汉语双关传统述评

A Review of Chinese Punning Tradition

汉语双关名称来源不详,但其使用源远流长。汉语丰富的文字游戏、独特的谐音文化以及含蓄的民族心理等构成了汉语双关语的文化基础。汉语双关传统主要通过语言游戏和修辞手段两种形式得以延续,运用领域主要涉及古体诗歌、文字游戏、谜语、歇后语、相声小品、网络文学、手机短信等。中国传统的修辞哲学思想使得汉语双关地位不如西方显赫,双关研究也因此处于边缘化的地位。

Punning in Chinese has a long history, though it is of uncertain origin. It is culturally rooted in the various types of language games, the remarkable national preference to rhymes and homophones, and the dominantly indirect way thinking among the Chinese people. Punning in Chinese survives both as a language game and as a rhetorical strategy. Thanks to the Chinese philosophy of rhetoric, punning does not draw much attention, despite its use in ancient poems, play on words, riddles, catchy expressions and dialogues, online literature and mobile phone messages in the information era. The research into punning is also marginalized in China.