Search results

1

Jokes, aporia and undecidability

100%

Segal A. P.

The European Journal of Humour Research

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2018

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vol. 6

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issue 1

EN

Derrida saw laughter as a version of aporia; and he linked aporia to an undecidability that he ties to fiction. I argue that such undecidability contributes to some jokes. Sometimes this undecidability enables the joke to combine plausibility and delightfulness. More interesting and more aporetic is the way that undecidability contributes to jokes that foreground their textual status (some meta-jokes for instance) and those that have an effect of unfathomability. The jokes considered include one on which Derrida commented and another which was told at his Columbia University memorial service.

2

Discourse types in stand-up comedy performances: an example of Nigerian stand-up comedy

100%

Filani I.

The European Journal of Humour Research

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2015

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vol. 3

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issue 1

EN

The primary focus of this paper is to apply Discourse Type theory to stand-up comedy. To achieve this, the study postulates two contexts in stand-up joking stories: context of the joke and context in the joke. The context of the joke, which is inflexible, embodies the collective beliefs of stand-up comedians and their audience, while the context in the joke, which is dynamic, is manifested by joking stories and it is made up of the joke utterance, participants in the joke and activity/situation in the joke. In any routine, the context of the joke interacts with the context in the joke and vice versa. For analytical purpose, the study derives data from the routines of male and female Nigerian stand-up comedians. The analysis reveals that stand-up comedians perform discourse types, which are specific communicative acts in the context of the joke, such as greeting/salutation, reporting and informing, which bifurcates into self-praising and self denigrating.

3

Stereotypy w dowcipach macedońskich

89%

Błaszak M.

Poznańskie Spotkania Językoznawcze

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2016

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issue 32

137-146

EN

The goal of the article Stereotypes in Macedonian Jokes is to demonstrate that jokes are based on stereotypes which tend to be consolidated and disseminated by means of jokes. Stereotypes occur in every social group, they hand down social tradition from generation to generation despite the fact that a picture of a group in question has evolved for many years. The article provides examples of Macedonian jokes about various national, social and ethnic groups. These examples serve to present Macedonian prejudices as well as a positive perception of the mentioned groups. The research is based on jokes downloaded from Macedonian websites. The research methodology allows to classify the content into different types of stereotypes: ethnic, national, related to professions or social groups.

PL

Artykuł Stereotypy w dowcipach macedońskich ma na celu ukazanie, że dowcipy powstają dzięki stereotypom, są przez nie utrwalane i rozpowszechniane. Stereotypy występują w każdej grupie społecznej, przekazują tradycję społeczną z pokolenia na pokolenie, pomijając fakt, że dany obraz grupy przez wiele lat ewoluował. Autorka w artykule podaje przykłady macedońskich dowcipów o różnych grupach narodowych, społecznych czy etnicznych. Na tej podstawie przedstawia zarówno uprzedzenia Macedończyków występujące na przykład w stosunku do określonych narodowości, jak i pozytywne postrzeganie tych nacji. Przedmiotem badań są dowcipy zaczerpnięte z macedońskich stron internetowych, a zastosowana przez autorkę metoda badawcza pozwala na klasyfikację treści według różnych rodzajów stereotypów: etnicznych, narodowych, klas zawodowych czy grup społecznych.

4

A Repeated Allusion to Pindar and the Eleusinian Mysteries in Anaxilas’ Comic Fragments?

88%

Danielewicz J.

Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae

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2021

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vol. 31

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issue 1

79-83

EN

Anaxilas in fragments 25 and 30 K.-A. deliberately alluded to Pindar’s fragment 137 S.-M. and the mystery references it contains, but at the same time completely redesigned the sense of the Pindaric phrase for a strong comic effect.

5

Yus's and Jodłowiec's Relevance-Theoretic Approaches to Jokes: A Critical Comparison

88%

Biegajło M.

Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies

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2013

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issue 22/2

87-99

EN

The prime objective of this paper is to compare Yus’s (2003, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012ab) and Jodłowiec’s (1991ab, 2008) accounts of jokes based on the assumptions of Relevance Theory (RT; Sperber and Wilson 1995, 2002, 2004). To meet this objective, I explore Yus’s and Jodłowiec’s classifications and models of joke comprehension since there is a strong link between the two phenomena.

6

Laughing at Numbers: Evidence for Numeracy in the “Philogelos”

87%

Brodersen K.

Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae

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2020

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vol. 30

PL

Ancient numeracy is reasonably well attested in scientific sources. However, any study of applied mathematics faces the problem of a dearth of evidence. The paper suggests that the jokes collected in the “Philogelos” provide such evidence, and discusses the failings which are referred to in these jokes.

