ONYMIC PUN IN MEMETIC DISCOURSE AS A CONTINUATION OF LITERARY TRADITION

Abstract

The article focuses on investigating onymic puns in the memetic discourse – stylistic devices based on onymic play that form an integral part of memes. The pun is viewed as a specific linguistic construction that allows two lexical meanings to be activated simultaneously within one context. The clash of two different meanings in the pun leads to a misunderstanding, resulting in the addressee’s defeated expectations, the wider the gap between these meanings – the brighter the image is created, the stronger the humorous effect is achieved.The pun can be interpreted not only as a stylistic phenomenon but also as a pattern interrupt. The pun functions as a cognitive dissonance mechanism: the recipient anticipates a specific semantic continuation, a pattern, but the sudden appearance of an alternative meaning subverts this expectation. This unexpected shift interrupts the habitual pattern of perception, triggering surprise and often laughter.The linguistic triggers involved in the pun may include portmanteau occasionalisms, polysemous words, homophones, homographs, paronyms, and visual elements alone, which create a visual pun. Whether caused by polysemy, homophony, or graphical similarity, puns ignite our fantasy, distorting our cognition, confusing it, creating the unexpected.Memetic discourse is polymodal, relying on the interplay between verbal and visual components. Their interaction generates a specific – and often unexpected – punning effect, depending on the role of the visual component. Visual involvement in pun creation may take three degrees of visualisation: 1) moderate, when an image merely illustrates the idea without contributing to the wordplay; 2) equipollent, when the image participates equally in the pun; and3) dominant, when purely visual puns – not wordplay but image play – arise through semantic clashes between overlapping visuals.According to their onymic features, puns can be categorized as anthroponymic, ideonymic, toponymic, chrematonymic, or ethnonymic.