Play-on-Wor(l)ds: The Connection Between Language and Culture in Wordplay Use in Italy, Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan

Language and culture are intrinsically connected (Lotman, 1978:212) and this union, along with the universal concept of humour, is what breeds the production of wordplay in almost every community. Subject of this paper will be to explore the nature, production and local perception of wordplay, not only as humorous tool, but also as a protest or, again, as a way to capture the attention of an audience. We will be ‘visiting’ Italy, Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan to see how differently – or similarly – these countries perceive and make use of play-on-words.