LINGUISTIC CREATIVITY AND LANGUAGE PLAY: WHEN AND WHY IS HUMOUR CREATED?

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of creativity, in particular, linguistic creativity, as well as the concept of language play. Language creativity is understood as the ability of language speakers to modify or create language means to refi ll language signs with new meanings or to create literary images. One of the manifestations of linguistic creativity is language play – the conscious use of language means, as a result of which a certain linguistic anomaly is purposefully created. The aim of the study is to compare the cases of using a language play in diff erent types and genres of texts, as a result of which a comic eff ect arises or does not arise, and to off er an explanation why in some cases such creative language play can be interpreted only according to the rules either of the bona fi de or non-bona fi de mode of communication. The research is based on the analysis of advertising slogans, poems, texts of humorous miniatures and fi lm scripts. The analysis allows us to conclude that the interpretation of the creative use of language means is carried out in the bona fi de mode, if, despite the anomaly, these linguistic means do not contradict the context in semantic or pragmatic terms. If such contradictions arise, the linguistic anomaly can be interpreted according to the rules of the non-bona fi de mode of discourse.