FACULTAD DE FILOLOGÍA
TRABAJO DE FIN DE GRADO
GRADO EN ESTUDIOS INGLESES
CURSO ACADÉMICO: 2024/2025
TÍTULO: Spoiling he Memes: A Seman ic-
P agma ic Analysis o Spanish and English Social
Media Jokes.
AUTOR: Ma ía de los Ángeles Laguna Bení ez
TUTOR / A: Luisa Ga cía Ga cía.
FECHA: 26 de mayo de 2025
Con en s
1.In oduc ion…………………………………………………………………………………1
2.P agma ic and Seman ic amewo k….…….……………………….…………………….2
Wha is P agma ics?……………………………………………………………...2
G ice’s Maxims and he Coope a i e P inciple……………………………3
Rele ance Theo y…………………………………………………………..3
P agma ic En ichmen ….…………………………………………………..4
Wha is Seman ics?……………………………………………………………….5
Ambigui y.…………….…….…………….…………………………………5
Wo d ela ions .……….…………….…………….………………………….6
Re e ence and deno a ion……………….…….……………….…………….6
3.Me hodology.………………………………………………………………………………..7
4.Resul s and Discussion……………………………………………………………………...8
4.1 Spanish memes………………………………………………………………..8
4.1.1 P agma ic s a egies……….………………….……….………………9
4.1.2 Seman ic s a egies…………….…………….…….…………………12
4.2 English memes……………………………………………………………….15
4.2.1 P agma ic s a egies…….………….………….……………………..16
4.2.2 Seman ic s a egies……………….……….……….…………………19
4.3 Spanish s English memes in con as …………………………………….23
4.3.1 P agma ic s a egies……….………….……………….……………..23
4.3.2 Seman ic s a egies……….…………………….………….…………24
5.Conclusions…….…….…………….………………………………………………………25
Bibliog aphy……………………………………….………….……………………………..27
Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………...28
Appendix A: Spanish Memes……….…………………………………………..29
Appendix B: English Memes………….………………………………………..42
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1. In oduc ion
A key componen o he in e ne is humou . Fo many, i can be a coping mechanism, a means
o enjoymen , o a o m o exp ession. Sha ing and p oducing his kind o ma e ial has ne e
been simple hanks o he in e ne , and memes ha e become one o he mos popula and
in luen ial ypes o humou in mode n imes. Memes a e ex s, images, o ideos ha sp ead
quickly ac oss social media pla o ms, o ums, and websi es. They can be inc edibly unny o
idiculous a imes. I is hanks o memes ha his humou has sp ead h oughou he in e ne o
all pa s o he wo ld. Bu wha is he eason behind hese memes making us laugh? Memes
o en ely on sha ed cul u al e e ences, “inside jokes”1, and cu en e en s among many o he
hings. Thei humou is o en unexpec ed, absu d, o exagge a ed, ca ching us o gua d. The
goal o his s udy is o analyse he linguis ic mechanisms (speci ically seman ic and p agma ic)
behind hese jokes ha a e used nowadays on social media, speci ically in wo languages, he
English-speaking wo ld and he Spanish-speaking wo ld. Fo his eason, we decided o call
his s udy “Spoiling he memes” because, in a way, i is like when you do no unde s and a joke
and someone explains i o you … spoiling i comple ely.
We ha e decided o in es iga e his subjec o wo easons: Fi s , we ha e a g ea
in e es in inding a me hod o s udy memes’ humo is ic s a egies since hey ha e become a
key componen o online communica ion, impac ing how people ela e o one ano he ,
communica e ideas, and exp ess emo ions. Second, we wan ed o know how humou is
igge ed and in e p e ed in hese wo cul u es.
Fo he co pus, we ha e selec ed a a ie y o English and Spanish memes. The co pus
gua an ees a balanced ep esen a ion o bo h languages by selec ing wo Ins ag am accoun s,
one wi h Spanish memes and he o he one wi h English memes (Randoo Memes and
MEMEZAR). Fu he mo e, Ins ag am is a ele an and eliable ool o de e mining cu en
ends in online comedy because i is also one o he mos widely used social media pla o ms
o meme sha ing. In addi ion, wi h a o al o 100 memes, he co pus is la ge enough o p o ide
a signi ican analysis while gua an eeing a ie y in e ms o con en and comedic s yles. This
a ie y can help us dis inguish a ious meme layou s, comedy echniques, and he unc ion o
language in each cul u e. Finally, only memes ha can be clea ly ca ego ised as using p agma ic
o seman ic s a egies we e included because his helped o ocus he analysis on how language
c ea es humou , which is he main goal o he s udy.
To conduc his s udy, we will employ a quali a i e and quan i a i e app oach o analyse
1 They imply humou unde s ood only by a speci ic g oup.
2
memes, concen a ing on iden i ying he nume ous ypes o humou and linguis ic echniques
employed in he chosen memes. The app oach will include aspec s o p agma ics and seman ics
o comp ehend he na u e o he memes. Speci ically, we will u ilise heo ies o p agma ics and
seman ics om G ice (1975), Lyons (1977), Yule (1996), Kea ns (2011), and Spe be & Wilson
(1995, 2004) o examine how humou in memes depends on common knowledge, and
si ua ional in e p e a ions.
Based on exis ing esea ch, we expec ed mo e memes o use he iola ion o G ice’s
maxims as A a do (1994) s a ed: “a la ge numbe o jokes in ol e iola ions o one o mo e o
G ice’s maxims” (p. 271). We also expec ed o ind mo e memes employing lexical ambigui y
as Raskin (1979) explained while s udying F eud’s wo k: “ he e is a hea y emphasis on wha
amoun s basically o lexical ambigui y as i ually he only sou ce o humo ” (p. 326)
This pape is di ided in o se e al sec ions. In Sec ion 2, we will explain he p agma ic
and seman ic amewo k behind ou analysis. The me hodology, including he meme co pus
and he analy ical amewo k, is p esen ed in Sec ion 3. In Sec ion 4, we will discuss he
p agma ic and seman ic me hods used in he examina ion o memes in bo h Spanish and English.