7

A Relevance-Theoretic Classification of Jokes

75%

Yus F.

Lodz Papers in Pragmatics

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2008

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vol. 4

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issue 1

131-157

EN

Relevance Theory pictures communication as an inferential activity that adjusts, in parallel, the explicit content of utterances, the implicated premises and conclusions that can be derived, and the right amount of contextual information needed to obtain them. When applied to jokes, a relevance-theoretic classification may be proposed depending on whether the humorist plays with the audience's inferential activity aimed at an explicit interpretation, with the audience's inference devoted to deriving implications or with their access to the right amount and quality of contextual information needed to obtain relevant interpretations. In this paper three types of jokes are proposed which focus on these aspects. A fourth type is also added, but this time referred to broad contextual assumptions on social or cultural values of society that are targeted by humorists.

8

Analyzing jokes with the Intersecting Circles Model of humorous communication

75%

Yus F.

Lodz Papers in Pragmatics

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2013

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vol. 9

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issue 1

3-24

EN

Speakers of jokes are aware of the human cognitively rooted relevance-seeking inferential procedure (Sperber and Wilson 1995) and predict (i.e. metarepresent) the interlocutor’s steps leading to a valid interpretation of the utterance(s) in the joke. Specifically, speakers can predict (a) the accessibility to certain information which builds up a proper scenario for understanding the joke (make-sense frame), (b) the inferential steps taken to turn the words uttered into contextualized meaningful propositions (utterance interpretation), and (c) the awareness of cultural stereotypes regarding professions, nationalities, connoted places, sex roles, etc. (cultural frame). This inferred information (a-c) is exploited to generate humorous effects. In previous research (Yus forthcoming), the Intersecting Circles Model was proposed. It comprises seven types of jokes depending on whether the joke only relies on one of (a-c) or on combinations of them, which entails analyzing the extent to which (a-c) play or do not play a role in the generation of humorous effects. In this paper, 1000 jokes are analyzed and fitted into a type or combinations of (a-c). Several interesting humor-generating patterns are also isolated inside the seven preliminary joke types covered by the Model.

9

Political ridicule and humour under socialism

75%

Davies C.

The European Journal of Humour Research

|

2014

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vol. 2

|

issue 3

EN

Socialism produces distinct forms of humorous ridicule that are relatively rare in capitalist, bourgeois democracies. These forms are arranged in a hierarchy that reflects the distribution of power in this type of social and political order, one which differs markedly from a bourgeois democracy or indeed even a traditional or dictatorial authoritarian society. Merely authoritarian societies lack the kind of over-riding ideology and central control of economic and cultural life that are the defining characteristics of socialism. Socialist humorous ridicule is cruel at the top; then comes an aggressive and admonishing, but in intention humorous, official ridicule employed by the state in pursuit of centrally defined political ends. Finally, there is the ridicule by ordinary people of the elite and the social order they have imposed on the masses who respond by spontaneously and autonomously inventing and circulating innumerable jokes and anecdotes. This pattern is a product of the exercise of a monopoly of political and economic power by the leaders of the Communist Party and the distinctive political inequality that characterises socialism, an inequality based not on ownership but on differential access to the power of the state. The rulers of merely authoritarian societies that were not socialist such as Franco’s Spain, Pinochet’s Chile or Afrikaner South Africa did not and could not attain the same kind of hegemony that was possible under socialism because there existed economic, religious, scientific and even legal institutions that enjoyed a substantial degree of independence from their political rulers. Accordingly, they did not exhibit to anything like the full extent the patterns of humour to be found under socialism. The aggregate patterns of humour in socialist societies must be treated not as interactions between individuals but as ‘social facts’ to be understood in relation to other social facts, notably the nature of political power, with both sets of social facts being contrasted with those to be found in the capitalist democracies that are the antithesis of socialism.

10

Kto rzucił butem w pulpit sterowniczy?!”, czyli atom w krzywym zwierciadle humoru (na materiale tekstów polskich, rosyjskich i czeskich)

75%

Gołębiowska-Suchorska A.

Przegląd Humanistyczny

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2017

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vol. 61(1 (456))

147-161

PL

The article presents an analysis of humorous genres of contemporary Polish, Russian and Czech folklore (jokes, sadistic poems, chastushka), inspired by real or anticipated tragic events related to the use of nuclear energy. The purpose of comparing the texts in three languages was to identify common or different motivations which contributed to writing the texts of atomic humour in the countries with various degrees of advancement of nuclear weapons. The analysis is based on the texts of jokes (approx. 200) found in the Internet (the Polish, Russian and Czech servers), materials spread through spoken communication, and non-serial publications. The analysis proved that the fear motivating the atomic jokes is not caused by the fear of the atomic technology itself, but by the fear of irresponsible people and irreversibility of their unreasonable actions.

