ABSTRACT
The most salient type of stylistic incongruity is a digression from the reverent register of "radio journalese." The digression can be either "upward" (by employing literary, or even Biblical expressions), or "downward" (by inserting colloquialisms). A literary register is used, thereby creating the effect of "combined speech". The clash of registers between that of the opening expression in the first sentence and the "higher style" in which the actor is quoted — in a somewhat archaic Hebrew — also adds to the humor. In the Hebrew version, a sequence of infinitives is used (literally, "to stop to threaten to destroy"). This is marked as colloquial in Israeli Hebrew and thus introduces an element of irony directed at the Security Council's decision. The insertion of colloquialisms is often used in humorous news items by indirectly quoting one of the actors through combined speech. Insertion of colloquialisms usually involves "showing" rather than "telling," using the technique of direct or combined speech.
