Page 17 - The Language of Humour

4 ‘JUST FOR A LAUGH?’
Commentary
Personal taste is a crucial aspect of humour, so it is unlikely that any
two people will coincide in their ranking of the jokes. Your taste in
humour will also change over time: certain styles seem outdated once
you have heard that sort of joke too often. It also changes less
predictably with mood, even the time of day. However you may be able
to identify a type and style of humour that you tend to appreciate. If you
enjoy wordplay and puns, numbers 1, 11 and 20 in the list have an
element of ambiguity, though you may feel that the wordplay is corny
or trivial. Some jokes have an element of shock, because taboo subjects
or words are mentioned (3, 18) or because they attack a target (2, 4, 20).
Your reaction will depend partly on your attitude to the subject—you
might object to jokes about women or feel offended by cruelty or
crudity in humour. Others make some neat witticism about human
nature and society (15, 16, 17). You are more likely to respond to the
clever use of language if you share the attitude of the joke-teller. Some
allude to a familiar saying and twist it (8, 9, 12, 13). This type of cross-
reference needs to be both understood and appreciated in its new use.
Others refer to the actual conventions of humour and joking and subvert
them (5, 6, 14). There is an element of irony and detachment in jokes
about jokes. Enjoyment of the surreal leads to a bizarrely unexpected
notion (7, 18, 19) rather than a surprising punchline. Many examples of
humour do several of these things at the same time (1,20). Others make
us laugh although it is hard to explain why. Number 10 is stating the
obvious, so it’s odd as a forecast—but, then again, weather forecasts
often do state the obvious, so perhaps it’s a comment on that.

Extension
Collect examples of humour that you enjoy. Also list those that you do
not find funny at all. You may find examples from fields such as
advertising or newspaper headlines, as well as texts clearly intended as
comedy. Attempt a broad characterisation into types of humour, using
some of the categories mentioned above: wordplay and ambiguity,
taboo-breaking, attacking a target, allusion and intertextuality,
nonsense or the absurd. These features will be discussed in more detail
in the next four units. Are there some examples which do not fall into
these categories? If so, try to describe the source of humour.
Bear the following in mind when selecting texts for your own project
work or investigation.