Humor - Intermediate 2 ALP at OSU

AMERICAN HUMOR
HUMOR
Humor
Humor (Greek: Χιούμορ) is the way some
experiences can make people laugh or feel
happy. Most people are able to be amused
(laugh or smile at some- thing funny) and have
a sense of humor. You can use puns with
words that sound similar but have different
meanings, or a word that has two meanings.
Other examples of humor are satire, saying yes
or no when it is not expected, and using
different kinds of logic. People with different
ages and cultures can find different things
humorous. For example, adults may like satire,
which children could find hard to understand.
A comedian is someone who is paid to make
people laugh. Famous ones include Alan Carr
and Harry Hill.
.
Laughing or smiling often shows a sense of
humor and that the person is happy.
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Caricature
A caricature of film comedian Charlie Chaplin.
A caricature (from the Italian caricatura, which
means “loaded portrait”) is a portrait or drawing
of a person that exaggerates the way he or she
looks, usually to create a humorous effect, or a
political statement.
In 19th century France, Charles Philipon, a
French caricaturist who owned a magazine
titled "La Caricature," frequently offended
King Louis-Phillipe's court and wound up in
jail several times. His magazine was the first
to portray the king as a pear, which quickly
became the commonly-recognized symbol of
Louis-Phillipe and his entire regime.
HUMOR
Exaggeration / Hyperbole
Exaggeration is a term for a figure of speech. It means to describe something and make it
more than it really is. The verb is to exaggerate.
An example of exaggeration would be “I was walking along when suddenly this enormous
dog walked along. It was as big as an elephant.” The dog may have been big, but it was
certainly not that big. Another example of exaggeration would be “I caught a fish as big as
my house.”
Overstatement is another word that means almost the same thing. The opposite of
overstatement is understatement. A hyperbole is a type of exaggeration that is used in
literature. The opposite of hyperbole is hypobole, which is an understatement.
People exaggerate things because they have strong feelings about something. People may
exaggerate to make people listen to what they say. They may do it to emphasize something.
They may also exaggerate just to sound funny.
Examples of Hyperbole
Monty Python on Being Poor
Michael Palin: You were lucky. We lived for three
months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used
to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean
the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill
for 14 hours a day week in, week out. When we got
home, our Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!
Terry Gilliam: Well we had it tough. We used to have
to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night,
and lick the road clean with our tongues. We had half a
handful of freezing cold gravel, worked 24 hours a day
at the mill for four pence every six years, and when we
got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread
knife.
Eric Idle: I had to get up in the morning at 10 o'clock
at night, half an hour before I went to bed, eat a lump
of cold poison, work 29 hours a day down mill, and pay
the mill owner for permission to come to work, and
when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance
about on our graves singing "Hallelujah."
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HUMOR
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Play on Words
PUNS
A pun is a joke which is a “play on words”
(a game using words). People make puns in
order to make other people laugh. A pun
usually uses a word which can have more
than one meaning, even if the spelling is
different.
Sometimes a pun may use a whole phrase
that can be heard in more than one way, as
in the following knock- knock joke:
“Knock-knock!”
“Who’s there?”
“Dishwasher.”
“Dishwasher Who?”
“Dishwasher way I ushed to shpeak before
I got my falsh teesh”.
(The last sentence is supposed to mean:
“This was the way I used to speak before I
got my false teeth”).
suitable for puns.
Puns do not have to be about homonyms.
They can sometimes be about a literal use
of the word and a metaphor (figurative use).
For example, if a young man joins the Navy
and someone says that he “sailed through
his exams", this is a joke because: 1) the
expression “to sail through something”
means “to do it easily”, but 2) the Navy is
about sailing in ships. It is possible to say
something like that without realizing that it
is a pun.
Many British people love making puns,
especially bad puns (where a word has to be
mispronounced to make the joke work).
“How is your vineyard doing?" a neighbor
asked. The woman replied, “It’s growing
grape!" (play on words: “It’s going great!")
MALAPROPISM
There is a joke about a man who sent ten
different puns to friends in the hope that at
least one of the puns would make them
laugh. Unfortunately, “no pun in ten did.”
(The joke here is on “no pun intended”
which is something people say when two
words sound the same, but they were not
trying to make a joke).
A malapropism (also called a Dogberryism
or Cramtonism) is the use of an incorrect
word in place of a word with a similar
sound, resulting in a nonsensical, often
humorous utterance. An example is Yogi
Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of
electrical votes," rather than "electoral
votes".
Puns are easier to make in some languages
than others. Languages with many
homophones (words which sound the same
but have a different meaning) are most
The word malapropism comes ultimately
from the French mal à propos meaning
"inappropriate". Malapropisms occur as
errors in natural speech. Malapropisms are
often the subject of media attention,
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especially when made by politicians or other
prominent individuals.
prone to this mistake. The term
"Spoonerism" was well established by 1921.
The philosopher Donald Davidson has
noted that malapropisms show the complex
process through which the brain translates
thoughts into language.
