[lit-ideas] Re: "No pun intended" -- whose copyright? -- and different 'implicatures'
- From: wokshevs@xxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:11:55 -0230
Quoting Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx:
> snip
> For Grice (or
> Griceans), this is a pragmatic contradiction. Because, by pointing the
> addressee's attention to the pun, it _is_ somehow intended; yet it is a
> sneaky act of
> communication.
There is no pragmatic contradiction involved, as far as I can see. The speaker
means that at the time of the utterance no pun was intended. If she did intend
the pun and claimed otherwise, she is a liar, or perhaps a comedian. But why
not extend a principle of charity or cooperation to the speaker and give her
the benefit of the doubt? Imagine what communication would be like if we didn't
trust others to be speaking the truth most of the time. Similarly, if one
claims to be willing to wager his Volvo .... why not assume - "out of a love of
mankind" - that he actually has a Volvo.
Irritable and pouting becaue of a rejection letter,
Walter O-K-S-H-E-V-S-K-Y!
MUN
For, at the same time of directing the addresse's attention
> to the pun ('the lowest form of a figure of speech", Alexander Pope said),
> the
> 'utterer' is _at the same time_ denying any communication responsibility in
>
> the issue. So it's the very communicative analogue of those anti-moral acts,
>
> of "having your cake and eating it" or "running with the hares and hunting
> with the hounds".
>
> I should check with the OED who first came up with the 'brilliant' idea.
>
> Krueger's question may be addressed to the fact that pun is usually
> something different, a play on the _sound_ of words, as in Alice in
> Wonderland:
>
> Alice: The girls were _in_ the well?
> Dormouse: Oh yes, _well_ in.
>
> Here there is a pun on the expression 'well', which is a homograph, i.e. one
>
> 'well' is an adverb (OE _weal_) the other a noun (OE _wel_). So it would not
>
> be perhaps a pun in Old English, although it might. I assume there are
> different types of puns, but those based on homography or zeugma (where you
>
> wouldn't have a homograph, but still two 'uses' which are _ilogically_
> applied to
> an event) seem to me the most basic.
>
> In Walker's case
>
> <<In modern life, people often deprive themselves of
> sleep almost on a daily basis," Walker said.
> "Alarm bells should be ringing about that behavior
> -- no pun intended.">
>
> The 'pun' seems to be on the literal versus the figurative. In this case
> between literal and figurative uses of:
> "alarm bells should be ringing".
> If literal, it's cruel, because the 'pun' (allegedly non-intended for it
> being so cruel) is that it's these people, who deprive -- for one reason or
>
> other -- of sleep for whom
>
> "alarm bells should be ringing"
>
> -- some even worse writer would have added, 'literally'. But that would have
>
> been redundant, because people who deprive of sleep do NOT need alarm bells
>
> ringing.
>
> So the pun is between that literal plane and the figurative plane where
>
> "alarm bells should be ringing"
>
> is directed towards those dealing 'with that behaviour' -- The American
> specialist, I assume. I think it's this figurative plane addressed at
> somebody
> _other_ than the people who deprive of sleep that makes the thing a total
> failure of a pun.
>
> Walker is saying that scientists (paid ones making the service yet another
> luxury for the consumer) should have alarm-bells ringing towards the
> behaviour
> of sleep deprivation.
>
> Walker is also going moralistic about things: it's like scientists who would
>
> otherwise NOT need alarm bells, are concerned in things which Walker finds
> superficial and it is towards Walker's target of focus that they should be
> 'awaken' into.
>
> Cheers,
>
> J. L. Speranza
> Buenos Aires, Argentina
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
>
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