Topic 1 (session A) - Levels of language: Linguistic levels, style & meaning > Levels of language & advertising slogans > Task C - An advert for a bible society > Our answer

Levels of language & advertising slogans

Task C - Our answer

The intertextual reference is to the Bible, and it will be general knowledge for most readers that Jesus Christ was the son of a carpenter who lived in Nazareth. This alerts us to the potential ambiguity in the word 'joiners' which can mean 'carpenters' in some contexts or 'people who join with other people to form groups' in others. In this context both meanings are clearly relevant, and it is this fact which makes the ad striking. This kind of lexical ambiguity is also the source of many jokes.

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