Page 15 - The Language of Humour

2 ‘JUST FOR A LAUGH?’
racist, for example, you are unlikely to laugh. The social context is
important for the creation and reception of humour. It is hard for humour
to cross boundaries of time and social groups—humour becomes
outdated as quickly as fashion, and is often dependent on particular
cultures and attitudes. There are other ways in which the context is
important. The phrase There’s a time and a place for everything’ is true
of humour. It is not felt to be appropriate in certain situations, for
example if it seems trivial or is a distraction from serious matters. It’s
also difficult to take humour ‘cold’. Few people laugh first thing in the
morning, so broadcast comedy programmes are scheduled for the
relaxing parts of the day. Even when a comedy event happens in the
evening, warm-up artists are often used to get audiences in the right
mood.

‘Just for a laugh?’
Humour has various effects, whether these are intentional or not. It is
simplistic to say that it’s just for a laugh. It’s possible to laugh and
admit that, in a sense, it’s not funny. There may be a target for the
humour—a person, an institution or a set of beliefs—where the
underlying purpose is deadly serious. Humour can occur in surprisingly
serious contexts, as in sick jokes about death.
So, although laughter is not a necessary or sufficient condition of
humour, from a commonsense point of view it’s a useful starting point
for a definition.
Humour may be thought of as a peripheral, leisure activity which
lacks the more obvious significance of literature, advertising and the
media. Having a good time with friends usually involves having a laugh.
But what makes us laugh and why?

Activity with text
How do you respond to the following jokes? Because they are listed in a
book about humour, they are out of their usual context. Even so,
group them in order of preference. For those low down on your list,
comment on the situation in which they could be funny—who might be
telling the joke, where, when and to whom? Are there some you would
consider not funny in any possible situation?