11

Können Übersetzte witze auch witzig sein? Einige Überlegungen zu (Schwierigkeiten bei) der mündlichen Übersesetzung von witzen

75%

Banasiak I., Olpińska-Szkiełko M., Banasiak I., Olpińska-Szkiełko M.

Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny

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2021

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issue 3

12

Humorous TV ads and the 3WD: Evidence for generalizability of humour appreciation across media?

63%

Hofmann J., Ruch W. F.

The European Journal of Humour Research

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2017

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vol. 5

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issue 4

EN

Individuals differ in their appreciation of jokes and cartoons with respect to the structure of the humorous material (e.g., whether the jokes and cartoons are can be categorised in terms of incongruity-resolution or in terms of nonsense), as well as content (e.g., whether they contain sexual themes or not). While the 3WD (3 jokes dimensions) test allows for the measurement of such differences in a paper-pencil test of verbal jokes and visual cartoons, humour transported by other media, such as TV advertisements, has not been included so far. The current study aimed at assessing the appreciation of jokes and cartoons alongside the appreciation of humorous TV ads that were pre-categorized according to the structure and content factors of the 3WD. Moreover, relationships to personality and willingness to buy were also assessed. A sample of 134 adult participants completed the study. A joint factor analysis of the 3WD scores and humour appreciation in TV ads shows a five-factor structure, with three factors denominating the appreciation of incongruity-resolution humour, nonsense humour and sexual humour, a fourth factor denominating the liking of incongruity resolution humour with sexual themes (in both ads and jokes) and an advertisement specific factor. Thus, the 3WD dimensions can also be verified in humorous ads. Psychoticism and sensation seeking correlated negatively with the perceived funniness of incongruity resolution humour, replicating findings for the 3WD and additionally showing that the relationships are similar with respect to humour appreciation in TV advertisements. Moreover, the appreciation of humour predicted the willingness of the individual to buy the product or use the service. To conclude, the structure of humour appreciation is generalizable across media. Yet, there is also some advertisement specific variance and future studies may address the question of whether the 3WD covers all aspects of humour appreciation across media types. Moreover, knowing the target group of a product (and personality features of this group) may help to tailor the humour of the advertisement to match the “humour taste” of potential customers.

13

How Jokes Change and May Be Changed: Simplifying, Transforming and Revealing

63%

Davies C.

Półrocznik Językoznawczy Tertium

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2016

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vol. 1

|

issue 1&2

PL

Wiele ze świetnych dowcipów może potencjalnie sprawić problemy, zarówno opowiadającym je jak i słuchaczom, gdyż wymagają znacznej wiedzy z dziedziny opowiadanego żartu. Co więcej, dowcipy często posiadają długą i wyszukaną strukturę narracyjną, do tego stopnia, że tylko osoby posiadające wyjątkowe umiejętności opowiadania są w stanie w pełni oddać ich puentę. W zurbanizowanym świecie, gdzie panuje demokracja i pluralizm, a życie płynie szybko, takie cechy dowcipów mogą być źródłem kłopotów, ponieważ oznaczają one, że w pewnych sytuacjach słuchacze mogą nie zrozumieć dowcipu, co może zniechęcić innych. Dowcipy z najwyraźniej bezsensownymi zakończeniami mogą podobnie rozczarować masowego odbiorcę, który woli jasne, dobrze skonstruowane dowcipy z mocnymi puentami i którego może znudzić dowcip rozpływający się w nonsensie. Każde z tych twierdzeń będzie omówione w kolejności, zarówno ze względów badawczych, jak i w związku z empirycznymi obserwacjami procesu ewolucji dowcipów anglojęzycznych w XX wieku.

EN

Many excellent jokes can pose potential difficulties for tellers and listeners since they require considerable knowledge of the subject of the joke and have a long and elaborate narrative structure such that only a very skilled joke-teller can do justice to them. In a democratic, fast-moving, plural, urban world such features can create problems since they mean that on a particular occasion when jokes are being told some of the listeners may miss the point of the joke and others will feel inhibited from telling a joke. Jokes with seemingly pointless endings may likewise disappoint the broad masse, who like clear, well structured jokes with a strong resolution and who may be bored by one that disappears into nonsense. Each of these points will be considered in turn, partly from an analytical point of view and partly in relation to empirical observations of how jokes in the English language have evolved in the course of the twentieth century.