Sec ion 5 con as s he esul s be ween he wo languages. Finally, he denouemen will be
disclosed in he conclusions sec ion, along wi h sugges ions o possible u he s udies.
2. P agma ic and Seman ic amewo k
This pape ocuses on he analysis o he p agma ic and seman ic phenomena mos commonly
associa ed wi h he gene a ion o humou in memes. F om a linguis ic pe spec i e, i will
in es iga e how hese mechanisms con ibu e o he cons uc ion o humo ous meanings in
di e en cul u al and linguis ic con ex s. Speci ically, i will explo e all he p agma ic and
seman ic elemen s in ol ed in he gene a ion o humou . In his way, we could unde s and how
hey combine o p oduce comical e ec s.
Wha is P agma ics?
As Geo ge Yule (1996) says, “P agma ics is he s udy o speake meaning (…) P agma ics is
he s udy o con ex ual meaning (…) P agma ics is he s udy o how mo e ge s communica ed
han is said (...) [and] P agma ics is he s udy o he exp ession o ela i e dis ance” (p. 3)
The e o e, wi h his, i can be unde s ood ha p agma ics s udies how con ex in luences he
in e p e a ion o language. I does no ocus only on wha is li e ally said, bu on wha is mean ,
wha is unde s ood, wha is “hidden” behind a message. The ollowing sec ions will discuss
a ious p agma ic app oaches ha help explain he humou o memes. The app oaches we a e
3
going o use o his pu pose a e he ollowing ones: G ice’s con e sa ional maxims, he
Coope a i e P inciple, Rele ance Theo y, and he concep o p agma ic en ichmen .
G ice’s Maxims and he Coope a i e P inciple
The philosophe H.P. G ice was among he ea lies schola s o conside he di e en in en ions
ha could lie behind he same u e ance. He explained how people manage o unde s and each
o he in a con e sa ion. Acco ding o G ice, e ec i e communica ion elies on wha he called
he Coope a i e P inciple, which he de ines as “Make you con ibu ion such as is equi ed, a
he s age a which i occu s, by he accep ed pu pose o di ec ion o he alk exchange in which
you a e engaged” (G ice, 1975, p. 45). Tha is, when we speak, we ollow ce ain ules ha help
us communica e e ec i ely.
Fo a con e sa ion o be luid and ully unc ional, G ice iden i ied ou di e en
maxims ha speake s ha e o ollow:
Maxim o Quan i y, gi e jus he igh amoun o in o ma ion. Nei he oo much no oo
li le.
Maxim o Quali y o T u h ulness, ell he u h and a oid alse in o ma ion.
Maxim o Rele ance, alk abou wha is ele an o he con e sa ion.
Maxim o Manne , be clea and a oid unnecessa y con usion o ambigui y.
In addi ion, G ice coined he e m “implica u e”, which e e s o he meaning ha is
implied, bu no di ec ly s a ed. He also made a dis inc ion be ween wo ypes o implica u es;
gene alised implica u es, which a ise independen ly o con ex ; and con e sa ional implica u es,
which depend on con ex in o de o a ise.
G ice also desc ibed a p ocess called “ lou ing”, which occu s when a speake
in en ionally iola es one o he maxims o en o con ey meaning indi ec ly, such as when i ony
o humou is employed. An example o his is when wo people a e looking ou o a window a
a aging s o m ou side, and one says “Wha a lo ely day o a walk!” hus iola ing he maxim
o quali y. The i ony o his s a emen would be unde s andable gi en he con ex in which hey
happen.
Rele ance Theo y
Dan Spe be and Dei d e Wilson (2004) explained ha he Rele ance Theo y builds upon and
expands one o he co e p inciples in oduced by G ice as explained abo e. One o G ice’s
4
maxims is he maxim o ele ance, and i is on his maxim ha he e is an en i e heo y.
Acco ding o his heo y, “an inpu (...) is ele an o an indi idual when i connec s wi h
backg ound in o ma ion he has a ailable o yield conclusions ha ma e o him” and “The mos
impo an ype o cogni i e e ec achie ed by p ocessing an inpu in a con ex is a con ex ual
implica ion” (Spe be & Wilson, 2004, p. 607). Rele ance Theo y explains ha people ha e
ce ain “men al schemas” and when we ecei e a message, ha message au oma ically ac i a es
a se ies o possible assump ions. These assump ions do no a ise andomly bu a e ac i a ed
based on he con ex and in o de o ele ance. I is hen ha he lis ene selec s, almos
au oma ically and unconsciously, he mos ele an in e p e a ion, o , in o he wo ds, he one
ha bes i s a ha momen . People end o s op a he i s in e p e a ion ha is ele an enough
and also quicke o access, wi hou going deepe in o mo e e o ul al e na i es unless i is
necessa y. This is because he e mus be a balance be ween op imal ele ance and minimum
cogni i e e o . Al hough he “law o leas e o ” is no di ec ly men ioned by Spe be and
Wilson, his e m is use ul o explaining he idea. In summa y, people s ick wi h he i s
assump ion, which is he mos ele an one, and hus do no ha e o conside o he assump ions
ha would equi e mo e p ocessing e o . The e o e, acco ding o Rele ance Theo y, he e
mus be a pe ec balance be ween op imal ele ance and he “law o leas e o ” o achie e he
mos signi ican cogni i e e ec (Spe be & Wilson, 1996)
P agma ic En ichmen
The de elopmen o he concep o “p agma ic en ichmen ” has been mainly a ibu ed o
Robyn Ca s on, wi hin he amewo k o he Rele ance Theo y p oposed by Spe be and Wilson
in he book Rele ance: Communica ion and Cogni ion, whe e i is no explici ly men ioned, bu
p ocesses ela ed o p agma ic en ichmen a e add essed. They discuss how he linguis ic
meaning o an u e ance, ob ained h ough decoding p ocesses, se es as inpu o in e en ial
p ocesses ha allow he speake ’s in en ions o be ecognised. P agma ic en ichmen in ol es
no only linguis ic meaning bu also ou encyclopaedic knowledge, which is he knowledge
people ha e abou di e en subjec s ha a e acqui ed h ough li e expe ience and cul u al
knowledge. Fo example, exp essions like “ he bag is hea y” and “ he elephan is hea y” igge
di e en anges o he wo d “hea y” since in he i s example, he weigh is smalle han in
he second. This is known because he encyclopaedic knowledge we ha e helps us unde s and
his dis inc ion. As a de ini ion, i can be said ha p agma ic en ichmen is a p ocess by which
he lis ene o eade adds implici in o ma ion o he li e al meaning o an u e ance, based on
he con ex and sha ed knowledge, in o de o co ec ly in e p e wha is mean . (Spe be &
5
Wilson, 1996)
Wha is Seman ics?
