Since this is about the only forum I'm on that has people who speak languages other than English, I figured I would ask here.

Do languages other than English use puns, or other plays upon words?

Pun example:
"Shubert had a horse named Sarah;
He rode her to the big parade.
And all the time the band was playing,
Shubert's Sarah neighed."

Puns do not need to be poetic, as this one is. The pun comes from the similarity in sound in English between "Shubert's Sarah neighed," and the classical piece, "Schubert's Serenade." One interpretation is that the horse neighed as long as the band was playing; the other is that the band played "Schubert's Serenade" repeatedly.

Jest asking!
--Rich

 

Oh, I am sure there are puns and jokes in every language. Here is an American pun based on a German idiom and translated back into German:

A German asks you: Wie geht es Ihnen?
You reply: Aus zwei Beine, wie ein halb Hund.

That was one of my grandfather's favorites. He was a German immigrant. It is probably funny only to Americans who learned a little German as a second language.

John

 

Puns are for fun
turns are dun.
Words are skill
Worthy of till
Change will spill
Ego at will
Dollars in the Zill
Sliding down the hill
Enjoy the thrill

copyrighted knowed as Loosewire

 

Down in basement
Where it is cool calm
and correct,never having
to be direct so what the heck

 

You're a regular poet loosewire!

 

Thanks for being forgiving. When you are famous I hope you remember the Inspiritation.

 

I've always felt that Tom Swifties were the highest form of PUNishment.
A few choice examples:

1) "That's the third electric shock I've gotten today!" Tom said, revoltedly.
2) "I'll have to send that telegram again," Tom said, remorsefully
3) "I'm never anywhere on time," Tom related.
4) "That's the last time I'll ever pet a lion!" Tom said, offhandedly.
5) "I can't believe I ate that whole pineapple!" Tom said, Dolefully.
6) "I won't let a flat tire get me down," Tom said, without despair.
7) "I'll never sleep on the railroad tracks again!" Tom said, beside himself.


Eric

 

Remember eli the Iceman, 7 again you could not give us enough of
the helpful electronic puns. They help every one If you wish,It would
make a good thread starter.

 

Do languages other than English use puns, or other plays upon words?

Are there any that don't? Playing with words sounds like a natural part
of linguistic thinking, whatever language one happens to be using. Moreover,
given that there are only so many sounds available, it seems to me inevitable
that any language is going to have words which sound similar enough to be
confused or quite different meanings for the same word, thus providing
opportunities for making puns.

To mention one classic example, the saying of John the Baptist in the Bible,
"God can raise sons of Abraham from stones" contains a play on words --- the
terms for stone (eben) and son (ben) sound quite similar in Hebrew and
Aramaic. Likewise, you can find puns in plenty other places in the Bible, the Odyssey, and other classic literature. Of course, plays on words are usually
impossible to translate --- the best translators typically do is to add a note
that the original text has a pun.

 

A new word is not a pun.The pun came from a different direction.

 

Thanks for being forgiving. When you are famous I hope you remember the Inspiritation.

Forgiving? You've never made any remarks that have hurt me in any way (not that I remember...)! As for being famous, I would rather be famous after I pass away. Thanks for the kind thoughts though!

 

I think Russian does have puns, but I can't think of any right now. In Russian what is more popular is anecdotes.

From wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_jokes

Russian jokes (Russian: анекдо́ты (transcribed anekdoty), literally anecdotes) the most popular form of Russian humour, are short fictional stories or dialogues with a punch line.

And importantly.

Every category has a host of untranslatable jokes that rely on linguistic puns, wordplay, and Russian's vocabulary of foul language

That is why I'm not even going to try translating any.

But as always, remember that, "In Soviet Russia, joke makes YOU!!!" (Family guy inside joke)