Expert Wordplay: Victor Borge’s Phonetic Punctuation & Inflationary Language

If you like wordplay (especially with onomatopoeia and homophones), then start out your Sunday with a good laugh with Victor Borge’s “Phonetic Punctuation” and “Inflationary Language.”

“Phonetic Punctuation” by Victor Borge

Victor Borge combines onomatopoeia, nonverbal gestures, and punctuation into this hysterically funny bit. There are any number of cuts for these videos, but I think the explanation beforehand is very valuable for the buildup.

“Inflationary Language” with Victor Borge (the first half of the video clip)

Watching Victor Borge’s “Inflationary Language” will make you think, but it is well worth the brainpower. If you enjoy worldplay and twisting words and meanings around for humor, then Victor Borge should be right up your alley.

These excerpts are a great example of the art of the unexpected because his unique ideas put a wonderfully unusual twist on the English usage and meaning. On top of that, the examples are expertly crafted for humor. In fact, check out the whole show (The Best of Victor Borge), and you’ll see that he uses both pronunciation (through accent/inflection) and the different meanings of language regularly. You could learn a lot from studying how it’s put together – let alone his timing and delivery.

Or you could just watch them repeatedly and laugh yourself silly like I do.