Ka e Kea ns (2011) explained ha “Seman ics deals wi h he li e al meaning o wo ds and he
meaning o he way hey a e combined, which aken oge he o m he co e o meaning, o he
s a ing poin om which he whole meaning o a pa icula u e ance is cons uc ed” (p. 1). In
o he wo ds, seman ics deals wi h unde s anding he li e al meaning o wo ds and how hey
combine o o m he o e all meaning o a message. Tha is, seman ics looks a wha each wo d
means on i s own and how wo ds combine o gi e a comple e sense o wha we a e saying.
Comp ehending his in e ac ion be ween wo ds helps us unde s and sen ences co ec ly,
especially when sub le shi s in wo d choices o o de can a ec o a g ea e o lesse ex en he
o e all meaning. An example o show he impo ance o wo ds could be hese h ee sen ences:
(1) Only Me cedes kissed F ancisco.
(2) Me cedes only kissed F ancisco.
(3) Me cedes kissed only F ancisco.
In (1) he ele an idea is ha no one else kissed F ancisco, only Me cedes did i . In (2)
he poin is ha Me cedes jus kissed F ancisco, she did no hug him, she did no alk o him,
she jus kissed him. In (3) he emphasis is ha Me cedes kissed F ancisco and no one else.
Seman ics helps us de e mine he mos sui able meaning o a sen ence by looking a how i is
s uc u ed and he si ua ion in which i is used. This c ea es he base o unde s anding deepe
o hidden meanings. In his sec ion we a e going o ocus on aspec s such as ambigui y, wo d
ela ions, e e ence and deno a ion.
Ambigui y
Ambigui y occu s when a wo d o ph ase has mo e han one possible meaning and can be
in e p e ed in di e en ways. The e a e wo ypes o ambigui y: syn ac ic and seman ic
ambigui y. Syn ac ic ambigui y occu s when a sen ence o ph ase can be in e p e ed in mo e
han one way due o i s g amma ical s uc u e. An example o his would be “I saw he man
wi h he binocula s”. This sen ence can be unde s ood in wo di e en ways: i s , I am using
he binocula s o see he man. Second, I see he man, and he has he binocula s. On he o he
hand, seman ic ambigui y occu s when he same wo d o ph ase has se e al possible meanings.
A simple example o his ype o ambigui y is he wo d “duck” I can mean di e en hings
depending on he con ex in which i is used. I can e e s o bo h he animal and he ac ion o
lowe ing you head o body quickly, usually o a oid some hing.
6
Wo d ela ions
The e a e a wide a ie y o ypes o wo d ela ionships. Among hese ypes, he bes known a e:
Synonymy and an onymy: wo wo ds a e synonyms when hey ha e he same meaning,
like “small” and “ iny”. An onyms, on he o he hand, a e wo wo ds ha ha e opposi e
meanings, like “ all” and “sho ”.
Hyponymy and Hype onyms: a hyponym is a wo d ha ep esen s a speci ic concep
unde a b oade ca ego y, and ha b oade ca ego y is he hype onym. To exempli y his,
we could use he hype onym “animal” which includes hyponyms such as “dog”, “ca ”
o “hams e ”.
Me onyms and Holonyms: a wo d is a me onym when i e e s o a pa o some hing,
while a holonym e e s o he whole. To unde s and his, i is easie o use an example
such as “ inge ” and “hand”, whe e “ inge ” is he me onym and “hand” is he holonym.
Polysemy: polysemy occu s when a wo d has se e al ela ed meanings. Polysemous
wo ds, despi e meaning di e en hings, ha e he same o igin. An example o his would
be “mou h o a ca e” and “mou h o a pe son”, whe e “mou h” has wo di e en
meanings bu a e ela ed o each o he .
Homonymy: homonymy occu s when wo o mo e wo ds ha e he same o m
(homog aphs) o same p onuncia ion (homophones) bu hei meanings a e no ela ed.
Homonyms, in addi ion o meaning di e en hings, ha e di e en o igins. An example
o homog aph is “ball”, which can be a dance o a ound objec . An example o
homophone is, “sea” and “see”, which sound he same bu ha e di e en spellings.
Re e ence and deno a ion
“The e m ‘ e e ence’ (...) has o do wi h he ela ionship which holds be ween an exp ession
and wha ha exp ession s ands o on pa icula occasions o i s u e ances” (Lyons, 1977, p.
174). Tha is, “ e e ence” is a ela ionship ha depends on con ex and he e o e a ies om
momen o momen , depending on he speake ’s in en ion and he si ua ion in which he
u e ance occu s. “Deno a ion”, on he o he hand, is a s able ela ionship in language ha does
no depend on how a wo d is used; ha is, i is he opposi e o “ e e ence”.
The e a e di e en ypes o e e ence ha a e impo an o know o his pape , and hese
a e cons an and a iable e e en s. Some exp essions will always main ain he same e e en ,
such as “Ei el Towe ”, while o he exp essions can a y comple ely depending on who and
7
when hey a e used, such as “I”, “you”, “she”, “he”, e c.
3. Me hodology
The co pus selec ed o his s udy consis s o a o al o 100 memes, collec ed om wo
Ins ag am accoun s: MEMEZAR, an accoun wi h English memes, and Randoo Memes, an
accoun wi h Spanish memes. Each accoun con ibu ed 50 memes o he inal co pus, wi h a
balanced di ision be ween he wo languages analysed.
