Application of Puns in English Public Service Advertisements from the Perspective of Relevance Theory

Abstract

Public service advertisement is a form of non-profit advertisement that focuses on social issues, and is generally accepted by the audience as it is conducive to building a healthy and sustainable society. As an effective rhetoric device, puns have been widely used in English public service advertisements, not only achieving the purpose of charity, but also enriching the advertising content itself. This thesis discusses the application of puns in English public service advertisements from the perspective of relevance theory.

This thesis is divided into three parts: The first part mainly introduces the theoretical basis of cognitive pragmatics proposed by Sperber and Wilson. The second part is about the definitions and features of puns and English public service advertisement, and the connotations of explicit and implicit puns. In the third part, from the perspective of relevance theory, the application of puns in English public service advertisements is analyzed with examples and then the pragmatic function produced by relevance theory in the use of puns in English public service advertisements is summarized. Through analysis, the thesis points out that under the support of relevance theory, the flexible application of different puns in English public service advertisements is conductive to attracting readers’ interest and ultimately to solving social and environmental problems.

Key Words: relevance theory; puns; English public advertisements; application