Language play in and with Chinese: traditional genres and contemporary developments

Abstract Language play is playing with the rules of language for fun. This article is one of the first attempts at providing an overview of the traditional genres and current trends of language play in and with Chinese, a topic that has received relatively little attention in English. We explore the specific aspects of the Chinese language that are susceptible to play, and discuss a number of conventional formulas of Chinese language play. We also examine the affordances of new media and what we call translanguaging language play that involves mixing different named languages and scripts as well as mixing linguistic with other semiotic resources. The motivations and effects of language play are discussed, giving particular attention to the socio-political dimensions of language play. Throughout the discussion, we provide historical as well as contemporary examples to illustrate the ways in which Chinese language users play with language for specific purposes.