Humourand the English language: blunders, slip-ups and mistakes

Abstract

After a brief introduction focusing on the nature and function of humour, this paper analyses some features of the language of humour (phonological, syntactic, lexical, and morphological), providing examples of blunders, slip-ups and mistakes from a number of different sources, such as student bloopers and classroom blunders, the court room -- recorded in the proceedings, insurance forms explaining car disasters, church bulletins and orders of service, signs and billboards, quotations and translations.