Les jeux de mots homophoniques en tant qu’instrument du potentiel langagier : exemple des microtextes oulipiens
Homophonic puns as an instrument of language potential: the example of Oulipian microtexts

Summary/Abstract: This article seeks to explore the role of homophonic puns in the works of the Oulipo group. The study is based on the example of a corpus drawn from the Oulipian microtexts collected in Anthologie de l’OuLiPo (2009) by M. Bénabou and P. Fournel. With reference to the classification of figures of words proposed by J.-J.Robrieux (2000) and the theory of word plays by P. Guiraud (1976), an analysis of specific realisations of Oulipian linguistic ‘constraints’ founded on the pheno menon of homophony was undertaken. The analysis explores the question of the double reading, synthetic and analytical, of Oulipian texts, and discusses the de termination of factors that facilitate the interpretation of the puns proposed to the reader by the author (such as context, spelling, syllable distribution, typography). The study of the corpus aims to illustrate the function of homophone-based word plays and their application in the exploration of language’s potential. Homophonic wordplay is an effective stylistic device, but also an important premise for reflection on the linear nature of language, the conventionality of its components and the relations between them.

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