Allusions in the Press: An Applied Linguistic Study

Paul Lennon

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Allusions in the Press

An Applied Linguistic Study

Paul Lennon
Paul Lennon

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Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2004

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About this book

This corpus-based study of allusions in the British press shows the range of targets journalists allude to - from Shakespeare to TV soaps, from Jane Austen to Hillary Clinton, from hymns to nursery rhymes, proverbs and riddles. It analyzes the linguistic forms allusions take and demonstrates how allusions function meaningfully in discourse. It explores the nature of the background cultural and intertextual knowledge allusions demand of readers and sets out the processing stages involved in understanding an allusion. Allusion is integrated into existing theories of indirect language and linked to idioms, word-play and metaphor.

Author / Editor information

Paul Lennon teaches at the University of Bielefeld, Germany.

Topics

Frontmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	i
Table of contents Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	ix
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
2. Theories of indirect language comprehension Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	23
3. Previous work on allusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	61
4. A newspaper corpus of allusions: Initial analysis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	90
5. The alluding and target units Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	148
6. The comprehension of allusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	193
7. The functions of allusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	235
Backmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	266