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Language at Play
Twisting,
manipulation and stretching of the English language is an integral
part of everyday communication. This language play exists in
many forms, as puns, double entendres, word games and verse
exercises, and we have been playing with English for centuries.
You may need to download
the free to hear the clips.
Clever
with words
We don't play
word games just to make people laugh, according to David Crystal,
author of the "Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language". 
French
humour
As a nation,
the British are proud of their particular sense of humour and
believe that it is unique. However, Walter Redfern, Professor
of French at Reading University, maintains that the French laugh
at many of the same things.
Shakespeare's
wit
Word play and
wit are not a recent phenomenon in English. The Elizabethans
relished humour in language and, whilst William Shakespeare's
comic scenes rarely make us laugh out loud, we can still appreciate
his wit and genius at work.
Victorian
word play
Puns are often
seen as a lesser form of wit. Certain Victorian intellectuals
so despised them that they invented different forms of word
play, such as verses entirely made up of words using the same
vowel, as read out by David Crystal.
Funny
business
Returning to
the present day, Steve Punt, stand up comedian and one of the
stars of Radio 4's 'Now Show, is fascinated by the speed with
which British companies are renamed by the public to reflect
their idiosyncrasies. This joy of wordplay seems central to
the national psyche.
'Those
who laugh together, stay together'.
For David Crystal,
puns and playing with words can be part of a bonding process
and it can be dangerous for the health of relationships for
partners to lose interest in one another's humour.
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