THE NOTION OF LANGUAGE PLAY REVISITED

The article is devoted to defining the status of language play as an ontological category. The author’s primary objective is to elucidate the multifaceted and sometimes ambiguous nature of language play, which is resorted to in order to create a certain pragmatic effect. By dint of enumerating some of the most important parameters of contemporary language play, the author shows that evaluation of language play is not a cut-and-dried issue. Accord-ing to the research findings, all individuals are to a greater or lesser degree predisposed to language play, which goes to show that it is not an elitist phenomenon, but is accessible to everyone due to its egalitarian character. Crucially, it stimulates mental processes and is conducive to creative endeavor.