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Дополнительные вопросы и задания для обсуждения
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Дополнительные вопросы и задания для обсуждения
1 Каковы формы юмора? Какие функции выполняет юмор? Каковы средства выражения юмора? Каковы культурно-языковые особенности английской шутки?
2 Проанализируйте следующие шутки и определите их тип – ethnic slurs, dry humour, banana-skin humour, elephant jokes, shaggy-dog stories.
a) Teacher – “ What is an octopus? ”
Small boy – “It’s an eight-sided cat”.
b) One sweet young thing arrived at her first football game after the first half. “The score is nothing to nothing”, she heard a fan say.
“Oh, good, ” she cooed to her escort. “Then we haven’t missed a thing”.
3 Определите тематику следующих шуток.
a) Today, watching television often means fighting, violence, and bad language – and that is just to decide who gets to hold the remote control.
b) I have enough money to last me the rest of my life – if I don’t buy anything.
c) I went on a diet, stopped drinking and heavy eating – and in fourteen days I lost exactly two weeks.
d) Marriage is a wonderful institution. But who wants to live in an institution?
e) Too bad that all the people that know how to run this country are busy driving taxis and cutting hair.
f) I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality by not dying.
g) The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret.
4 Проанализируйтеследующие шутливые определения слов, дайте правильные их значения. Придумайтесвои примеры.
dew: what forms on the leaves of plants when the sun shines on them and makes them perspire;
air travel: seeing less and less of more and more;
microwave: a small greeting or goodbye (micro=very small);
computer: a device designed to speed up and automate mistakes.
Практические задания
1 Study the information about humour in different cultures and answer the question.
Why do people use jokes and what do they usually laugh at?
The Humour of World Cultures
Other than cartoon stories, one-frame cartoons, picture postcards, and funny conversations, what are some other forms of humour? One common kind is an anecdote or joke – a very short story with a humourous point called the punch line.
On the topic of world cultures, many jokes contain ethnic humour. With these kinds of stories, people laugh at common personality features or customs that seem “typical” of their own or other’s cultural backgrounds or groups. However, in certain situations some people might object to ethnic jokes or find them insulting. Usually, they are not meant that way; their purpose is just to make light of cultural differences.
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2 Here are some humorous anecdotes on the subject of culture. Some come from true experiences. Others are made-up jokes for amusement only. Discuss your answers to these questions.
1) Who are the people in each anecdote or joke? Where are they? What do they do and say?
2) Whose line contains the joke of the conversation? What is the cultural point of the humour? Why do you think so?
3) Do you think the story is funny? Why or why not?
4) Does the story remind you of a similar anecdote or joke about the same or another culture? Tell your joke if you want to. (Make sure it is not insulting to any of your listeners).
Joke A
A couple went traveling in India. Of course, they visited the Taj Mahal. Amazed at the beauty of the architecture, the man stood in front of it while his wife took the picture – with the magnificent building in the background. When they got home, they made a large print of the photo, framed it, and hung it in the middle of their living room. A short time later, a relative visited the couple with their ten-year-old son. “Hey, when did you guys go to Disney World? ” asked the enthusiastic boy.
Joke B
Two South Americans were bragging about the beautiful mountain scenery in their homelands. They were both trying to outdo the other guy’s description of the magnificence of nature in their native countries.
“Mount Galan is so big and so high, ” said the Argentinian, “that you can climb to the top and shout ‘Senor Gomez, ’ and the echo won’t repeat ‘Senor Gomez’ for two minutes. ” The Peruvian thinks for a moment. Then he brags, “That’s nothing. You climb the highest mountain in my country, shout ‘Senor Gomez’ and the echo doesn’t come back for three minutes. And it says, “Which Senor Gomez do you want? ”
Joke C
A young Scottish guy decided to try life in Australia. He found an apartment on a quiet street and moved in. After a week, his mother called from Glasgow. “How are you doing, Sonny Boy? ” she asked.
