The Impact of Semantic Ambiguity on Social Media Jokes: A Study of Wordplay and Relevance Theory

Abstract

This study explores how introducing double meanings through semantic ambiguity contributes to humour in-jokes. The research aims to identify the dual role of ambiguity in facilitating humour while preventing communication failure. The research data were collected from diverse sources including Google and Instagram digital platforms. This comprehensive collection analyzed nine thoughtfully chosen jokes to give a well-spread example of types of humour. The nine jokes were chosen for their differences in structures and context in the language of the corpus. The analysis was underpinned by two main theoretical frameworks: Wordplay Theory and Relevance Theory. They were key in the analysis of the jokes to uncover what semantic ambiguity is about and how it works with listeners’ understanding processes. The results reveal that allowing semantic ambiguity serves to enrich humour with a playful untidiness regarding meaning yet can also prove problematic to miscommunication. The only reason is misinterpretation because of the ambiguity that leads listeners to interpret a message that is not meant or misinterpret what the words mean. One of the most important findings is that double meanings make for better comedy but then add confusion to communication, meaning that people cannot always tell what exactly the relevant message is. This demonstrates that the relationship between language, meaning, and humour is complex and everyday communication.