Ethnic stereotype is a culture-determined portrayal of a society, culture or a nation. A comprehensive worldview of an ethnic group tends to form stereotypes, and its analysis makes it possible to identify an ethnic group's cultural identity and characteristics. This study examined ethnic stereotypes in humorous discourse as portrayed in jokes of…

Warning: This article contains humor, which may not be appropriate for some of you, particularly if you have the sense of humor of a grapefruit. Reader discretion is advised. You will miss this trailblazing, earth-shattering, possibly Pulitzer-prize-winning contribution to the literature. However, that's okay. To accommodate your…

The article deals with the analysis of the addressee's factor foregrounding in the limerick discourse. The study demonstrates that the limerick discourse is characterised by an addresser-writer's and an addressee-reader/listener's reciprocality via idiosyncratic protagonists portrayed by an addresser-writer. A limerick presents a laconic…

In the globalized economy, old metadiscursive regimes have been challenged by new conditions which are often considered to be more favourable to heteroglossic practices. In Flemish Belgium, the liberalization of the TV market is said to have transformed the broadcaster VRT from a public service aiming at educating viewers into a competitive…

There has been little research into how children use language play in writing. The unprompted language play of 36 children was investigated through their writing of a short advertisement. The sample comprised three attainment sub-groups from a larger repeat-design study of persuasive writing in the 9-11 age-range. The writing was analysed using…

There has been little research into 'language play', the manipulation of language for enjoyment, in children's narrative writing. The unprompted language play of 36 children was investigated in their writing of an imaginative story. The sample comprised three attainment sub-groups from a larger repeat-design quantitative study of writing…

This study presents an analysis of a Nepali comedian's dialect stylization in a stand-up comedy show performed for the diasporic Nepali community in Bochum, Germany. The analysis shows that through creative deployment of diverse linguistic practices of Nepali speakers, the comedian, Manoj Gajurel, engages in important identity work both in the…

Creativity is commonly assessed using divergent thinking tasks, which measure the fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration of participant output on a variety of different tasks. This study assesses the degree to which creativity can be identified based on linguistic features of participants' language while completing collaborative…

"Second-language Discourse in the Digital World" illustrates a new, practice-driven approach to technology in second-language (L2) learning that begins with what L2 users do when they connect with others online. With its rich set of examples from a number of different languages and a variety of digital platforms, in and beyond the…

Humor and language play have been recognized as important aspects of second language (L2) development. Qualitative studies that have documented the forms and functions of language play for adult and child L2 users have taken place largely in classroom settings. In order to gain a fuller understanding of such creative manipulations by L2 users, it…

Presents a humorous review of educational jargon. (RL)

A lighthearted look at popular euphemisms and the reasons behind their creation and use. (RL)

Examines comical problems arising from the overuse of business and technical jargon and syntax, including alienation of the reader. Offers suggestions for business writers to avoid usage that can appear comical in their business correspondence. (HTH)

Explores the many facets of graffiti as humor, with some educational asides about using graffiti to explain forms, styles, attitudes, and variations in language. (RL)

Uses trademarks that are calculated misspellings, bumper sticker slogans, the strained and pretentious language of Howard Cosell, and governmental jargon to illustrate how to attune students to the magic and power of language, while poking fun at language abuse. (RL)