“I’m fine, ” he answered. “But there are some really strange people living in these apartments. One woman cries all day long, and another lies on her floor and makes sounds of pain. And there is a guy next door to me who hits his head on the wall all the time. ”
“Well, my Laddie, ” worried his mother, “I don’t want you to go around with people like that. ”
“Oh, ” said the young man. “I don’t Mom. No, I just stay inside my apartment all day and night, playing my bagpipes. ”
(Kirn E., Hartmann P. Interactions 1. Reading)
3 Define on what the humorous effect is based: on phonetics, semantics, grammar or lexicon.
a) A party of young people were amusing themselves by guessing the answers to conundrums. One of them asked, “Why is the pancake like the sun? ”
“Because it rises in der yeast and sets behind der vest, ” was the answer given by a brilliant young Swede.
b) A young officer at the front wrote home to his father:
“Dear Father: Kindly send me $50 at once; I lost another leg in a stiff engagement and am in the hospital without means. ”
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The answer was:
“My Dear Son: As this is the fourth leg you have lost (according to your letters), you ought to be accustomed to it by this time. Try and wobble along on any other you may have left. ”
c) “Give me a kiss, darling. ’
“No, no. My mother is against kissing. ”
“But, my dear, I don’t want to kiss your mother. ”
d) He dropped around to a girl’s house, and as he ran the steps he was confronted by her little brother.
“Hi, Billy. ”
“Hi, ” said the brat.
“Is your sister expecting me? ”
“Yeah. ”
“How do you know? ”
‘She’s gone out. ”
e) “You should meet my husband. He makes a living with his pen. ”
“Oh, so he’s a writer? ”
“No, he raises pigs. ”
f) “Are your father and mother in? ” asked the visitor of the small boy who opened the door.
“They was in, ” said the child, “but they is out. ”
“They was in. They is out. Where’s your grammar? ”
“She’s gone upstairs, ” said the boy, “for a nap. ”
g) A Frenchman stopped a newsboy in New York City to make some inquiries of his whereabouts.
“Mon fren, what is ze name of zis street? ”
“Well, who said ‘twant’? ”
“What you call him, zis street? ”
“Of course we do! ”
“Pardonnez! I have not the name vat you call him. ”
“Yes, Watts we call it. ”
“How you call ze name of zis street? ”
“Watts street, I told yer. ”
“Zis street. ”
“Watts street, old feller, and don’t you go to make game o’ me. ”
“Sacré! I ask you one, two, tree several times often, vill you tell me ze name of ze street-eh? ”
“Watts street, I told yer. Yer drunk, ain’t yer? ”
h) “What did you divorce your husband for? ”
“Two hundred dollars a month. ”
i) Teacher – “When was Rome built? ”
Percy – “At night. ”
Teacher – “Who told you that? ”
Percy – “You did. You said Rome wasn’t built in a day. ”
j) English exam. Question – “Give three collective nouns. ”
Student’s answer – “Flypaper, wastebasket and vacuum cleaner. ”
k) Father – “Why were you kept in at school? ”
Son – “I didn’t know where the Azores were. ”
Father – “Well, in the future just remember where you put things. ”
l) After looking over his son’s report card, father said:
“Bob, if you had a little more spunk, you’d stand better in your grades. And by the way, do you know what is spunk is? ”
“Sure, Dad. It’s the past participle of spank. ”
4 Define what language phenomenon is the basis of ambiguity in the given jokes.
1) A taxi driver was creeping slowly through the rush-hour traffic and the passenger was in a hurry. “Please, ” he said to the driver, “can’t you go any faster? ”
“Of course I can, ” the cabby replied. “But I ain’t allowed to leave the taxi. ”
2) “How many times do you shave in the Army? ”
“Oh, about thirty or forty. ”
“What are you, a nut? ”
“No, a unit barber. ”
5 Define whether the following examples of jokes are of situational humour or linguistic humour.
a) A young soldier who came home on leave was telling his folks about his military life. Suddenly he stopped to look with interest at four pretty girls coming down the street. His mother gave a nudge to the father.
