Page 3 - The Language of Humour

The Intertext series

• Why does the phrase ‘spinning a yarn’ refer both to using
language and making cloth?
• What might a piece of literary writing have in common with an
advert or a note from the milkman?
• What aspects of language are important to understand when
analysing texts?

The Routledge INTERTEXT series will develop readers’ understanding
of how texts work. It does this by showing some of the designs and
patterns in the language from which they are made, by placing texts
within the contexts in which they occur, and by exploring relationships
between them.
The series consists of a foundation text, Working with Texts: A core
book for language analysis, which looks at language aspects essential
for the analysis of texts, and a range of satellite texts. These apply aspects
of language to a particular topic area in more detail. They complement
the core text and can also be used alone, providing the user has the
foundation skills furnished by the core text.
Benef its of using this series:

• Unique—written by a team of respected teachers and practitioners
whose ideas and activities have also been trialled independently
• Multi-disciplinary—provides a foundation for the analysis of texts,
supporting students who want to achieve a detailed focus on
language
• Accessible—no previous knowledge of language analysis is
assumed, just an interest in language use
• Comprehensive—wide coverage of dif ferent genres: literary texts,
notes, memos, signs, advertisements, leaflets, speeches, conversation
• Student-friendly—contains suggestions for further reading;
activities relating to texts studied; commentaries after activities; key
terms highlighted and an index of terms
The series editors:

Ronald Carter is Professor of Modern English Language in the
Department of English Studies at the University of Nottingham and is
the editor of the Routledge INTERFACE series in Language and