an enterprising task, there are several factors taken into account,
including cultural and linguistic aspects of the target and the source language. Thus,
the aim of this thesis is to present these challenges, as well as to portray how the
elements of humor navigate from one culture to another (English to Croatian) through
the translational method of subtitling in the case of the American situational comedy
The Big Bang Theory.Ovaj završni rad predstavlja cjelovitu analizu audiovizualnog prevođenja kao jedne
od prevoditeljskih disciplina, s naglaskom na metodologiju podslovljavanja i
sinkronizacije, njihovu teoriju, praksu i problematiku u procesu prevođenja. Jedan od
posebnih izazova izučavanih na primjeru podslovljavanja prijevod je humora, ujedino
i područje interesa mnogih stručnjaka u tom polju te izvan njega. S obzirom da
audiovizualno prevođenje humora predstavlja zahtjevan izazov, potrebno je obratiti
pažnju na nekoliko čimbenika, kao što su kulturalni i lingvistički aspekti ciljnog i
izvornog jezika. Stoga, cilj ovog rada jest analizirati te izazove te prikazati kako se
humoristični elementi prenose iz jedne u drugu kulturu (iz engleske u hrvatsku) putem
metode titlovanja podslovljavanja na primjeru američke humoristične serije Teorije
velikog praska