The collec ion p ocess ook place be ween Sep embe 2024 and Feb ua y 2025. Only
memes ha included a w i en ex we e selec ed, excluding pu ely isual memes o images
un ela ed o humou . In addi ion, only memes ha could be clea ly ca ego ised as jokes based
on seman ic o p agma ic s a egies we e included in he s udy.
An exhaus i e empi ical analysis o he co pus was conduc ed o iden i y and ca ego ise
he ype o humou each meme employed. Fi s , we c ea ed a speci ic olde o s o e all he
memes. The memes we e collec ed manually om he wo Ins ag am p o iles p e iously
men ioned. The memes we e i s collec ed and classi ied by language: he Spanish memes we e
analysed i s , ollowed by he English ones. The memes we e manually o ganised and
classi ied in o wo main ca ego ies: seman ic o p agma ic. The ini ial classi ica ion p ocess
in ol ed eading he ex o each meme ca e ully and hen analysing i in ela ion o i s seman ic
and p agma ic elemen s. A e analysing he en i e co pus, a se o speci ic p agma ic and
seman ic echniques eme ged. These included seman ic aspec s such as disambigua ion,
polysemy, homonymy, hype onyms, and e e en assignmen , as well as p agma ic ca ego ies
like con e sa ional maxims, ele ance, and p agma ic en ichmen . Ini ially, we expec ed mo e
possibili ies ega ding bo h seman ics (i.e. wo d ela ions, such as me onymy, synonymy,
an onymy, e c.) and p agma ics (i.e. poli eness, indi ec speech ac s, e c.), bu only he ones
p e iously poin ed ou we e ound.
A e an ini ial classi ica ion, some memes we e ound o be unsui able and, he e o e,
we e elimina ed om he sample and eplaced by new ones o main ain a balanced and accu a e
sample o 50 memes pe language. Memes we e disca ded o se e al easons: some we e
ac ually sho ideos o GIFs a he han s a ic images ( hey did no mee he c i e ia o
analysis); o he s consis ed o only one wo d (making i di icul o analyse hei meaning om
a discu si e pe spec i e); o he s did no use any ele an echnique; and some we e mainly
unny because o he image, no he wo ds. Once he en i e co pus was inalised, he memes
we e consequen ly numbe ed o help eade s iden i y hem. They we e o ganised in o wo
14
he con ex ha she is oman ically in e es ed in he pe son she is speaking o. E en hough i
loses i s humo ous meaning in English, he hi d ph ase “me puedes da la mano?” [can you
gi e me you hand?] main ains a double in e p e a ion in Spanish ha c ea es he comic e ec .
I can be unde s ood in wo di e en ways. Fi s , he mos logical one: as a eques o hold
hands. Second, he mos li e al one: o him o gi e he his ac ual physical hand, as i he had o
de ach i om himsel and gi e i o he . E iden ly, since he humou in his meme is based on
disambigua ion, he decision made in he meme is he w ong one, as we can see in his answe
“no, es mía” [no, i is mine], choosing he second in e p e a ion ou o he wo possible ones,
and in doing so, gene a ing laugh in he eade s.
The nex ype o meme o in e p e is he hype onymy, which, as al eady men ioned
ea lie , o se e al easons, has only one ins ance:
Figu e 6: Use o Hype onymy in Spanish (Appendix A; Meme 40)
In he case o his meme, he eason o i s humou is clea ly isible: i simply lis s a
mix o ui s, hus c ea ing an absu d kind o joke, since each wo d does no seem o ha e any
eal connec ion o he o he s beyond he ac ha hey a e all ypes o ui (mango, melon,
s awbe y, apple, and he image o a banana wi h he ex u e o an o ange wi h he cap ion
“apple”). As we men ioned ea lie , making memes wi h his kind o seman ic ac ic is e y
uncommon because i ’s qui e di icul o come up wi h ideas whe e he use o hype onymy u ns
ou o be unny. This is because his seman ic s a egy is no like mos humou is ic s a egies
ha ely on ob ious connec ions o wo dplay.
Finally, we a e going o deal wi h polysemy and homonymy al oge he because hey a e
highly ela ed om a seman ic poin o iew, and hey also c ea e humou in e y simila ways.
An example o his ype is he ollowing one:
15
Figu e 7: Use o Polysemy/Homonymy in Spanish (Appendix A; Meme 48)
In he case o his meme, he joke a ises om he wo d “Me al”. The ansla ion o he
meme would be: “The gi l who says she likes me al, when hey pu he o weld 20 window
ba s”. The wo d “me al” in Spanish, jus like in English, can ha e wo meanings. The i s
meaning is in music, whe e me al is a gen e o ock wi h powe ul and agg essi e sounds. The
second meaning is as a ma e ial, in which case me al e e s o a ha d and esis an ma e ial
employed o c ea e di e en objec s. The eason his meme is hila ious is ha i applies he
inco ec meaning o he wo d “me al”, as he gi l was e e ing o he musical gen e, bu om
he con ex i is unde s ood ha he people she was alking o hough o he meaning o esis an
ma e ial.
4.2 English memes
The nex able shows he dis ibu ion o he 50 English memes ha ha e been analysed
acco ding o hei sou ce o humou : p agma ic o seman ic.
ENGLISH MEMES
P agma ic 36 36/50 = 72%
Seman ic 14 14/50 = 28%
TOTAL
50
Table 5: F equency o P agma ic s Seman ic Memes in English
Ou o a o al o 50 memes, 36 (72%) show he p esence o jokes gene a ed by means
o p agma ic mechanisms, while he o he 14 (28%) jokes a e gene a ed by means o seman ic
s a egies. Tha is, ins ead o using di e en ea u es o seman ics, English memes end o
employ implica u es, cul u al e e ences, and o he p agma ic ai s. Compa ed o Table 2, in
16
Table 5, he di ision in he use o jokes p oduced using seman ic o p agma ic p ocesses is
much mo e ema kable.