Richard Lederer, gives nine examples
"attributed to Spooner, most of them
spuriously." They are as follows:
The word "malapropism" (and its earlier
variant, "malaprop") comes from a
character named "Mrs. Malaprop" in
Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play The
Rivals. Mrs. Malaprop frequently misspeaks
(to great comic effect) by using words
which don't have the meaning she intends,
but which sound similar to words that do.
•"Is it kisstomary to cuss the bride?" (as
opposed to "customary to kiss")
SPOONERISM
A spoonerism is an error in speech or
deliberate play on words in which
corresponding consonants, vowels, or
morphemes are switched between two
words in a phrase.
While spoonerisms are commonly heard as
slips of the tongue resulting from
unintentionally getting one's words in a
tangle, they can also be used intentionally as
a play on words.
It is named after the Reverend William
Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of
New College, Oxford, who was notoriously
•"Three cheers for our queer old dean!"
(rather than "dear old queen," which is a
reference to Queen Victoria)
• "The Lord is a shoving leopard." (instead
of "a loving shepherd")
• "A blushing crow." ("crushing blow")
• "A well-boiled icicle" ("well-oiled bicycle")
• "You were fighting a liar in the
quadrangle." ("lighting a fire")
• "Is the bean dizzy?" ("Dean busy")
• "Someone is occupewing my pie. Please
sew me to another sheet." ("Someone is
occupying my pew. Please show me to
another seat.")
• "You have hissed all my mystery lectures.
You have tasted a whole worm. Please leave
Oxford on the next town drain." ("You
have missed all my history lectures. You
have wasted a whole term. Please leave
Oxford on the next down train.")
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Satire
Satire is a form in art or writing which ridicules either a person, government, or an
institution, often through the use of humor. Satire can either be in paintings, plays, books,
songs, TV or movies. It also is used to stereotype people.
Satire was used long ago, even as long ago as the
Ancient Greeks. It was widely known in
Elizabethan times. Jonathon Swift used satire in
his book Gulliver’s Travels to make fun of people’s
stupidity. Works like The Beggar’s Opera (1728)
used satire to show how silly the politicians of the
time were. More recently Jon Stewart and other
comedians use it frequently.
Satire often points out ironic or bad things that
powerful people are doing. Its adjective is
satirical.
Stewart interviewing Admiral Michael Mullen on The
Daily Show
Parody
A parody is a special piece of art. Parodies make fun of another piece
of art by mocking it. Parodies can be anything from songs to poems to
books to movies. The parody is an imitation of the original, but
exaggerating it, showing clichés which have been used, to make the
original look ridiculous or to make a comment about an issue affecting
society.
For example, in a serious Western movie, the good guys always seem
to shoot better and faster than the bad guys. In a Western parody, this
might be exaggerated by showing a good guy firing a single shot, and a
dozen of the bad guys falling from their horses as a result.
Mel Brooks is a director who has made many movies which are
parodies:
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•
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Blazing Saddles is a parody of Western movies in general
Spaceballs is a parody of the Star Wars movies, and science fiction in general
Men in Tights is a parody of Robin Hood movies
Newspaper columnists are well known for their strip cartoons which can very often parody
public opinion on major issues affecting society.
HUMOR
Irony
Irony is a term for a figure of speech. Irony
is when something happens that is opposite
from what is expected. It can often be
funny, but it is also used in tragedies. There
are many types of irony, including those
listed below.
• Dramatic irony, when the audience knows
something is going to happen on stage that
the characters on stage do not.
• Socratic irony, when someone (usually a
teacher) pretends to be stupid in order to
show how stupid his pupils are (while at the
same time the reader or audience
understands the situation).
• Cosmic irony, when something that
everyone thinks will happen actually
happens very differently.
• Situational irony e.g. Mr. Smith gets a
parking ticket. This is ironic because Mr.
Smith is a traffic officer.
• Verbal irony is an absence of expression
and intention. Sarcasm may sometimes
involve verbal irony.
• Irony of fate is the misfortune in the result
of fate or chance.
Examples of Irony
• In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet,
Juliet takes a potion that will put her to
sleep, making her look dead. She does this
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in the hopes of being reunited with Romeo.
He incorrectly learns of her death, and kills
himself. This is an example of dramatic irony,
as the reader/viewer knows she is not dead,
but Romeo does not.
• A common example of cosmic irony could
be that a child wants some kind of pudding,
and misbehaves to try to get it. The parent
withholds it because of the child’s behavior.
Sarcasm
Sarcasm is when someone says something,
but means something else. They mean
either the opposite of what they said, or
that they disagree with what they just said.
Sarcasm is different from lying because
when a person is being sarcastic, the person
listening is supposed to understand that the
person speaking does not mean what they
just said. If someone says something
sarcastic, it is usually said in a tone of voice
that tells the person listening that they are
being sarcastic. Perhaps the person listening
knows the person talking well enough to
understand that the person talking is being
sarcastic.
Sarcasm can be used to criticize someone.
