Humour in tabloids
The objective of this paper is a presentation of the results of an analysis of the Polish tabloid press from the point of view of the types of humorous texts appearing in it. The research material has been derived from various issues of the “Fakt” and “Super Express” dailies published at the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. The comic content can be found in permanent columns or occasional articles published in these newspapers. In the majority of cases, humour in the tabloids has the form of satire or irony and is of an aggressive character. Its sting is directed at particular people identified by name and assigned to a certain age category. Such people are usually politicians, actors, singers, sportsmen and all types of other celebrities. Frequently, it is possible to observe combinations of a mocking text with a humorous picture, or less seldom — a drawing illustrating such text. Linguistic jokes are most often created by means of common rhymes or they are based on the exposition of double meanings or the transformation of commonplace collocations. General comic mechanisms such as the accumulation of particular elements, exaggeration and contrast are the main means of expression used in texts published in both of the aforementioned newspapers.