Each so o humou and i s sub ypes will be p esen ed and explained in de ail in he
sec ions ha ollow. As a esul , i will be easie o see which p agma ic and seman ic sub ypes
a e mo e p e alen in he English memes.
4.2.1 P agma ic s a egies
The able below illus a es he equency wi h which each ype o p agma ic phenomenon
occu s in he da ase o he analysed memes.
PRAGMATIC
Con e sa ional maxims 5 5/36 = 13.89%
Rele ance 5 5/36 = 13.89%
P agma ic En ichmen 26 26/36 = 72.22%
TOTAL 36
Table 6: F equency o English P agma ic memes
Since his is a compa a i e s udy, his able makes use o he same pa ame e s as in Table
3. As we can see in Table 6, he dis ibu ion o p agma ic phenomena in English memes e eals
a simila pa e n o ha o Spanish ones. In English memes he e is a clea p e e ence o using
p agma ic en ichmen (72.22%) compa ed o using ele ance and iola ion o con e sa ional
maxims (13.89% each). This is exac ly as i happened in Table 3, bu he pe cen age does a y,
since in English hey seem o be mo e inclined han he Spanish o apply jokes based on
p agma ic en ichmen . I is also in e es ing ha in bo h English and Spanish he u ilisa ion o
bo h, he lou ing o con e sa ional maxims and he heo y o ele ance has exac ly he same
numbe o appea ances (5 each).
As we did in poin 4.1.1, in o de o demons a e how each ype o meme has been
iden i ied and ca ego ised, we will p oceed o illus a e an example o each one. Jus as we did
wi h he Spanish memes, in his sec ion abou English memes he e a e di e en ways o
lou ing he maxims. The e o e, i is simple , ins ead o explaining all o hem, o use a clea
example o each ype so ha i is be e unde s ood:
17
Figu e 8: Flou ing o he maxim o manne in English (Appendix B; Meme 2)
In his pos , he con ex o he con e sa ion makes i clea ha hese a e messages
be ween a landlo d and hei enan . Jus as he lesso begins by saying, “Don’ wo y abou he
en his mon h”, i makes hem seem like a good pe son who unde s ands ha he lessee migh
be going h ough some kind o inancial di icul y, and he e o e wan s o help by emo ing he
expense o paying he en . This is exac ly wha he enan hinks, as e lec ed in hei eply. The
humou o his meme eme ges in he hi d message, whe e he landlo d cla i ies ha he lessee
s ill has o pay, bu should elax because hey a e “always ac ing so s essed”. Ob iously, we
see ha he p oblem lies in he lack o clea communica ion om he landlo d. The e o e, he
maxim o manne is being iola ed, as he lesso is no being clea bu a he ambiguous, which
goes agains he mos impo an p inciple o his maxim.
The humou in he ollowing meme is based on Rele ance Theo y. F om he ange o
po en ial examples, his speci ic one was selec ed because i mos e ec i ely cap u es he key
ea u es o he ca ego y:
Figu e 9: Rele ance Theo y in English (Appendix B; Meme 6)
18
Conside ing he possible assump ions we can gene a e when eading he i s wo
messages ( he pho o ha says “Me and b o cause we’ e jus chill guys ”, and he i s message
whe e i says “ his is so us”), he main in e ences we gene a e would be in ela ion o a
iendship. Speci ically, i sugges s a long iendship whe e he wo people appea ing in he cha
ha e known each o he o a long ime and a e e y good iends. Howe e , when we ead he
hi d message, he assump ion ha is ac i a ed in his sen ence is a emo e one, possibly he las
one on he lis o po en ial assump ions ela ed o ha sen ence ( ha he pe son hey a e
speaking o is an Ube d i e ). None o he ini ial assump ions a e ac i a ed. The e o e, h ough
ele ance, humou is e oked, and ou cogni i e expec a ions a e dis up ed.
As p e iously explained in poin 4.1.1, in which p agma ic en ichmen was illus a ed,
we will analyse one meme o exempli y his s a egy in English:
Figu e 10: Use o p agma ic en ichmen in English (Appendix B; Meme 11)
In his meme, he p agma ic en ichmen equi ed is ela ed o ideo games, speci ically
a game called Among Us, which became popula in 2020 du ing he lockdown. Fo he image
o be humo ous o he iewe , hey mus be able o p agma ically en ich i s meaning. In his
pa icula si ua ion, i is essen ial o know ha Among Us is a hidden- ole game se in space. In
he game, he impos o s ( he “bad guys”) mus elimina e all he c ewma es ( he “good guys”),
who ha e o comple e a ious asks a ound hei spaceship. One o hese asks akes place in
he oom shown in he image, speci ically in he uppe pa nex o he en ( he g ey squa e
isible a he op le ). Wha makes his ask pa icula ly dange ous is ha enemies can use hese
en s o hide and mo e quickly be ween ooms. The e o e, pe o ming he ask in his oom
o en mean a high isk o being elimina ed. Fo his eason, people we e a aid o pe o m his
ask, and ha is why his oom is he “sca ies place o be in 2020”.
19
4.2.2 Seman ic s a egies
In he ollowing able we can see a summa y o he a e o each ca ego y o seman ic phenomena
ound in he analysed memes.
SEMANTIC
Disambigua ion 1 1/14 = 7.14%
Hype onym 1 1/14 = 7.14%
Polysemy/homonymy 10 10/14 = 71.43%
Re e en assignmen 2 2/14 = 14.29%
TOTAL
14
Table 7: F equency o English Seman ic memes
Unlike Table 4, Table 7 has an addi ional seman ic sub ype, he e e en assignmen ,
which is employed o make jokes in English bu is absen om he Spanish memes analysed.
The e o e, as in Table 4, he seman ic s a egies we a e going o ocus on a e: (1)
disambigua ion, (2) hype onyms, (3) polysemy and homonymy, and he new (4) e e en
assignmen .
The mos equen ly used s a egy, by a , is polysemy/homonymy (71.43%), which
highligh s he popula i y o his elemen in English cul u e. On he o he hand, bo h
disambigua ion and hype onymy a e he leas equen , wi h only one ins ance each (7.14%).