It can be unkind.
Sarcasm can also be used to be funny. If the
person’s tone of voice is normal when they
say something sarcastic, this is called
“deadpan” or “dry humor”.
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Resources
Text
• Caricature Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caricature?oldid=4963880 Contributors: Thijs!bot, VolkovBot, Idioma-bot, MelancholieBot, American Eagle, Zorrobot, Luckas-bot, Auntof6, Jotterbot, Nightscream, SteveBot, LaaknorBot, Xqbot, GoblinBot4, Wildcaricature, EmausBot, ZéroBot, MerlIwBot, Addbot, Flipper.3d and Anonymous: 2
• Exaggeration Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exaggeration?oldid=4917048 Contributors: FlaBot, Thijs!bot, Hikitsurisan,
JAnDbot, Majorly, DodekBot, TXiKiBoT, VolkovBot, Chenzw, OKBot, AlleborgoBot, SieBot, Jonas D. Rand, Razorflame, Idioma-bot,
Alexbot, BodhisattvaBot, ChenzwBot, WikiDreamer Bot, J.delanoy, Synergy, Bluegoblin7, Luckas-bot, HerculeBot, Chris G Bot, Tempodivalse, SassoBot, Xqbot, GoblinBot4, RibotBOT, Pmlineditor, BenzolBot, Tegel, Dinamik-bot, EmausBot, PiRSquared17Bot2, JenVan,
MerlIwBot, Osiris, Intforce, MahdiBot, Ansei, Addbot and Anonymous: 17
• Pun Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pun?oldid=4954929 Contributors: Hikitsurisan, American Eagle, Mercy, GoblinBot4, Mentifisto, Bsadowski1, Osiris, Middleton, Caliburn and Anonymous: 5
• Satire Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire?oldid=5035391 Contributors: Robbot, Hikitsurisan, JAnDbot, VecBot, DodekBot,
EchoBravo, TXiKiBoT, VolkovBot, Coffsneeze, BotMultichill, AlleborgoBot, SieBot, SilvonenBot, CarsracBot, Zorrobot, Luckas-bot, Chris
G Bot, MifterBot, ArthurBot, Xqbot, Macdonald-ross, Reputable Python, EmausBot, Gratte-papier, MerlIwBot, Thehelpfulbot, Osiris,
Dexbot, Addbot, 2005-Fan, 5Syllables and Anonymous: 6
• Parody Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody?oldid=4608247 Contributors: MarkLucas, YurikBot, Chobot, Chlewbot, FlaBot,
Syzygy, Thijs!bot, Hikitsurisan, Escarbot, JAnDbot, VecBot, DodekBot, AmaraBot, VolkovBot, Chenzw, Isis, YonaBot, BotMultichill,
SieBot, Fairfield, TerryfaeScotland, Noelle1995, American Eagle, Juliancolton, Luckas-bot, Auntof6, LaaknorBot, SassoBot, Xqbot, TobeBot, Dinamik-bot, Cevissa, KamikazeBot, Reputable Python, ZéroBot, Mh7kJ, Enfcer, Werieth, Addbot and Anonymous: 10
• Irony Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony?oldid=4696140 Contributors: M7, FlaBot, Tree Biting Conspiracy, Tdxiang,
Thijs!bot, Hikitsurisan, JAnDbot, VecBot, Creol, EchoBravo, TXiKiBoT, Coffsneeze, BotMultichill, Huji, Le Pied-bot, SieBot, Cometstyles, Razorflame, Alexbot, BOTarate, American Eagle, Peterdownunder, CarsracBot, LinkFA-Bot, -Midorihana-, Luckas-bot, Chris G
Bot, SassoBot, GoblinBot4, Meganmccarty, Griffinofwales, KamikazeBot, Savh, PhnomPencil, Auntof6Bot, Osiris, Tumthe3, Ansei, Addbot, Mr Wiki Pro and Anonymous: 28
• Sarcasm Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm?oldid=4599364 Contributors: Eptalon, FlaBot, Hikitsurisan, Sean William,
Creol, TK925, Microchip08, SieBot, VanBot, Luckas-bot, Auntof6, JordanAshley, Xqbot, Lauryn Ashby, EmausBot, ZéroBot, Wiooiw,
Mh7kJ, Ripchip Bot, MerlIwBot, Makecat-bot, Addbot and Anonymous: 10
Images
• File:Chaplin_caricature.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Chaplin_caricature.JPG License: CC BY- SA
2.5 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
• File:Laughter_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Laughter_2_by_David_
Shankbone.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: David Shankbone Original artist: David Shankbone
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Buster Keaton: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-margie/1535277905/
Ellen DeGeneres: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_DeGeneres
Chris Rock: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rock
Bill Maher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_satire
Aziz Ansari: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aziz_Ansari
Monty Python: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python
Jon Stewart: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Stewart
Blazing Saddles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazing_Saddles#/media/File:Blazing_saddles_movie_poster.jpg
Adapted by Cheryl Allaire
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