Abstract

TV series and sitcoms are watched worldwide by millions of people every day, including by many viewers who do not have English as their mother tongue. The easy access to original version films and television series has increased exponentially in the last years. The television dialogue has become a key element for the direct contact with the spoken English language and this could be an influential model to follow by many non-native English speakers who are eager to enhance their foreign language skills. Thus, the current paper will look into how elements of colloquial and informal language, humour and emotive language are blended in sitcoms to convey emotions and reach the audience through the use of different linguistic features, such as vocatives, repetitions, semi-modal verbs, adverbial intensifiers, expletives, etc. Additionally, it will introduce a few practical ways and tools to introduce humour and elements of emotive language into the EFL classroom through the use of sitcoms.