The u ilisa ion o e e en assignmen , al hough mo e common han disambigua ion and
hype onyms, emains unde used, wi h only wo ins ances (14.29%). These igu es clea ly
indica e ha English memes, as a as jokes gene a ed by means o seman ic mechanisms a e
conce ned, ha e a s ong p e e ence o polysemy/homonymy o e all o he a ailable me hods.
We will now p o ide an example o each sub ype o meme o show how hey ha e been
ecognised and ca ego ised. To explain he disambigua ion, we mus ely on he single example
in he da ase :
20
Figu e 11: Use o Disambigua ion in English (Appendix B; Meme 37)
The pos ini ially highligh s he sculp u es ca ed in o s one by Michelangelo and
Be nini, wo ex emely amous I alian a is s, demons a ing hei ea ly a is ic skills. Wha
happens in his meme is ha , due o he way he cap ion is ph ased, i can be unde s ood in wo
di e en ways. Fi s , ha hese wo enowned a is s c ea ed hese inc edible mas e pieces a
he ages o 26 and 23. Second, ha he s a ues shown in he images a e li e ally Michelangelo
and Be nini hemsel es. Ob iously, his ype o disambigua ion is qui e o ced, as no one would
se iously belie e ha he sculp u es a e he a is s. Howe e , he esponse o he pos , which
appea s in he image, shows ha someone did disambigua e he message inco ec ly,
commen ing: “Un o una e ha hey u ned in o s one a such a young age”, hus gene a ing
humou .
As wi h disambigua ion, he e is only one example o hype onymy in he en i e da ase .
The e o e, we will p oceed o explain i :
Figu e 12: Use o Hype onymy in English (Appendix B; Meme 38)
In his meme, he use o hype onymy e e s o ma hema ical symbols and equa ions.
The image shows a ious Ed Shee an album co e s (+, -, ×, ÷, and =). The unny e ec a ises
21
om he in en ed album co e s ha ollow, which could be imagined as his “nex ” elease, and
which inco po a e ma hema ical equa ions. These ake co e s employ he hype onymic
ela ionship be ween simple symbols (displayed in Shee an’s eal albums) and mo e in ica e
o mulas, placing hem unde he la ge hype onym o “ma hema ical equa ions”.
The nex ype o meme o in e p e is polysemy/homonymy, which, as we ha e al eady
said, is he one wi h mo e examples, one o hem being he ollowing one:
Figu e 13: Use o Polysemy/Homonymy in English (Appendix B; Meme 41)
This ype o meme is much easie o explain, as i is mo e common. In his case, he
humou a ises om he wo d “ho ”, which has wo meanings. The i s e e s o ha ing a high
empe a u e, and he second o being physically a ac i e. In his pa icula meme, he co ec
in e p e a ion is he i s one, bu he second meaning is in en ionally applied in o de o make
he eade laugh.
The in e es ing hing abou he employmen o polysemy/homonymy in English is ha ,
in many cases, hey also use he a ian o homophones, which does no occu in ou Spanish
da a. An example o jokes gene a ed by using homophones is he ollowing one:
22
Figu e 14: Use o homophones in English (Appendix B; Meme 42)
This meme uses homophones, a a ian o polysemy/homonymy. As we can see om
he con ex , he e is a pe son who has a doc o ’s appoin men . When he a i es, he woman
asks “Which doc o ?” o ind ou who is he pa ien ’s doc o . Howe e , he pa ien hea s “which”
as he homophone “wi ch”, and hus misunde s ands he ques ion, eplying ha he wan s “ he
egula doc o ”. This kind o meme is much less common in Spanish, possibly because English
has a a g ea e numbe o homophones, as p onuncia ion o en does no co espond di ec ly
o spelling.
Finally, we ha e he jokes ha employ e e en assignmen , which does no occu in any
o ou Spanish memes, bu does in English, as in he ollowing example:
Figu e 15: Use o Re e en assignmen in English. (Appendix B; Meme 49)
As we can see, in his meme he e e en assignmen is abou Anne Ha haway. Acco ding
o he i s pos , i is unde s ood ha Anne Ha haway e e s o William Shakespea e’s wi e, who
23
li ed be ween he 16 h and 17 h cen u ies. Howe e , he pe son esponding o his pos
inco ec ly assigns he e e en o Anne Ha haway, he cu en ly li ing Ame ican ac ess. This
misin e p e a ion leads o he humo ous commen , whe e he use says hey did no know she
was “ ha old”, implying ha he Anne Ha haway who is ali e oday is he one who ma ied
William Shakespea e and he e o e, since she is s ill ali e, she mus be nea ly 500 yea s old.
4.3 Spanish s English memes in con as
4.3.1 P agma ic s a egies
When analysing he memes in his sec ion, se e al di e ences eme ged be ween he English
and he Spanish da ase s. Al hough p agma ic s a egies we e mo e common in bo h languages
han seman ic ones, he pe cen age is wo h highligh ing, since 72% o English memes a e
o igina ed by means o p agma ic s a egies, meaning almos h ee-qua e s o all memes a e o
his ype. On he o he hand, in Spanish, jus o e hal o memes use his s a egy, a 58%. The e
a e linguis ic and cul u al easons o his dispa i y. Con ex ual humou is highly alued in
English-speaking online cul u e, which alls unde p agma ic s a egies. Spanish memes lean
on p agma ic and on seman ic play in almos equal pe cen ages, which sugges s a mo e
balanced app oach o humou . The e o e, Spanish memes ha e a mo e e en dis ibu ion,
whe eas English memes mos ly ely on p agma ic ac ics.
Addi ionally, in bo h cases, he mos equen seman ic memes a e ela ed o p agma ic
en ichmen . This could be because nowadays e e yone has access o he in e ne and spends a
lo o ime online. E e y hing e ol es a a as pace, and all people on he in e ne a e exposed
o hese cons an changes and he sha ed knowledge ha exis s online, which, as we ha e
men ioned, is con inually e ol ing and changing. This explains why he e a e so many memes
abou his speci ic p agma ic echnique, as well as he wide a ie y o ways in which i is
applied, since, as we can see in he da ase , he e a e many di e en con ex s, o ma s, o s yles
in which p agma ic en ichmen appea s in memes.
