| I've heard from many students of foreign languages that the hardest thing to grasp about the new language is humour - especially when it comes in the form of parody or satire. I have to agree. As a student of Thai, I find it very difficult to not just understand Thai jokes, but to emotionally react to them and burst out laughing. (Maybe, this is because I have to think so thoroughly about the language before I can relate to the joke?)
However, a scientific study has found a joke with genuinely universal appeal. They, the humour scientists, displayed 40,000 jokes submitted on the Internet and let people from all over the world vote for the funniest one.
When you read the article, from the front page of a recent edition of the Bangkok Post front page, note what Professor Richard Wiseman is saying about why we find jokes funny. He mentions three major elements. What are they? When you have found and understood these elements, discuss them in class or with friends, to find out if you agree or disagree.
Student activity
Think of the funniest joke you know, and then try to translate it into English. Is it still funny? Find out by telling the joke to someone in the classroom, or in your surroundings.
Teachers' note
Teaching this lesson could, for obvious reasons, be fun. Especially if the class can get access to the Internet. If not, the lesson could focus on jokes in general instead of the specific winner of the (un)official joke awards.
Introduce the topic by asking the students the following question: what makes you laugh? Put the students' answers on the whiteboard in a demonstration of different kinds of humour, and then present the article. The students should read it quietly, and when they have finished, try to retell the Milligan joke in a fun way without reading directly from the newspaper. Once finished, the teacher could ask the students to read their own favourite jokes, translated into English, to the rest of the class. Are the jokes still funny?
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OUR STORY FROM THE BANGKOK POST
Old Milligan joke dead funny
Indian women gesture during a laughing session in the central Indian city of Bhopal. The session was organised by the Laughter Yoga Centre, whose aim is to promote laughing as an antidote to the stresses of everyday life. — REUTERS |
Spike Milligan was the author of the funniest joke ever, scientists say.
A Milligan joke from an old BBC show was the most popular of 40,000 jokes submitted and voted on over the Internet by 300,000 people from 60 nations.
Here's the joke as displayed on www.laughlab.co.uk/winner.html , which did the scientific study:
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cellphone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."
There is a silence, and then a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back on the line.
He says: "OK, now what?"
Professor Richard Wiseman, the psychologist behind the LaughLab project, said: "This joke is interesting because it works across many different countries, appeals to men and women, and young and old alike. Many of the jokes submitted received higher ratings from certain groups of people, but this one had real universal appeal.
"Also, we find jokes funny for lots of different reasons: They sometimes make us feel superior to others; reduce the emotional impact of anxiety-provoking events; or surprise us because of some kind of incongruity. The hunters joke contains all three elements: We feel superior to the stupid hunter; realise the incongruity of him misunderstanding the operator; and the joke helps us to laugh about our concerns about our own mortality.''
parody
a joke that imitates somebody's/something's style
satire
witty language used to make fun of someone/something
universal appeal
something that is liked by everyone
whip out
get hold of something quickly
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gasp
say something in a breathless manner
soothing
calmly saying something to relieve someone of stress
higher ratings
more popular (than something else)
emotional impact
the effect of strong feelings
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anxiety-provoking events
situations that create strong, negative feelings
incongruous
doesn't follow
mortality
death; the fact that we all will die
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Last modified: June 26, 2006
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