2016, Volume 13, Issue 1
|
Mariusz Rutkowski Humorous Names in the Light of Incongruity Theory
Voprosy onomastiki, 2016, Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 129–139 (in English) Translated from Polish by Martyna Gibka Abstract: The article addresses the humorous function of proper names in the light of incongruity theory. It aims at proving that, although names are often defined as pragmatically “transparent,” they may possess some humorous value due to semantic and pragmatic shifts resulting from the disturbance of ordinary patterns of proper names identification and interpretation. After a brief introduction, the author discusses different variants of incongruity theory as resented in the works by Victor Raskin and Thomas C. Veatch as well as their possible application to the study of humorous names. The second part of the paper provides an analysis of the humorous effects of proper names which includes anthroponyms, toponyms, trade names, football team names and names in literature. The first section of this part concentrates on names in which humour is unintentional and seems to be induced by the context, while the second section focuses on names which are intentionally humourous, i.e. supposed to amuse from the moment of their creation. The author argues that the incongruity theory can provide a useful framework for the study of the different mechanisms responsible of the semantic shifts which determine the variation of pragmatic values of proper names. Key words: English language, theoretical onomastics, proper names, linguistic humour, humour theory, incongruity theory, pragmatics References Attardo, S. (1994). Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Attardo, S., & Raskin, V . (1991). Script Theory Revis(it)ed: Joke Similarity and Joke Representation Model. Humor. International Journal of Humor Research, 4(3–4), 293–347. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/humr.1991.4.3-4.293 Billig, M . (2005). Laughter and Ridicule: Towards a Social Critique of Humour. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: SAGE. Chłopicki, W. (1995). O humorze poważnie [On the Humour Seriously]. Kraków: PAN. Cieślikowa, A. (1990). Rodzaje ekspresji w tworzeniu nazw osobowych [Types of Expressivity in Proper Names Creation]. Polonica, 15, 111–119. Freud, S. (1990). Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. New York: W. W. Norton. Gasque, T . J. (1991). The Study of Names as Humor in the Thirty-Nine Years of the Journal Names. Names, 39(3), 217–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/nam.1991.39.3.217 Kosyl, C. (2004). Nurty stylistycznojęzykowe nazewnictwa literackiego [Stylistic and Linguistic Types of Literary Names]. In R. Mrózek (Ed.), Nazwy własne w języku, kulturze i komunikacji społecznej [Proper Names in Language, Culture and Communication] (pp. 217–228). Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. Lew, R. (2000). Dowcip językowy w świetle najnowszych językoznawczych teorii humoru [Linguistic Joke in the Light of the Newest Linguistic Humour Theories]. In S. Gajda, D. Brzozowska (Eds.), Świat humoru [The World of Humour] (pp. 127–135). Opole: Uniwersytet Opolski Instytut Filologii Polskiej. Nilsen, A. P., & Nilsen, D. L. F. (1991). Tendentious Puns: Names with a Purpose. Et Caetera, 48(2), 146–152. Nilsen, D. L. F. (1982). American Proper Noun Reference: The Humorous Naming of Persons, Places and Things. Names, 30(3), 171–182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/nam.1982.30.3.171. Nilsen, D. L. F. (1991). Humorous Names: Some Creative Processes. The Creative Child and Adult Quarterly, 41(3), 175–180. Raskin, V. (1985). Semantic Mechanisms of Humor. Dordrecht: D. Reidel. Ruch, W., Attardo, S., & Raskin, V. (1993). Towards an Empirical Verification of the General Theory of Verbal Humor. Humor. International Journal of Humor Research, 6(2), 123–136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/humr.1993.6.2.123 Rutkowski, M. (2002). Nomen omen — o przypadkach nazw odpowiednich [Nomen Omen: On Aptonyms or Appropriate Names]. Onomastica, XLVII, 107–117. Rutkowski, M. (2003). Z pragmatyki funkcjonowania nazwisk — użycie humorystyczne [Pragmatics of Surnames Functions: A Humourous Usage]. In P. Zigo, & M. Majtan (Eds.), Vlastne meno v komunikacii [Proper Name in Communication] (pp. 325–333). Bratislava: SAV . Veatch, T. C. (1998). A Theory of Humor. Humor. International Journal of Humor Research, 11(2), 161–215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/humr.1998.11.2.161 Wacholder, N., Ravin, Y. & Choi, M. (1997). Disambiguation of Proper Names in Text. In Proceedings of the 5th Applied Natural Language Processing Conference (pp. 202–208). San Francisco, CA: M. Kaufmann. |
 |
