doi:10.18503/2658-3186-2025-9-3-48-54
Abstract. The study examines the role of wordplay in tabloid headlines from a pragmatic point of view. So, the principal analytical tool is pragmatic analysis supported by contextual analysis, cultural interpretation, component semantic analysis, and stylistic analysis. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the application of the traditional pragmatic approach to modern material. The article expands the discourse on the functioning of tabloid headlines and demonstrates the possibilities of analyzing and interpreting wordplay in tabloid headlines. The main objective of the article is to analyze how this linguostylistic (rhetorical) device contributes to the implementation of the pragmatic function of headlines, which implies identifying common types of wordplay in tabloid headlines and determining their pragmatic functions. The article analyzes linguostylistic (rhetorical) devices used to create witty and provocative headlines (puns, language contaminations, metaphors). Particular attention is paid to the functions that wordplay performs in tabloid headlines: attracting readers; conveying several meanings simultaneously; emotional impact on readers; softening the potential bluntness or aggressiveness of the headline (manipulative impact). The influence of wordplay in tabloids headlines on the increasing the memorability of the text is considered. The importance of lexical creativity in the process of interaction with the audience for implementation of the influence function and formation of a certain perception and interpretation of information through the headlines of media texts (in particular, tabloid headlines) is noted. The results of the study emphasize that wordplay is one of the linguostylistic (rhetorical) devices that contribute to the implementation of the pragmatic function of tabloid headlines, designed to evoke emotional reactions, arouse curiosity and form certain interpretations.
Keywords: pragmatics, pragmeme, informeme, English media texts, media linguistics, a media headline, tabloid
Information about the authors
Yuzhakova Yu. V., Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages in Engineering, Institute of Humanitarian Education, Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University.
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For citation: Yuzhakova Yu. V. Word Play in Tabloid Headlines: A Pragmatic Approach to Media Texts, Gumanitarno-pedagogicheskie issledovaniya = Humanitarian and pedagogical Research, 2025, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 48–54. (In Russ.), doi:10.18503/2658-3186-2025-9-3-48-54.