Visual pun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A visual pun is a pun involving an image or images (in addition to or instead of language).
Visual puns in which the image is at odds with the inscription are common in Dutch gable stones as well as in cartoons such as Lost Consonants or The Far Side. European heraldry contains the technique of canting arms, which can be considered punning.
[edit] Examples
- In Super Mario Brothers, when Mario picks up a "fire flower", he becomes fiery. "Fire flower" in Japanese is literally 火花 (hi-bana; fire-flower), meaning spark, hence he is picking up a "spark". At the end of a level, sometimes fireworks go off; in Japanese, fireworks are 花火 (hana-bi; flower-fire): same kanji, opposite order.
- In Alice by Jan Švankmajer, there are a number of visual puns, including: socks in holes (socks crawling into and out of holes, punning on "holes in socks"); Alice opens a sardine can to reveal a key, punning on the key used to open a sardine can.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
Christian Hempelmann and Andrea C. Samson. “Visual Puns and Verbal Puns: Descriptive Analogy or False Analogy?” In: Diana Popa and Salvatore Attardo (Eds.), “New Approaches to the Linguistics of Humor.” Galati: Dunarea de Jos. 2007. 180-196.
