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Published on: November 30, 2018
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Reading homophone puns: Evidence from eye tracking.
Debra Jared1, Sarah Bainbridge1
1Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario.
Summary
Readers quickly resolve homophone puns by activating meanings of both words, with context influencing processing speed. Pun funniness correlates with the association between the punning words.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Psychology
- Computational Linguistics
Background:
- Homophone puns rely on words with identical sounds but different meanings.
- Understanding puns involves processing semantic ambiguity and contextual incongruity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying the comprehension of homophone puns.
- To examine how readers process semantic and phonological information during pun resolution.
- To determine factors influencing the perceived funniness of homophone puns.
Main Methods:
- Eye-tracking was used to monitor participants' reading patterns.
- Reading times (first-pass, fixation, total) were analyzed for homophones and critical context words.
- Participants rated the funniness of the puns.
Main Results:
- Activation of the unpresented homophone meaning was evidenced by reading times, suggesting phonological priming.
- Initial processing revealed incongruity in puns, but this was rapidly resolved.
- The impact of contextual cues on processing was delayed, with total reading times differing between conditions.
- Pun funniness was strongly associated with the semantic relatedness between the homophone and the context.
Conclusions:
- Readers rapidly process and resolve the ambiguity in homophone puns.
- Phonological similarity plays a role in activating alternative meanings.
- The semantic association between words significantly influences pun comprehension and appreciation.