Fu he mo e, cons an connec i i y and he ea o missing ou (also known as FOMO)
d i e use s o keep up wi h ends, jokes, and online con en . People eel he need o s ay
connec ed o a oid being le ou o social in e ac ions. This can also be linked o he con inuous
changes happening on he in e ne and he need o indi iduals o c ea e memes ela ed o
cu en sha ed knowledge online in o de o eel like hey a e “pa o he g oup”. This could
also explain why he e a e mo e English memes in his ca ego y han in Spanish, since he
English-speaking communi y on he in e ne is much la ge han he Spanish-speaking one, wi h
49.4% o use s using English and only 6% using Spanish (S a is a, 2025) . I is p obable ha ,
30
5
Maxim o quali y. The pe son is no elling he
u h. His ood came ou bad, bu he ies o
jus i y i in an unbelie able way.
Rele ance
6
You would expec “ba hing a ca ” o mean
using soap and wa e . Bu he answe sugges s
he is ba hing ano he ca , by licking i .
7
Reading his, one would expec ha we a e
e e ing o when we we e child en and
wan ed ou pa en s o ca y us in hei a ms.
Reading he second pa , ou schemes b eak,
p oducing humou .
8
The no mal hing in his case would be o
hink ha he pe son in ques ion is using a
e y expensi e and exclusi e cologne. By
eplacing ha expec a ion wi h a humo ous
and low-quali y p oduc , he meme plays on
cul u al knowledge o how ad e isemen s
o en exagge a e eali y.
31
9
Reading his, one would expec ha we a e
e e ing o when we a e wi h he pe son we
like. Reading he second pa , ou schemes
b eak, p oducing humou .
10
The eply is i ele an o he emo ional one
se by he ini ial con e sa ion.
P agma ic En ichmen
11
The audience mus in e he connec ion
be ween he common expe ience o dogs
ba king a doo bells and he agg essi e
image y in he meme.
12
The humou plays wi h he his o ical e e ence
o he 1914 Ch is mas T uce, when Ge man
and B i ish soldie s b ie ly s opped igh ing
du ing WWI and amously played socce .
32
13
The ph ase “Us ed sabe mucho” is in e p e ed
di e en ly when applied o a uni e si y
s uden e sus a jou nalis . The eade in e s
ha “uni e si a io” sugges s ue knowledge,
while “pe iodis a” implies ha he knows
some hing ha he should no know.
14
The humou s ems om he o e lapping
associa ion o he sound “B ”, which e e s
bo h o Pe y he Pla ypus’s cha ac e is ic ill
and eggae on a is Anuel AA’s iconic
ca chph ase.
15
The smiling ace associa ed wi h comple ing
complex ideo game asks sugges s ha hese
in-
game challenges a e enjoyable. Meanwhile,
he se ious exp ession o buying b ead in eal
li e implies a sense o no wan ing o do i .
16
The eade mus know who ha pe son called
“ he ock” is and also unde s and how
Minec a
wo ks, because when you mix hose
wo objec s, you ge ock.
17
The humou comes om knowing who his
cha ac e (S e e) is and ha he e is ano he
cha ac e who is exac ly he same bu wi h
whi e eyes, a c eepy pas a called He ob ine.
33
18
The humou plays wi h he e e ence o he
se ie ATLA. The scene depic s a cha ac e
(Aang) acing pas igu es (his pas li es) who
guide him du ing his a el.
19
The meme elies on sha ed cul u al
knowledge; iewe s unde s and ha uni e si y
is o en seen as di icul and ime-consuming.
The humou s ems om ecognizing he isual
ep esen a ion o ha ime-consuming
expe ience.
20
To unde s and his meme you ha e o know
ha in he game Minec a you can sell i ems
like eme alds, and ha NPCs can buy hem,
bu hey usually buy hem o a e y low
p ice, like in his case, h ee whea s.
21
The iewe mus in e he si ua ion whe e a
highly speci ic u o ial is unexpec edly ound,
no om a p o essional sou ce, bu om a
small YouTube c ea o .
34
22
The audience should unde s and how in 2006
he Wii was a e y popula console, and o
play i you had o mo e he con olle a lo , so
i was common o child en o d op he
con olle and hi he TV.
23
To unde s and his meme, you ha e o know
ha a well-known s o y on he in e ne is ha
Edison s ole ideas, and one o hese ideas
we e Tesla’s ideas.
24
The joke equi es he eade o ecognize
Rayo McQueen on he spoon and connec his
cha ac e ai s (speed) o he con ex o ea ing
quickly.
25
The joke equi es he eade o ecognize
Rayo McQueen on he om o he TV and
connec his cha ac e ai s (speed) o he
con ex o wa ching se ies quickly.
35
26
The eade should know ha dolphins a e
usually ep esen ed in a posi i e ligh when
hey a e usually p oblema ic animals and
sha ks he o he way a ound.
27
The joke elies on he iends disappea ing
because hey a e no eal, due o
schizoph enia, a meaning no di ec ly s a ed
bu in e ed om he con ex .
28
The audience in e s ha his is a humo ous
idea o he song’s ly ics, he ca ol “Mi bu i o
sabane o”.
29
To unde s and why i is unny, you ha e o
know ha in he as majo i y o ilms om
all hose anima ion s udios whe e humans
appea , hei ana omy usually ollows ha
e y ma ked pa e n.
36
SEMANTICS
Dissambigua ion
30
Choosing he li e al in e p e a ion o e he
idioma ic, expec ed meaning.
31
In en ionally choosing he li e al
in e p e a ion o e he idioma ic, expec ed
meaning.
32
Ins ead o disambigua ing “p o ección” as a
con acep i e me hod, he does so as
some hing o de end agains physical dange .
37
33
The socially con en ional in e p e a ion
(phone numbe ) is igno ed in a ou o a
li e al in e p e a ion.
