The name of a comedy film in the aspect of linguistic creativity

Abstract

The article aims to identify the specific features for forming the name of a comedy film from the point of view of linguistic creativity. The research is based on 30 British comedy films, which were released between the 1960s and 2010s. Five highly rated films were selected from each decade. The developed algorithm for analysis includes several steps which makes it possible to sequentially study the following aspects, in terms of linguistic creativity, that are critical for specific features in the formation of comedy films’ names: 1) source of the name, 2) structure of the name and 3) correlation between the name and the whole verbal structure of a comedy film. It was found that the degree of structurally semantic modifications of a film name’s initial source presupposes a film name’s creative potential. The influence of comedy film names’ creative potential on the choice of certain expressive means for constructing and developing the plot line of a comedy film was also determined. Data obtained in the study indicates that a film name can produce a certain multitude of verbal components, which are pivotal to the whole language structure of a comedy film. Moreover, the quantity of verbal components, ‘produced’ by a comedy film name, allows one to judge its linguo-creative possibilities.