Rabelais is a pioneer of spoonerisms, where the sounds of two words are transposed in order to transform the meaning of the phrase. In the very first known edition of Pantagruel he has Panurge pronounce two spoonerisms which Estienne Tabourot, in his Bigarries of 1583, described as "a little naturalistic." Others appeared later; often satirical or polemical, they signal Rabelais' deep fondness for sound games and linguistic mobility.
CLIL theme: 4027 -- SCIENCES HUMAINES ET SOCIALES, LETTRES -- Lettres et Sciences du langage -- Lettres -- Etudes littéraires générales et thématiques