Reading words aloud gives you a phonetic memory trail.
In China there is a strong incentive to come up with short and pithy nicknames for foreign athletes and celebrities, because the phonetic transcriptions of western names used in official sources are incredibly long and dull.
"Text messaging, with its use of phonetic spelling and little or no punctuation, seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing.
There's a reason why humans invented phonetic languages.
Examples of word play include puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences.