“Look how our little boy has grown, ” she gasped. “He was never interested in girls before the Army. ”
Meanwhile their son watched the girls intently until they were out of sight, then turned back and announced, “One of them is out of step. ”
b) Mother (at dinner) – “Johnny, I wish you’d stop reaching for things. Haven’t you a tongue? ”
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Johnny – “Yes, Mother, but my arm’s longer. ”
c) Friend – “Why are you so jubilant? ”
Country Editor – “I just received another fine contribution from farmer Brown’s pen. ”
Friend – “Huh – what was it? ”
Country Editor – “A fine fat pig on subscription. ”
d) Noiselessly the officer of the guard approached and, shaking the dozing sentry roughly by his shoulders, said, “Private Jones, you are under arrest for sleeping on duty! ”
The soldier quickly replied, “A man can’t even have a minute of prayer without someone coming to spoil it. ” (Рocheptsov, G. )
6 Choose an appropriate joke given below to each picture and explain why you’ve chosen it (рисунок 3. 4).
a) 
b) 
c) 
d)
Рисунок 3. 4
1) This can’t be it, he’s a second-class passenger.
2) “I want a man to do odd jobs about the house, run on errands, one who never answers back and is always ready to do my bidding, ” explained a lady to an applicant for a post in the household.
“You’re looking for a husband, ma’am, not a servant! ” said the seeker for work.
3) “She’s so fashion-conscious! She had them christened Mini and Maxi. ”
4) “Well, Tommy. How are you getting on at school? ”
“First-rate. I ain’t doing so well as some of the other boys, though I can stand on my head; but I have to put my feet against the wall. I want to do it without the wall at all! ”
7 Read the jokes and discuss with your group mates what background knowledge or realities is the basis of them.
1) Someone was praising public schools to Charles Lamb and remarked:
“Then there’s Byron; he was a Harrow boy. ”
“Yes, ” interrupted Lamb, “and there’s Burns; he was a ploughboy. ”
2) An Englishman was being shown the sights along the Potomac. “Here, ” remarked the American, “is where George Washington threw a dollar across the river. ”
“Well, ” replied the Englishman, “that is not very remarkable, for a dollar went much further in those days than it does now. ”
The American would not be worsted, so after a short pause, he said: “But Washington accomplished a greater feat than that. He once chucked a sovereign across the Atlantic. ”
8 Look through the jokes and say what values are represented in them.
1) “What is your brother in college? ”
“A half back. ”
“I mean in studies. ”
“Oh, in studies he’s away back. ”
2) An elderly woman of very prim and severe aspect was seated next a young couple, who were discussing the merits of their motor cars.
“What colour is your body? Asked the young man of the girl at his side, meaning of course, the body of her motor car.
“Oh, mine is pink. What is yours? ”
“Mine, ” replied the man, “is brown. ”
This was too much for the old lady. Rising from the table, she exclaimed:
“When young people come to asking each other the colour of their bodies at a dinner-party, it is time I left the room. ”
9 Choose a joke or an anecdote from Russian / Belarusian which represents the same value.
“Last week a grain of sand got into my wife’s eye and she had to go to a doctor. It cost me five dollars. ”
“That’s nothing. Last week a fur coat got into my wife’s eye and it cost me five hundred dollars. ”
Рекомендуемая литература
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1 Почепцов, Г. Г. Язык и юмор / Г. Г. Почепцов. – Киев: Вища Школа, 1974. – С. 11-51.
2 Актуальные проблемы современной лингвистики: учебное пособие / сост. Л. Н. Чурилина. – М.: Флинта: Наука, 2006. – С. 266-207.
3 Дземидок, Б. О комическом / Б. Дземидок. – М.: Прогресс, 1974. – С. 22-43.
4 Кулинич, М. А. Лингвокультурология юмора (на материале английского языка) / М. А. Кулинич. – Самара: СамГПУ, 1999. – С. 17-30.
5 Маслова, В. А. Лингвокультурология: учебное пособие / В. А. Маслова. – М.: Издательский центр «Академия», 2001. – С. 88-94.
6 Смирнов, В. В. Русский юмор / В. В. Смирнов. // Антенна. – 2005. – 3 марта (№ 9). – С. 7.
7 Фядосiк, А. С. Анталогiя беларускага народнага анекдота i жарта / А. С. Фядосiк. – Мн.: Ураджай, 2001. – С. 36-62.
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