34
The socially con en ional in e p e a ion
(phone numbe ) is igno ed in a ou o a
li e al in e p e a ion.
35
The humou a ises om he ambigui y in he
segmen a ion o he pos e ’s ex .
36
In en ionally choosing he li e al
in e p e a ion o e he idioma ic, expec ed
meaning.
I is impo an o emphasize ha he use o
“we” is no ele an in his con ex , i is jus
a La in way o showing closeness.
38
37
“Ca acol” in wo pa s: “ca a” y “col”, as i i
we e a eal ana omical di ision.
38
Double meaning o “Leo Pied as”, a p ope
name o an ac ion. As Leo can be a gi en
name/ i s name o li e ally “I ead”.
39
Inco ec dissambigua ion o “nomb e”.
I could be “Name” in a axonomy (science,
biology) o as i s name in a pe son/gi en
name/Ch is ian name.
39
Hype onym
40
Di e en ui s a e ela ed wi hin he same
gene al ca ego y ( ui s). “F ui ” he
hype onym because i includes “mango”,
“melón”, “ esa”, “manzana”, and he image
o a banana wi h he ex u e o an o ange as
hyponyms. I is impo an o emphasize ha ,
al hough hype onym is he main joke, his
meme also uses su eal humou .
Polysemy/homonymy
41
The humou a ises om he dual
in e p e a ion o “desa madillo”.
42
The humou he e is in he wo possible
meanings o “caga ”: o spoil some hing/ o
de eca e.
43
Homophones. ‘Noche’ sounds jus like ‘no
xe’ a cu e way ha young gi ls use o say
‘no sé’. The 2 pa icipan s in his
con e sa ion a e p obably boys.
46
13
You mus know who Cou age is, as he is a
e y cowa d dog.
14
We mus in e wha game i is, a amous
mini game om Supe Ma io 64 DS.
15
The audience mus in e he si ua ional
con ex (poo ision) o ully unde s and he
joke.
47
16
We mus in e : who she is, wha song i is,
and also we mus know ha i
happens e e y
yea .
17
The humou elies on he eade
unde s anding he implied meaning: he
compa ison be ween he eal igh and he
Wii Spo s game.
18
We mus know who was Jus in Biebe ’s
ea ly ca ee , when he was hea ily associa ed
wi h he colou pu ple.
48
19
Rela ed o he ac ha in Temu you can
ecei e objec s o a e y di e en size han
wha you expec ed. In his case, bigge han
wha we expec ed.
20
Rela ed o he ac ha in Temu you can
ecei e objec s o a e y di e en size han
wha you expec ed. In his case, smalle han
wha we expec ed.
21
This meme is ela ed o wha Leona do
DiCap io does when his gi l iends u n 25
yea s old. E e y ime his gi l iends a e 25
o close o 25, he b eaks up wi h hem.
49
22
The humou lies in he implied connec ion
be ween accoons and ubbish. Raccoons a e
s e eo ypically known o ummaging
h ough ga bage.
23
To unde s and his meme, you mus know
he ela ion o Taylo Swi and p i a e je s.
24
The humou depends on ecognizing he
e e ence o he con o e sial design o
Sonic he Hedgehog in he i s li e-ac ion
aile .
50
25
To unde s and his meme, you mus know
abou he ilms Nigh a he Museum.
26
To unde s and his meme, we mus know
how oday’s you h send hin s, h ough 5-10
second songs in Ins ag am s o ies.
27
To unde s and his we mus know wha is a
k yp oni e, and how his a ec s Supe man.
51
28
To unde s and his, we mus know wha
Black F iday is and how many companies
end o in la e p ices days be o e, so people
hink i is a ba gain.
29
The message “ano he childhood s a los o
d ugs” sugges s a ypical s o y o celeb i ies
who de e io a e o e ime due o addic ion,
and i is in e ed ha he ash can is he
“decayed e sion” o R2-D2.
30
To unde s and his meme we mus know
abou Spo i y, how e e y yea i shows us
wha we ha e lis en o, and ha some hings
ha people lis en o a e wei d/unexpec ed.
52
31
The eade mus in e he cause o he e o :
he pe son is p obably no conside ing ha
1TB (1000GB) and 2TB (2000GB) a e
la ge han 512GB.
32
The ph ase “sunse in Che nobyl” wo ks
humo ously because he audience en iches
he meaning using wo ld knowledge:
Che nobyl is associa ed wi h nuclea disas e
and adioac i i y.
33
You mus know wha he pho o is abou (a
ideo ha go ame in he 2000s and ha
was a sc eame ).
53
34
You ha e o know ha a he beginning o
e e y yea e e yone signs up a he gym o
be heal hie , and in he end no one goes.
35
The commen “This is my Ba benheime ”
elies on he audience unde s anding he
cul u al e en o Ba benheime ( he
simul aneous elease o he ilms Ba bie and
Oppenheime in 2023).
36
IT p o essionals a e o en pe cei ed as
casual, in o e ed, and p ac ical
( ep esen ed by S e e Ca ell) and
Salespeople a e seen as s ylish, con iden ,
and ex o e ed ( ep esen ed by Ryan
Gosling).
54
SEMANTICS
Dissambigua ion
37
The pos o iginally highligh s he sculp u es
by Michelangelo and Be nini, showing hei
a is ic alen a a young age. The joke
misin e p e s i as i Michelangelo and Be nini
u ned in o s one, a he han hem c ea ing
s one sculp u es.
Hype onym
38
The joke builds on ma hema ical symbols
(addi ion, sub ac ion, e c.) associa ed wi h Ed
Shee an’s albums.
Polysemy/homonymy
39
Li e al: The pe son has a ing-shaped wa ch
and, he e o e, “has a li le ime”.
Figu a i e: The exp ession “I go a li le ime”
is used o say ha someone has a li le ee
ime o do some hing.
55
40
You can e e o bo h ood and websi e
pe missions.
41
I could be ha i bu ns, o ha i is physically
a ac i e.
42
Homophones (which and wi ch).
