FORMS, TYPES AND MAJOR THEORIES OF HUMOUR AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN LINGUISTICS

Humour has long been a subject of interdisciplinary study involving linguistics, psychology, philosophy, and sociology. Linguistic humour research explores how language structures, pragmatic strategies, and discourse patterns generate comic effects. This article reviews the forms and types of humour in linguistic communication and examines the major theoretical approaches explaining humour. Using an analytical literature-review method, the study traces the historical development of humour theories—from classical philosophical interpretations to modern linguistic and pragmatic frameworks. The findings show that humour in language manifests through multiple forms such as irony, sarcasm, satire, and wordplay, while three classical theories—superiority, relief, and incongruity—remain the foundation for contemporary linguistic models. Modern approaches integrate cognitive and pragmatic perspectives, explaining humour as a complex interaction between linguistic structure, social context, and cognitive processing. The article highlights the evolution of humour studies in linguistics and suggests directions for future research.