14

Ostatni papieros i tytoniowa wróżba, czyli kilka uwag o folklorze palaczy

51%

Gołębiowska-Suchorska A.

|

2020

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vol. 68

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issue 7

85-99

EN

This article aims to present the results of research on the attitude to smoking reflected in the folklore of modern smokers. Research material included data collected by the interview method in 2017-2019 in Bydgoszcz and nearby cities. Thematic scope of the results presented in this article has been narrowed down to smokers’ knowledge (currently or in the past) of small verbal forms (sayings, prohibitions, jokes) regarding cancer, superstitions, prophecies and electronic cigarettes. There were identified smokers’ defense strategies against cancer threats, including humor, perversity, idealization.

PL

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wyników badań nad stosunkiem do palenia tytoniu odzwierciedlonym w folklorze współczesnych palaczy. Materiał badawczy stanowiły dane zebrane metodą wywiadu w latach 2017-2019 w Bydgoszczy i okolicznych miastach. Zakres tematyczny wyników prezentowanych w niniejszym artykule zawężono do znajomości przez osoby palące (aktualnie lub w przeszłości) małych form słownych (powiedzenia, zakazy, dowcipy) odnoszących do choroby nowotworowej, przesądów, przepowiedni oraz papierosów elektronicznych. Wyodrębniono strategie obronne palaczy wobec zagrożeń chorobą nowotworową, m.in. humor, przekora, idealizacja.

15

Chinese and Western Comedy – an Introduction into Cross-Cultural Humour Research between Taiwan, China and the West

45%

Piwowarczyk K.

Nowa Polityka Wschodnia

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2019

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vol. 1(20)

23-39

EN

The use of humour, both proper and improper, can influence the outcomes of meetings and shape entire relationships. Hence, although often trivial in nature, humour can play a significant role in human lives and deserves to be taken seriously. The same is true when it comes to the analysis of humour across cultures. In today’s increasingly globalized world, where people from various cultures interact on an almost daily basis it is important to understand the other persons culture, including their sense of humour. Consequently, this article provides a basic overview of humour of the world’s two biggest and most prominent cultures: the English speaking West and the Sinitic world. There is no doubt Chinese and Western humour differ in history and contemporary structure, therefore this article presents the various forms of comedic expression found in both cultures, but also provides basic explanations as to the reasons behind these differences.

RU

Использование юмора, как правильного, так и ненадлежащего, может повлиять на результаты встреч и сформировать целые отношения. Следовательно, хотя юмор часто бывает тривиальным по своей природе, он может играть важную роль в жизни человека и заслуживает серьезного отношения. Та же закономерность имеет место, когда речь идет об анализе юмора в разных культурах. В современном все более глобализирующемся мире, где люди из разных культур взаимодействуют почти ежедневно, важно понимать культуру других людей, включая их чувство юмора. Следовательно, эта статья предоставляет базовый обзор юмора двух крупнейших и наиболее выдающихся культур мира: англоязычного Запада и синитического мира. Нет сомнений в том, что китайский и западный юмор отличаются друг от друга историей и современной структурой, поэтому в этой статье представлены различные формы комедийного выражения, обнаруженные в обеих культурах, а также приведены основные объяснения причин этих различий.

Refine search results

Jokes, aporia and undecidability

Discourse types in stand-up comedy performances: an example of Nigerian stand-up comedy

Stereotypy w dowcipach macedońskich

A Repeated Allusion to Pindar and the Eleusinian Mysteries in Anaxilas’ Comic Fragments?

Yus's and Jodłowiec's Relevance-Theoretic Approaches to Jokes: A Critical Comparison

Laughing at Numbers: Evidence for Numeracy in the “Philogelos”

A Relevance-Theoretic Classification of Jokes

Analyzing jokes with the Intersecting Circles Model of humorous communication

Political ridicule and humour under socialism

Kto rzucił butem w pulpit sterowniczy?!”, czyli atom w krzywym zwierciadle humoru (na materiale tekstów polskich, rosyjskich i czeskich)

Können Übersetzte witze auch witzig sein? Einige Überlegungen zu (Schwierigkeiten bei) der mündlichen Übersesetzung von witzen

Humorous TV ads and the 3WD: Evidence for generalizability of humour appreciation across media?

How Jokes Change and May Be Changed: Simplifying, Transforming and Revealing

Ostatni papieros i tytoniowa wróżba, czyli kilka uwag o folklorze palaczy

Chinese and Western Comedy – an Introduction into Cross-Cultural Humour Research between Taiwan, China and the West